HONG KONG
Man held over murder at Ritz
Police yesterday arrested a South Korean man on suspicion of murder after his wife and seven-year-old son were found dead in a room at the five star Ritz-Carlton hotel. Officers rushed to the hotel after receiving a report in the morning that a man and a woman were fighting and found the bodies at 8:30am, police said. The man appeared drunk and injured when he was arrested, police said, and he was sent to hospital. “Our thoughts are with the family of the guests involved at this very difficult time,” a spokesperson at the Ritz-Carlton said, declining to comment further as an investigation was ongoing.
IRAQ
PM to head ‘Victory Alliance’
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he would lead a “cross-sectarian” list in national elections proposed for May, hoping to build off last year’s victory against the Islamic State group. In a statement issued late on Saturday, he said his Victory Alliance will “boost the country’s integrity and national sovereignty, correct mistakes and achieve justice and equality for all Iraqis.” He said the “miracle of victory and unity must lead to a new and brighter era.” The Cabinet has proposed elections for May 12, a date that awaits final parliamentary approval.
PHILIPPINES
Duterte not to seek extension
President Rodrigo Duterte has rejected calls from allies to extend his six-year term and to cancel elections next year, while supporting moves to shift to a federal system of government. In an interview with news Web site MindaNews, Duterte said he wants a federal government with a structure similar to the French government, which has both a president and prime minister. He also wants the country’s Senate and House of Representatives to be merged into a single chamber with about 50 lawmakers to enact laws faster. If the nation wished to change its system of government “you want a setup that would ensure fairness and equality,” Duterte said, warning that federalism might not prevent the use of money, power and violence to win elections. He said he would in a few days form a consultative body to review the constitution.
PHILIPPINES
Volcanic alert level raised
The government yesterday raised the alert at the restive Mayon volcano by one notch, citing signs of rising magma that could lead to hazardous eruptions. Residents were evacuated from two villages near the volcano in Albay province following a “phreatic or steam-driven eruption” on Saturday and there was a further eruption yesterday. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert to level 2, which means that the current activity is “probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruptions.”
SAUDI ARABIA
Prince Alwaleed not released
Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who has been detained for more than two months in an anti-corruption crackdown, is negotiating a possible settlement with authorities, but so far has not agreed on terms, a senior official said. Alwaleed, whose net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at US$17 billion, is chairman and owner of international investment firm Kingdom Holding and one of the country’s most prominent businessmen. “He offered a certain figure but it does not meet the figure required from him and until today the attorney-general has not approved it,” the official said on condition of anonymity under government briefing rules.
PORTUGAL
Eight die in blaze
Fire ripped through a local community center in the northern town of Tondela late on Saturday, killing eight people and injuring another 50, police said. “Around 70 people were having dinner in the building when the fire broke out and we have a number of dead people as well as between 50 and 60 people injured,” civil protection chief Paulo Santos said. Tondela Mayor Jose Antonio Jesus told RTP public television that the fire broke out when a wood-burning stove exploded as people gathered for an amateur card tournament.
PERU
Strong quake rocks south
A strong earthquake struck the southern coast at 9:18am yesterday, the US Geological Survey said. The epicenter of the magnitude 7.3 quake was 42km south-southwest of Acari, at a depth of 12.1km, it said. Local authorities said no deaths had been reported so far and only minor damage to structures and roads.
FRANCE
Compensation offered
Dairy group Lactalis will pay damages to families affected by a salmonella contamination at one of its plants producing baby milk, chief executive Emmanuel Besnier told the weekly Journal du Dimanche yesterday. Lactalis on Friday widened a product recall to cover all infant formula made at its Craon plan, regardless of the manufacture date, in an effort to contain the fallout from the health scare. Besnier said that a salmonella scandal has affected 83 countries, where 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk are being recalled. Taiwan was included in the recall. Besnier said that the consequences of this health crisis for consumers, including babies under six months, were at the forefront of his mind.
GUATEMALA
Lawmaker arrested
A ruling party lawmaker accused of orchestrating the murder of two journalists in 2015 was arrested on Saturday. Julio Antonio Juarez Ramirez was detained at his home in Suchitepequez department on a warrant sought by prosecutors and a UN anti-corruption commission. He is suspected of murder, attempted murder and criminal association for allegedly hiring hit men to kill journalist Danilo Efrain Lopez. A second journalist, Federico Benjamin Salazar, also died in the March 10, 2015, shooting, and Marvin Tunchez Ayala was wounded. Juarez has said he is innocent.
FRANCE
Trio charged over Ritz heist
Three suspects in a jewelry robbery on the ground floor of the Ritz hotel in Paris have been handed preliminary charges. A judicial official on Saturday said that the three were jailed and put under investigation for organized armed robbery with threats and voluntary violence with arms in a group, among other charges. Two alleged accomplices escaped after the heist on Wednesday evening and authorities have said they recovered all the stolen merchandise, valued at about US$5.4 million.
VENEZUELA
New round of talks set
Government and opposition delegates meeting in the Dominican Republic are to hold a new round of talks on Thursday, Dominican President Danilo Medina said on Saturday. After 10 hours of meetings last week, Jorge Rodriguez, the main government delegate, said there was consensus on the “majority of the points.” The opposition’s main requirement of a “free and fair” presidential election this year is seen as a sticking point.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in 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
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was