SOUTH KOREA
Early voting begins
Early voting in the presidential elections began yesterday, with both main candidates set to cast ballots in a poll triggered by former president Yoon Suk-yeol’s ill-fated effort last year to suspend civilian rule. All major polls have placed Lee Jae-myung as the clear frontrunner in the presidential race, with a recent Gallup survey showing 49 percent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate. Trailing behind him is former minister of labor Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party — Yoon’s former party — at 35 percent. While election day is set for Tuesday next week, those who want to vote early can do so until today, part of an initiative introduced in 2013 to help those unable to cast ballots on polling day or planning to travel.
SLOVAKIA
Top banker convicted
Central bank Governor Peter Kazimir, who is a member of the European Central Bank committee, yesterday was convicted of bribery and fined 200,000 euros (US$225,000). The verdict was issued by Judge Milan Cisarik at the Special Criminal Court in Pezinok. Kazimir’s attorneys argued that he should have been acquitted because of the recent changes in Slovakia’s penal code, which reduced punishment for corruption, and that recently ended a number of corruption cases and trials. Kazimir was not at the court. He said in a statement that he would appeal. His six-year term in office expires on Sunday. Kazimir was accused of paying a bribe of 48,000 euros at the end of 2017 to the head of the country’s tax office in connection with a tax audit of several private companies. At the time, Kazimir was acquiring a luxury villa in an upscale neighborhood of Bratislava, the capital, from the owner of the companies. The case dates to when he was minister of finance in the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico from 2012 to 2019. He was a member of Fico’s Smer, or Direction, party before taking the central bank job.
BRAZIL
Dancing nuns go viral
Two nuns have gone viral after dropping an impromptu beatbox and dance session during a Catholic television program. Sisters Marizele Cassiano and Marisa de Paula, members of the Copiosa Redencao congregation, were talking about a vocational retreat on the Pai Eterno (Eternal Father) TV channel when they brought up a song about being called to the religious life. The duo stood up and launched into a routine complete with singing, beatbox and dance moves. Then the presenter, Deacon Giovani Bastos, joined in, matching De Paula’s moves in a performance that has now been seen by millions on social media in Brazil and abroad. “That moment was very spontaneous, because with Sister Marisa, if you start a beat, she will dance. And I’m used to singing, to beatboxing, so for us it was very simple, spontaneous and at the same time very surprising to see that it went viral even outside Brazil,” Cassiano told reporters. The sisters work with young people who are struggling with drug addiction. They say music has been a powerful tool to help those in need. “Beatboxing, dancing and the songs itself are tools that God uses to reach the hearts of the people we work with. And it works. It’s beautiful to see,” De Paula said. While Cassiano has no Instagram account, Marizele has surpassed 100,000 followers since her beatboxing went viral. The sisters also work as vocation promoters, organizing retreats for women interested in pursuing a religious career.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
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