INDIA
Pirates return tanker, crew
A tanker with 22 Indian crew on board has been released by pirates who had seized the vessel off the coast of West Africa, the company that manages the ship said yesterday. The Panama-registered MT Marine Express, loaded with 13,500 tonnes of gasoline, was anchored off Benin when authorities lost contact on Thursday last week. “All crew members are reported to be safe and well, and the cargo of 13,500 tonnes of gasoline remains on board,” Hong Kong-based Anglo-Eastern said in a statement. The company did not say whether it had paid a ransom to secure the safe release of the crew and cargo.
AUSTRALIA
Seven held for circus abuse
Seven people were yesterday charged with the alleged sexual and physical abuse of young boys at a circus training school, including producing child pornography. The systemic abuse of the children, all aged under eight, occurred between 2014 and 2016, police said, reportedly at a facility in Katoomba. “Four women, two men and a teenage girl have been charged with a total of 127 offenses relating to historical alleged child sexual and physical abuse,” New South Wales police said in a statement. They were all due to appear in court later yesterday. The Sydney Morning Herald said the school taught children of all ages skills including juggling and riding unicycles.
INDONESIA
Flooding kills four
At least four people were killed and two were missing after Jakarta was hit by severe flooding and landslides, authorities said yesterday, as thousands fled waterlogged neighborhoods. The bodies of three people were pulled from a pile of mud and rock after a landslide triggered by torrential rain inundated a village in the city of Bogor, the disaster mitigation agency said. Hundreds of rescuers are digging through the debris to find two others buried in that incident. Greater Jakarta has been pounded by heavy rain over the past 24 hours, triggering landslides and floods that have destroyed homes. Bogor Governor Anies Baswedan said more than 6,500 people have been evacuated in areas of the metropolis, mainly in the eastern and southern parts of the city.
LEBANON
Officers protest Israel wall
The nation on Monday said a wall Israel intends to build at the border marks a violation of Lebanese sovereignty during a meeting of Lebanese and Israeli military officers chaired by UN peacekeepers. Disagreement over the wall and Lebanon’s plans to explore for offshore oil and gas in disputed maritime waters have elevated tensions between the two nations. “The Lebanese side reviewed the matter of the wall which the Israeli enemy intends to build ... confirming the position of the Lebanese government rejecting the construction of this wall as it violates Lebanese sovereignty,” the Lebanese army said in a statement.
SINGAPORE
S Korean plane catches fire
A pilot was slightly injured yesterday when a South Korean aircraft taking part in the Singapore Air Show skidded off the runway and caught fire while taking off, authorities said. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said the aircraft from the South Korean air force’s aerobatic team Black Eagles “skidded and crashed into the grass verge” at the side of the runway and caught fire. The accident happened as the plane was taking off for the aerial display, which was canceled. The Black Eagles were supposed to be the final act of the show.
‘EYE FOR AN EYE’: Two of the men were shot by a male relative of the victims, whose families turned down the opportunity to offer them amnesty, the Supreme Court said Four men were yesterday publicly executed in Afghanistan, the Supreme Court said, the highest number of executions to be carried out in one day since the Taliban’s return to power. The executions in three separate provinces brought to 10 the number of men publicly put to death since 2021, according to an Agence France-Presse tally. Public executions were common during the Taliban’s first rule from 1996 to 2001, with most of them carried out publicly in sports stadiums. Two men were shot around six or seven times by a male relative of the victims in front of spectators in Qala-i-Naw, the center
Incumbent Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on Sunday claimed a runaway victory in the nation’s presidential election, after voters endorsed the young leader’s “iron fist” approach to rampant cartel violence. With more than 90 percent of the votes counted, the National Election Council said Noboa had an unassailable 12-point lead over his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez. Official results showed Noboa with 56 percent of the vote, against Gonzalez’s 44 percent — a far bigger winning margin than expected after a virtual tie in the first round. Speaking to jubilant supporters in his hometown of Olon, the 37-year-old president claimed a “historic victory.” “A huge hug
The US will help bolster the Philippines’ arsenal and step up joint military exercises, Manila’s defense chief said, as tensions between Washington and China escalate. The longtime US ally is expecting a sustained US$500 million in annual defense funding from Washington through 2029 to boost its military capabilities and deter China’s “aggression” in the region, Philippine Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview in Manila on Thursday. “It is a no-brainer for anybody, because of the aggressive behavior of China,” Teodoro said on close military ties with the US under President Donald Trump. “The efforts for deterrence, for joint resilience
Two Belgian teenagers on Tuesday were charged with wildlife piracy after they were found with thousands of ants packed in test tubes in what Kenyan authorities said was part of a trend in trafficking smaller and lesser-known species. Lornoy David and Seppe Lodewijckx, two 19-year-olds who were arrested on April 5 with 5,000 ants at a guest house, appeared distraught during their appearance before a magistrate in Nairobi and were comforted in the courtroom by relatives. They told the magistrate that they were collecting the ants for fun and did not know that it was illegal. In a separate criminal case, Kenyan Dennis
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