World News Quick Take
ICC charges Duterte
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors have charged former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his “war on drugs.” A heavily redacted charge sheet dated July 4, but only made public on Monday, lays out the accusations against the 80-year-old former leader, currently sitting in ICC detention in The Hague. The first count concerns his alleged involvement as a coperpetrator in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while mayor of Davao City. The second count relates to 14 murders of so-called “high value targets” in 2016 and 2017 when Duterte was president. The third charge is about 43 murders committed during “clearance” operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers.
Photo: AP
NEW ZEALAND
Mother guilty of killing kids
A mother yesterday was found guilty of killing her two children and stashing their bodies in suitcases, in a high-profile case that drew international attention. Lee Hak-yung, a New Zealand citizen originally from South Korea, was extradited from Seoul in 2022 after the remains of her children were discovered in suitcases left at a storage unit in south Auckland. The children were aged eight and six at the time of their murders, and had been dead for three to four years before their bodies were found.
AUSTRALIA
Body returned without heart
Officials have demanded answers from Indonesian counterparts after the body of a young man who died on the island of Bali was repatriated without his heart. Queensland man Byron Haddow, 23, was found dead in the plunge pool of his Bali villa this year while on holiday. His body was returned to Australia four weeks later, where a second autopsy found he was missing his heart. “They just rung us to ask if we were aware that his heart had been retained over in Bali,” mother Chantal Haddow told Channel Nine. “Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any more heartbroken, it was another kick in the guts,” she said.
UNITED STATES
Trump links autism to Tylenol
President Donald Trump on Monday linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of popular pain medication Tylenol by women while pregnant, elevating claims not backed by scientific evidence. In an extraordinary news conference at the White House, the Republican president delivered medical advice to pregnant women and parents of young children, repeatedly telling them not to use or administer the painkiller and suggesting that common vaccines not be taken together or so early in a child’s life. The advice from Trump, who acknowledged he is not a doctor, goes against that of medical societies.
CHINA
Fireworks prompt outcry
The Canadian outdoor brand Arc’teryx has issued an apology after a promotional fireworks display in the Tibetan Plateau led to an outcry over potential environmental damage. The Rising Dragon high-altitude show involved long stretches of pyrotechnics and colored smoke along snow-topped Himalayan ridgelines in the Tibetan region of Shigatse. The organizers said the display used biodegradable, environmentally friendly materials, but videos of the display posted online by the brand were met with a barrage of criticism. “Imagine selling US$800 jackets for mountain lovers, then nuking the mountains,” one commenter wrote on Instagram.
Shamans in Peru on Monday gathered for an annual New Year’s ritual where they made predictions for the year to come, including illness for US President Donald Trump and the downfall of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill,” Juan de Dios Garcia proclaimed as he gathered with other shamans on a beach in southern Lima, dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and headdresses, and sprinkling flowers on the sand. The shamans carried large posters of world leaders, over which they crossed swords and burned incense, some of which they stomped on. In this
‘NO COUNTRY BUMPKIN’: The judge rejected arguments that former prime minister Najib Razak was an unwitting victim, saying Najib took steps to protect his position Imprisoned former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was yesterday convicted, following a corruption trial tied to multibillion-dollar looting of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state investment fund. The nation’s high court found Najib, 72, guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering related to more than US$700 million channeled into his personal bank accounts from the 1MDB fund. Najib denied any wrongdoing, and maintained the funds were a political donation from Saudi Arabia and that he had been misled by rogue financiers led by businessman Low Taek Jho. Low, thought to be the scandal’s mastermind, remains
Near the entrance to the Panama Canal, a monument to China’s contributions to the interoceanic waterway was torn down on Saturday night by order of local authorities. The move comes as US President Donald Trump has made threats in the past few months to retake control of the canal, claiming Beijing has too much influence in its operations. In a surprising move that has been criticized by leaders in Panama and China, the mayor’s office of the locality of Arraijan ordered the demolition of the monument built in 2004 to symbolize friendship between the countries. The mayor’s office said in
FIGHTING CONTINUES: Thai military dropped 40 bombs on border areas, Cambodia said, while Bangkok said Phnom Penh launched heavy attacks and damaged homes Cambodia yesterday accused Thailand of intensifying its bombardment of disputed border areas, even as officials from the two countries attend a multi-day meeting aimed at negotiating an end to deadly clashes. The neighbors’ long-standing border conflict reignited this month, shattering an earlier truce and killing more than 40 people, according to official counts. About 1 million people have also been displaced. Cambodian and Thai officials were in their third day of talks at a border checkpoint, with ministers of defense from the two countries scheduled to meet today. However, the Cambodian Ministry of National Defense said Thailand’s military carried out a heavy
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