SOUTH KOREA
Senior doctors to quit
A group of senior doctors yesterday said that they would resign starting March 25 in support of junior medics in a nearly month-long strike over government training reforms that has plunged hospitals into chaos. Representatives of medical professors at 20 universities — who are also senior doctors at general hospitals — held a meeting late on Friday, with those at 16 institutions “overwhelmingly in favor” of supporting their junior colleagues, said Bang Jae-seung, head of the group. Professors at “each university have decided to voluntarily submit resignation letters starting from March 25th,” Bang told reporters yesterday. However, “we have reached a consensus that until the resignation is finalized, each individual should do their best in the treatment of patients in their respective positions, just as they have done so far,” he added. Bang did not disclose the exact number of professors expected to walk off the job on March 25.
FIJI
China police deal to stay
The country would maintain a policing cooperation deal with China after a review of the agreement, the Guardian Australia news site reported on Friday. “We are now back on the original police agreement [with China] — that has been restored. We had reviewed it for 12 months,” Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua was quoted as saying. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka put on hold the decade-old police cooperation deal between Fiji and China shortly after forming a government in December 2022, citing differences in policing, investigations and legal systems. Guardian Australia reported that Tikoduadua said “there will only be Fijian officers training in China and no embedding of Chinese officers in the Fiji police force.”
THAILAND
Cannabis faces partial ban
Thodsapol Hongtong is enjoying a smoke with his friends at the “Green Party,” a venue where recreational cannabis enthusiasts meet in Bangkok to chat and have a good time, but it is a pastime that might be coming to an end. The booming cannabis sector is estimated to be worth US$1.2 billion by next year, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has said. However, the government is looking to stamp out cannabis culture with a ban on its recreational use to be rolled out by the end of the year. Medical use would still be permitted. Minister of Public Health Cholnan Srikaew last month described recreational marijuana as a “misuse” of cannabis that has a negative impact on Thai children and could lead to other drug abuses. The draft law banning recreational use of cannabis is be up for cabinet approval later this month.
UNITED STATES
Judge delays Trump trial
The New York judge presiding over former president Donald Trump’s trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs on Friday ordered a delay in proceedings that had been scheduled to start on March 25. “Trial on this matter is adjourned for 30 days from the date of this letter on consent of the People,” Judge Juan Merchan said in a court filing that would push the trial to at least the middle of next month. The exact date would be determined at a hearing on March 25 that would also address complaints by the defense team about the disclosure of evidence ahead of trial, the letter said. Prosecutors preparing to try Trump on Thursday said they would accept a delay of up to 30 days after both sides received a deluge of case documents.
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
In the week before his fatal shooting, right-wing US political activist Charlie Kirk cheered the boom of conservative young men in South Korea and warned about a “globalist menace” in Tokyo on his first speaking tour of Asia. Kirk, 31, who helped amplify US President Donald Trump’s agenda to young voters with often inflammatory rhetoric focused on issues such as gender and immigration, was shot in the neck on Wednesday at a speaking event at a Utah university. In Seoul on Friday last week, he spoke about how he “brought Trump to victory,” while addressing Build Up Korea 2025, a conservative conference
China has approved the creation of a national nature reserve at the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島), claimed by Taiwan and the Philippines, the government said yesterday, as Beijing moves to reinforce its territorial claims in the contested region. A notice posted online by the Chinese State Council said that details about the area and size of the project would be released separately by the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration. “The building of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve is an important guarantee for maintaining the diversity, stability and sustainability of the natural ecosystem of Huangyan Island,” the notice said. Scarborough
DEADLOCK: Putin has vowed to continue fighting unless Ukraine cedes more land, while talks have been paused with no immediate results expected, the Kremlin said Russia on Friday said that peace talks with Kyiv were on “pause” as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week. The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus. Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there
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