News of the World

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Search Continuing in Southern California For Missing Actor Julian Sands

Actor Julian Sands has been missing for five days after he failed to return from a hiking trip in the Southern California mountains, according to authorities on Jan. 18.

The “A Room With a View” actor was due to return on Jan. 13 from a trail on Mount Baldy, according to San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokeswoman Gloria Huerta.

Search and rescue workers looked for the 65-year-old British actor in the San Gabriel Mountains, roughly 40 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, but were forced to cease the operation due to trail conditions and avalanche threats, and have not been allowed to resume since, according to Huerta.

Authorities said they are searching for Sands using helicopters and drones as the weather permits and will resume the ground search when it is safe.
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He acted in James Ivory’s 1985 British romantic comedy “A Room With a View” where he played Helena Bonham Carter’s love interest. He also took on pivotal roles in the films “Warlock,” “Arachnophobia,” “Naked Lunch,” “Boxing Helena,” and “Leaving Las Vegas,” from 1989 to 1995.

Since then, Sands has continuously performed in smaller roles in movies and television shows.

Foreign Control Over US Water Resources Increasing Amid Security Concerns

New research suggests that increased privatization in water utilities also leads to higher prices at the tap for residents.
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Information gaps, inaccuracies, and ownership data are missing from 14 publically traded water companies serving 33 states, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

Then there are water futures to consider. In 2020, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange launched its first water futures market, allowing investors to buy shares like any other commodity.

Some analysts claim big investments in U.S. water futures can drive up the cost for residents, saying inflated market prices may result in hoarding among water rights owners.

The United States is grappling with drought in 44 percent of the lower 48 states as of January 2023. Western states have endured prolonged arid conditions for years, impacting multiple farming regions and domestic food supply.

And outside investors are placing their biggest bets on land acquisition.

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land represents nearly 38 million acres. For perspective, that’s roughly the size of Illinois or Iowa. Between 2009 and 2019, foreign land holdings doubled.

With that comes the potential for turning water into money.

A senior official within California’s resource management—who asked to have their name omitted—told The Epoch Times, “The topic is a very serious one. Wealthy non-farming Americans and foreign interests are buying up U.S. farms and water rights.”

The source added that foreign investors are “manipulating domestic politics” in ways that prioritize the commodification of farmland over things like sustainable use, clean food, and water quality.

South Africa to Host China and Russia for Military Exercises

The South African Department of Defense announced the drills, dubbed “Operation Mosi,” on Jan. 19. The exercises are planned to take place from Feb. 17 to 27, and will coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Operation Mosi is intended to “strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia, and China,” according to a statement shared by the South Africa National Defense Force on social media.

The exercises have been in the planning stages since December, and will include 350 South African personnel working with Russian and Chinese forces in Durban and Richards Bay “with the aim of sharing operational skills and knowledge,” according to the statement.

Russian state-owned media outlet TASS reported that Russia would send two ships to the exercises, which the nation believes will “strengthen multilateral ties between the three countries.”

It is unclear what type of units the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will send.
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South Africa has been growing apart from its Western partners since Cyril Ramaphosa became president in 2018. Shortly thereafter, in 2019, the nation engaged in its first trilateral military exercises with Russia and China.

Ramaphosa’s administration has refused to condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. However, a survey shows nearly three-quarters of all South Africans believe the invasion to be “an act of aggression that must be condemned.”

US Coast Guard Monitoring Alleged Russian Spy Ship Off Hawaii

“In recent weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands,” the USCG said in a news release.

It noted that foreign military ships can move “freely through the U.S. economic zone” under international law but said that “foreign-flagged military vessels have often been observed operating and loitering within Coast Guard District Fourteen’s area of response.” The Coast Guard added that it is monitoring the situation.

The Coast Guard on Wednesday posted a video of the alleged Russian military vessel’s movements near Hawaii. In the clip, it showed crew members manning a ship that appeared to be refueling.
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Some speculated that the ship identified in the Coast Guard video is the Russian intelligence vessel SSV-535 Kareliya, a Vishnya-class intelligence ship that was built for the Soviet navy in the 1980s. The Russian Navy currently operates seven such ships, which are used for intelligence-gathering, according to DefenceBlog.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command confirmed last May that it was monitoring a Russian vessel near Hawaii’s coast. At the time, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel told KHON-TV that the Soviet Union used to send ships to Hawaii during the Cold War.
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A Russian naval vessel was spotted near Alaska in September of last year, while a month earlier, U.S. military officials detected Russian surveillance planes flying in Alaska’s air-defense zone.

In 2019, a Russian spy ship was seen operating off the coast of the southeastern U.S. in what officials said was an “unsafe manner.” The Viktor Leonov vessel was operating near Georgia and South Carolina, prompting reports to the U.S. Coast Guard at the time, according to a notice.

President Joe Biden in April banned Russian-flagged ships from entering any U.S. port following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine months before.