INDONESIA
Unmarried couple flogged
A man and woman yesterday were publicly flogged 100 times each in Aceh province after they were found guilty of sex outside marriage. Sexual relations between an unmarried couple is outlawed in Aceh, which imposes a version of Shariah, the Islamic legal code. The two were lashed in sets of 10 with a rattan stick as a small crowd watched on at a park in provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and the female suspect was lashed by a woman, reporter at the scene said. Three other suspects were caned a combined 49 times for alleged gambling and alcohol consumption.
GERMANY
WWII bomb sparks evacuation
About 20,000 people yesterday were being evacuated from central Cologne after three unexploded World War II bombs were found, the biggest such operation in the city since the end of the war. Bomb squad technicians were planning to defuse the three US explosives, two weighing 1,000kg and one 500kg, which were found during building work on Monday in the Deutz area on the east bank of the River Rhine. Road and train lines were closed and city officials were going door to door to clear the evacuation zone of about 10,000m2, which included three bridges over the Rhine.
NORTH KOREA
Capsized ship pulled upright
The government appears to have returned to an upright position its stricken Choe Hyun-class destroyer that partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony, US researchers said yesterday. Leader Kim Jong-un, who witnessed the failed launch of the 5,000-tonne warship, said the accident damaged the country’s dignity and vowed to punish those found responsible. Commercial satellite imagery from Monday showed the destroyer upright for the first time since the May 21 accident, 38 North said in a report. Pyongyang has said it detained several officials, and Kim ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting this month.
JAPAN
100 dead cats found at home
About 100 dead cats were discovered at the squalid home of a woman who belonged to an animal welfare group, a local official said yesterday. The group, Animal Assist Senju, apologized on social media, posting pictures of the trash-strewn house it said “was overflowing with feces and urine.” The woman was found to have gone rogue and taken in many cats without consulting the organization, the group said. One cat was found “unrecognizable” with “its skin partly peeled off and paws covered in feces and urine,” it wrote on Instagram at the weekend. The Kumamoto City Animal Protection Center said that the dead felines were initially estimated to total about 100. However, media reports said the number is thought to be higher.
CHINA
Fugitive capybara captured
Officials have captured the last member of a runaway capybara gang that escaped from a zoo in the east two months ago, a statement said on Tuesday. The missing female rodent, named “Doubao” (豆包), absconded from an enclosure at the Yangzhou Zhuyuwan Scenic Area along with two other capybaras in early April. Doubao remained at large for weeks after her companions were caught by zoo officials. The capybara walked into a humane trap early on Tuesday morning and was returned to her enclosure by zoo staff. Despite spending two months on the run, Doubao gained weight and her fur was still “smooth and glossy,” the zoo said.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
RSS