CAMBODIA
Opposition figure jailed
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday jailed a senior opposition figure for three years over a social media post discussing the disputed history of the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. Thach Setha, a vice president of the opposition Candlelight Party, in January posted a video on Facebook discussing the politically sensitive history of Jan. 7, but his critical comments drew the ire of authorities accusing him of incitement ahead of the July election. The court found Thach Setha guilty of two incitement charges. He was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay a US$1,000 fine, said his lawyer, Sam Sokong. The case can be appealed. In January, Thach Setha was also arrested for allegedly issuing bad checks and received an 18-month jail sentence last month. Government critics say that case was politically motivated, because he was taken into custody ahead of the national election which the ruling party won by a landslide.
UGANDA
Shooters kill tourists, guide
Gunmen killed three people, including two foreigners, in Queen Elizabeth National Park, police said on Tuesday, blaming the attack on a militia group. The trio were driving through the park when they came under attack from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, which has ties to the Islamic State, police spokesman Fred Enanga said on social media platform X. “The three were killed, and their safari vehicle burnt,” Enanga said. “Our joint forces responded immediately upon receiving the information and are aggressively pursuing the suspected ADF rebels,” he said. Uganda’s wildlife authority identified the victims as a British citizen, a South African and their Ugandan guide. “We urge the public to remain patient and allow the investigative process to run its course,” it said in a statement, adding that all parks would remained open.
BRAZIL
Charge Bolsonaro: court
A congressional committee on Tuesday found that former president Jair Bolsonaro should face charges of an attempted coup for his supporters’ invasion of the presidential palace, Supreme Court and legislative headquarters in January. The committee investigating the Jan. 8 riots in the capital, Brasilia, wrapped up nearly five months of drama-filled hearings with a final report recommending that prosecutors also charge the far-right former president with attempting to overthrow the rule of law, political violence and criminal conspiracy. The report does not legally bind the prosecutor general’s office to act, but it is the latest in a raft of legal woes for Bolsonaro, 68, who is already under investigation for allegations of corruption and abuse of office.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) greetings with what appeared to be restrained rhetoric that comes as Pyongyang moves closer to Russia and depends less on its long-time Asian ally. Kim wished “the Chinese people greater success in building a modern socialist country,” in a reply message to Xi for his congratulations on North Korea’s birthday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday. The 190-word dispatch had little of the florid language that had been a staple of their correspondence, which has declined significantly this year, an analysis by Seoul-based specialist service NK Pro showed. It said
On an island of windswept tundra in the Bering Sea, hundreds of miles from mainland Alaska, a resident sitting outside their home saw — well, did they see it? They were pretty sure they saw it — a rat. The purported sighting would not have gotten attention in many places around the world, but it caused a stir on Saint Paul Island, which is part of the Pribilof Islands, a birding haven sometimes called the “Galapagos of the north” for its diversity of life. That is because rats that stow away on vessels can quickly populate and overrun remote islands, devastating bird
‘CLOSER TO THE END’: The Ukrainian leader said in an interview that only from a ‘strong position’ can Ukraine push Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘to stop the war’ Decisive actions by the US now could hasten the end of the Russian war against Ukraine next year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday after telling ABC News that his nation was “closer to the end of the war.” “Now, at the end of the year, we have a real opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and the United States,” Zelenskiy said in a post on Telegram after meeting with a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress. “Decisive action now could hasten the just end of Russian aggression against Ukraine next year,” he wrote. Zelenskiy is in the US for the UN
A 64-year-old US woman took her own life inside a controversial suicide capsule at a Swiss woodland retreat, with Swiss police on Tuesday saying several people had been arrested. The space-age looking Sarco capsule, which fills with nitrogen and causes death by hypoxia, was used on Monday outside a village near the German border. The portable human-sized pod, self-operated by a button inside, has raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland. Active euthanasia is banned in the country, but assisted dying has been legal for decades. On the same day it was used, Swiss Department of Home