VIETNAM
US steps into blogger fray
The US yesterday called on Hanoi to free three bloggers facing trial for propaganda against the state, voicing deep concern at the self-immolation of the mother of one of the trio. The defendants were arrested after posting hundreds of political articles on the banned Web site “Free Journalists Club,” as well as writing on their own blogs, in a case that has been raised by US President Barack Obama. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison, according to their lawyers. Dang Thi Kim Lieng, the mother of one of the three, died after setting herself ablaze on Monday in front of the local authorities’ offices in Bac Lieu Province, according to people close to the family. “We were deeply concerned and saddened to hear of [Lieng’s] self-immolation, reportedly related to circumstances surrounding the detention of her daughter Ta Phong Tan,” the US embassy in Hanoi said in a statement. Tan, a 43-year-old Catholic former policewoman, used her blog to denounce corruption and injustice in Vietnam’s legal system.
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul rejects terror claims
Seoul yesterday rejected North Korean claims that it is planning terrorist acts as “ridiculous,” and said it would protect Seoul activists threatened by Pyongyang. Pyongyang late on Tuesday said the activists were involved in plots aided by Seoul and Washington to blow up statues of past leaders and stage other acts of terrorism in the North. Offenders “will not be safe no matter where they are and they will not be able to escape merciless punishment,” it said in a statement, which took the unusual step of naming those singled out for possible retribution. “The North is making ridiculous accusations of kidnapping, acts of terrorism and crimes involving some North Korean defectors,” a spokeswoman for the South’s unification ministry said. “None of them have any truth in them and the accusations are not worth responding to.”
UNITED STATES
Sergeant gets jail for abuse
A sergeant in the army was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 days in a military jail for assault and mistreatment of Chinese-American soldier Danny Chen, who committed suicide in Afghanistan. Jurors at a court martial in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, set out the penalty a day after acquitting Sergeant Adam Holcomb on the more serious charges of negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and communicating a threat. The suicide in October last year of Private Chen, 19, the son of Chinese immigrants, outraged New York’s ethnic Chinese community amid allegations that he had been singled out for hazing by his fellow soldiers. Family members and supporters said Chen — the only Chinese-American in his battalion — had faced racist abuse, including name-calling such as “egg roll,” “chink” and “dragon lady,” almost every day of his six weeks in Afghanistan. During the trial, the court martial heard that Chen was ordered to crawl on the ground to be pelted with rocks a few hours before he died.
FRANCE
Law defines sex abuse
The parliament unanimously adopted new legislation on Tuesday, making sexual harassment a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in jail, replacing a law that was deemed too vague. The new law, which also provides for a fine of up to 45,000 euros (US$55,000), was rushed through both houses of parliament to appease public anger as the repeal of the original legislation in May saw all suits going through the courts being dropped.
ITALY
Court rules insult illegal
The nation’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that telling a man he has “no balls” as an insult is a crime punishable with a fine because it hurts male pride in a ruling on a row between two cousins. The case was brought to the supreme court by a lawyer named only as Vittorio against his cousin Alberto, a justice of the peace, for the phrase uttered during a heated courtroom exchange in the southern city of Potenza. “Apart from the vulgarity of the term used, the expression definitely also has an injurious quality,” the male judge, Maurizio Fumo, said in his ruling as quoted by news agency ANSA. The court also found that because the insult was uttered at the workplace with third parties present it could be seen as damaging Vittorio’s reputation. A judge will now rule on the fine that Alberto should pay to Vittorio.
NEW ZEALAND
Dead possum show slammed
A school that staged a morbid fashion show in which children were encouraged to dress possum corpses in colorful costumes has come under fire from animal lovers. The contest, part of an annual fundraiser for Uruti School on North Island, was unacceptable and thoughtless, the New Zealand Royal Society for the Protection of Animals said. The local Taranaki Daily News ran an online gallery of the dead marsupials under the headline “pimped-up possums” reporting an overwhelmingly negative reaction in its comments section, including “sick,” “disgusting” and “psycho.” Uruti School principal Pauline Sutton said she saw nothing wrong with the children dressing up the dead possums, which are considered pests.
UNITED STATES
Anti gay-marriage suit filed
Opponents of gay marriage in California filed an appeal on Tuesday asking the Supreme Court to overturn a federal court decision legalizing same-sex unions. The appeal is one of several on the issue of same-sex marriage the Supreme Court will decide whether to review when it resumes on Sept. 24. Same-sex marriage was briefly legal in California, before the adoption of Proposition 8 in a state-wide vote in 2008. The proposition entered into the state constitution that marriage is between a man and a woman. On Feb. 21 this year, a federal appeals court in California ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional, in a decision that the most recent appeal aims to overturn. Analysts say the nine Supreme Court justices are more likely to take on cases related to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) the subject of litigation in Massachusetts. DOMA stipulates marriage is a legal union between a man and a woman. The law prevents couples in same-sex units from obtaining the same federal benefits — including inheritance rights and tax deductions — accorded to their heterosexual counterparts.
UNITED STATES
Jackson family goes home
Michael Jackson’s mother says she is returning to her family’s Indiana hometown to celebrate what would have been her son’s 54th birthday. An announcement released on Tuesday by a representative of Katherine Jackson said that the events in Gary, Indiana, would also be attended by the singer’s three children. A candlelight vigil is planned for Aug. 29 outside the family’s home on Jackson’s 54th birthday. Details on the events, including a tribute concert and an event honoring Katherine Jackson, are posted on a Facebook page for the event. The Jackson family moved to Los Angeles when Michael and his siblings pursued their music careers, but have kept connections to the town.
Young Chinese, many who fear age discrimination in their workplace after turning 35, are increasingly starting “one-person companies” that have artificial intelligence (AI) do most of the work. Smaller start-ups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with rapidly advancing AI tools seen as a welcome teammate even as they threaten layoffs at existing firms. More young people in China are subscribing to the model, as cities pledge millions of dollars in funding and rent subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political goal of “technological self-reliance.” “The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” said Karen Dai
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
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