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Hegseth orders Pentagon to stop cyberoperations against Russia

WASHINGTON (NYT) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to halt offensive operations against Russia, according to a current official and two former officials briefed on the secret instructions. The move is apparently part of a broader effort to draw President Vladimir Putin of Russia into talks on Ukraine and a new relationship with the United States.

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Hegseth’s instructions, part of a larger reevaluation of all operations against Russia, have not been publicly explained. But they were issued before President Donald Trump’s public blowup in the Oval Office with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

The precise scope and duration of the Defense Department order is not clear, as the line between offensive and defensive cyberoperations is often a blurry one.

Still, retaining access to major Russian networks for espionage purposes is crucial to understanding Putin’s intentions as he enters negotiations, and to tracking the arguments within Russia about what conditions to insist upon and what could be given up.

Japan fights its largest wildfire in more than 30 years

TOKYO (NYT) — Japan’s largest wildfire in more than three decades was burning through a forested area of a small coastal city on Sunday after killing at least one person, damaging dozens of homes and prompting evacuation orders for thousands of residents, fire officials said.

The roughly 1,800-hectare (4,500-acre) fire has been burning for days in Ofunato, a city on the east coast of Japan’s main island that is about 300 miles northeast of Tokyo. It had grown by 400 hectares since Saturday.

Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said it had learned of the fire Wednesday afternoon, and that at least 84 homes had been damaged by Wednesday night. Japanese media reports said police found a man’s body on a road Thursday morning while checking the area. Local authorities confirmed the man’s death, but didn’t give any other details.

The government issued evacuation orders to about 4,600 residents Wednesday, according to the fire agency. Some 1,200 were in shelters as of Sunday morning.

Avalanche buries road workers’ camp in India, killing 8

NEW DELHI (NYT) — Eight road construction workers died after becoming trapped under an avalanche in northern India, the Indian army said Sunday. Rescuers operating in several feet of snow evacuated 46 other workers.

The workers were buried by snow early Friday in the village of Mana, in the state of Uttarakhand, as the avalanche hit their camp site.

Disaster response teams coordinated the rescue efforts under extreme weather conditions, and the work was halted several times because of incessant snowfall and rain. GPS, sniffer dogs and thermal imaging cameras were used to find the workers.

India’s Meteorological Department warned of the possibility of further avalanches in the area, which is known as a gateway for Himalayan mountain trekking.

The rescued workers, many in critical condition, were taken by helicopters to hospitals in neighboring Joshimath.