SOUTH KOREA
Politician ends hunger strike
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung yesterday ended a 24-day hunger strike, a party spokesperson said, two days after parliament voted to let prosecutors serve an arrest warrant against him for alleged bribery. Lee, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is to maintain a schedule including court attendance while hospitalized, the spokesman told reporters. Prosecutors this month sought the warrant in an investigation into bribery allegations concerning a development project. Prosecutors say that Lee asked a company to illegally transfer US$8 million to North Korea when he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province.
SWEDEN
Motorway collapses
A large chunk of a motorway in the southwest collapsed overnight, causing three people to be taken to hospital with light injuries, police said yesterday. The landslide damaged the motorway between Gothenburg and Norway’s capital, Oslo, near the small town of Stenungsund, about 50km north of Gothenburg on Sweden’s west coast. “The hardest hit parts of the landslide area measure around 150 by 100m. In total, however, the landslide has affected an area of around 700 by 200m,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services said in a statement. The slide affected about 10 vehicles, a wooded area, and a business area with a gas station and a fast food restaurant, it said.
UNITED STATES
Pilot lands in backyard
A recording was released on Friday of a 911 emergency call from a homeowner reporting that the pilot of a US Marine Corps F-35 had parachuted into his backyard after ejecting from the stealth jet. “I guess we got a pilot in our house,” the homeowner said. “He ejected from the plane. I guess he landed in my backyard and we were trying to see if we could get an ambulance to the house.” “I’m sorry, what happened?” said the bewildered 911 dispatcher who fielded the unusual call over the weekend. The pilot parachuted safely into a neighborhood in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday last week after ejecting from the US$80 million jet, which continued flying in what some called a “zombie state.” The plane eventually crashed about 100km north of where the pilot ejected and the wreckage was located on Monday after authorities asked the public to help find the missing jet. After the homeowner spoke to the dispatcher, the pilot himself got on the phone and tried to explain the situation. “I’m a pilot in a military aircraft and I ejected, so I just rode a parachute down to the ground,” he said. “Can you please send an ambulance?”
MEXICO
Doll and its owner arrested
Handcuffed, a knife still sticking out of its overalls, a Chucky doll hunched against the wall as police held it by its bright orange hair to take its mug shot. In a bizarre twist, Chucky and its owner were taken into lockup in a town in Coahuila state’s Monclova earlier this week. The puppet master, identified only as Carlos “N,” allegedly used the “demon doll” to scare people and demand money, local media reported. Both were charged with disturbing the peace and putting others’ integrity at risk. One officer at the police department was seen laughing as she held up the long knife taken from Chucky. Media reported that the officer who put Chucky in cuffs was later reprimanded for not taking her job seriously. Local media reported that Carlos “N” was later released, although the Chucky doll’s whereabouts are still unknown.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
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