SOUTH KOREA
Suicide bid kills passer-by
A 68-year-old man was killed yesterday after a woman who apparently committed suicide by jumping from a Seoul apartment block landed on him, Yonhap news agency reported. The man was on his way to work when the woman, aged 56, leapt from the 13th floor of the building. Both were taken to hospital, where they later died, police said. The woman had been suffering from depression, they said.
MALAYSIA
Policeman testifies at trial
A police officer yesterday testified at the trial of two women accused of killing the half-brother of North Korea’s leader that four suspects believed to have plotted with the women were North Koreans who fled the nation immediately after the assassination. Investigating officer Wan Azirul Nizam Che Wan Aziz said an employee from North Korea’s state-owned carrier, Air Koryo, arranged tickets for the four men so they could depart after the attack on Kim Jong-nam at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13. He also said that three of the men were seen meeting a North Korean embassy official and the Air Koryo official at the main airport terminal within an hour of the attack.
UNITED STATES
Paul’s injuries detailed
Senator Rand Paul was injured more severely than initially believed during an assault in front of his home by a neighbor on Friday. “Senator Paul has five rib fractures, including three displaced fractures. This type of injury is caused by high velocity severe force,” Doug Stafford, a senior adviser to Paul, said in a statement on Sunday. “It is not clear how soon he will return to work, as the pain is considerable as is the difficulty in getting around, including flying.” Rene Boucher, 59, has been charged with one count of fourth-degree assault causing minor injury, authorities said.
SAUDI ARABIA
Access to Yemen blocked
A Riyadh-led military coalition said it will temporarily close all air, land and sea ports to Yemen to stem the flow of arms to Houthi rebels from Iran, said a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency yesterday. The move follows the interception of a missile fired from Yemen toward Riyadh on Saturday. The coalition and US President Donald Trump have blamed Iran for the attack, but the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Sunday denied the accusations, calling Trump’s remarks “slanders.”
DR CONGO
Election schedule set
Long-delayed presidential, legislative and local elections have been scheduled for Dec. 23 next year, the election commission announced on Sunday. Polls had been due to take place this year under a deal whereby President Joseph Kabila would leave office, but repeated wrangling has hobbled the process. The commission said provisional results of the presidential election would be published on Dec. 30, the definitive results would be issued on Jan. 9, 2019 and the next president would take office three days later.
ISRAEL
Tunnel bodies recovered
The government on Sunday said the bodies of five Palestinians killed last week when it blew up a tunnel dug by militants under the Gaza Strip border have been recovered, and it hopes they can be used to effect the return of Israelis being held in Gaza. A total of 12 people were killed in the tunnel explosion; the other bodies were recovered earlier on the Gaza Strip side of the tunnel.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese