SOUTH KOREA
Yoon released from jail
Impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol was yesterday released from prison, a day after a Seoul court canceled his arrest to allow him to stand trial for rebellion without being physically detained. TV footage showed Yoon waving and bowing deeply to his supporters. In a statement distributed by his lawyers, Yoon said that he “appreciates the courage and decision by the Seoul Central District Court to correct illegality,” in an apparent reference to questions over his arrest. He said he also thanks his supporters and asked those who are on hunger strike against his impeachment to end it.
Photo: Reuters
SYRIA
Hundreds of Alawites killed
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights yesterday reported that 311 Alawite civilians have been killed in the past few days by security forces and their allies, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the administration of former president Bashar al-Assad. The new government, installed after Islamist-led forces ousted al-Assad late last year, are facing fierce attacks by members of the al-Assad clan’s Alawite minority and have launched a major counteroperation following deadly clashes on Thursday. The war monitor said the civilians were killed in “executions” carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters and accompanied by “looting of homes and properties.”
Photo: Reuters
CANADA
Pub shooting injures 12
At least 12 people were injured when masked shooters indiscriminately opened fire at a pub in Toronto, police said yesterday, adding they were looking for three male suspects. Police did not provide a motive for the attack, which took place late on Friday. “Twelve injured, including six with gunshot wounds... Injuries non-life-threatening,” Toronto police wrote on X. All of the victims were hospitalized, but their lives were not in danger, the police said. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said she had spoken to police Chief Myron Demkiw and was told “all necessary resources” had been deployed.
Photo: Reuters
UNITED STATES
Measles outbreak kills two
A measles outbreak in the southwest has killed two people and infected more than 200, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a travel warning. As of Friday, Texas had reported 198 cases and New Mexico 30, bringing the total to 228. Each state confirmed one death, and both, a child and an adult, were unvaccinated. “More cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand rapidly,” the CDC said in a health alert network advisory to healthcare workers, public health officials and potential travelers.
Photo: REUTERS
JAPAN
Woman named oldest barber
A 108-year-old woman has been certified the world’s oldest barber, Guinness World Records said — and she has pledged to keep working until at least 110. Shitsui Hakoishi, born in 1916, decided to become a barber at the age of 14 when a friend’s mother asked if she wanted to become an apprentice at a hair salon in Tokyo. She still holds her own scissors, and this week participated in a celebration ceremony reportedly attended by her two children, an 85-year-old daughter and an 81-year-old son. “I’m very happy. My heart is full,” she said at the ceremony in Nakagawa. Guinness World Records said that the oldest barber category is split into male and female categories, but the oldest male barber — Anthony Mancinelli, who worked in New York until at least 107 years old — has passed away.
Photo: Kyodo Photo via AP
The Bolivian government on Friday struck a deal with protesting miners, but was still grappling with blockades and demonstrations by other workers across La Paz. Other groups are still blocking access roads into the city, which is also the seat of the government. Police on Thursday prevented the miners from entering the main square by using tear gas, while the demonstrators hurled stones and explosives with slingshots. Protests against the policies of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz have convulsed the Andean nation since early this month, and roadblocks were choking routes into La Paz throughout Friday, the national road authority said. Miners demanded that Paz
The Philippines said it has asked the country’s Supreme Court to allow it to arrest former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s chief drug war enforcer to stand trial in an international tribunal. The International Criminal Court (ICC) last week unsealed an arrest warrant against Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa, accusing him along with Duterte and other “coperpetrators” of the “crime against humanity of murder.” Dela Rosa briefly sought refuge in the Philippine Senate last week while asking the Philippine Supreme Court to stop an ongoing attempt by government agents to arrest him. “By his own conduct, he has placed himself outside the protection of
A ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was seized and taken toward Iran and another — a cargo ship near Oman — sank after being attacked, authorities said on Thursday, as tensions escalated near the Strait of Hormuz. It was not immediately clear who was behind these incidents, but they happened as a senior Iranian official reiterated his country’s claim of control over the waterway and another said it had a right to seize oil tankers connected to the US. The turmoil in the strait has been a sticking point for weeks in talks between the US and Iran to
The researchers in Ireland looked at their computer screen, marveling at a medieval book tracked down in a Roman library. They flipped through its digitized pages and found their sought-after treasure: the oldest surviving English poem. “We were extremely surprised. We were speechless. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we first saw that,” said Elisabetta Magnanti, a visiting research fellow at Trinity College Dublin’s school of English. The poem was also within the main body of Latin text, she said, calling it “extraordinary.” Composed in Old English by a Northumbrian agricultural worker in the 7th century, Caedmon’s Hymn appears within some copies of
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