JAPAN
Eight die after capsizing
Eight people died after a South Korean-flagged tanker capsized yesterday, the Japan Coast Guard said. “They were confirmed dead at a hospital,” a spokesman said. One other person was in a non-life-threatening condition, while two others remained missing. The chemicals tanker had 11 people on board — two South Koreans, eight Indonesians and one Chinese — the coast guard said. The tanker was carrying 980 tonnes of acrylic acid, but there was no information on whether that compound had leaked into the ocean, it said.
VIETNAM
President resigns amid purge
President Vo Van Thuong has resigned after just one year in the job, state media announced yesterday, as the communist country mounts a sweeping anti-graft purge. The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said Thuong was guilty of “violations and shortcomings” and his resignation was accepted by the party’s central committee. The 53-year-old’s dramatic fall comes as the country undergoes major political upheaval, with his predecessor also forced out in an anti-corruption drive. VNA said Thuong had contravened unspecified “regulations” and failed to set a proper example as head of state.
SOUTH KOREA
Seoul starts medical reforms
The government yesterday announced the allocation of 2,000 new medical school admission slots nationwide every year, moving ahead with a reform plan to create more doctors, despite a crippling month-long strike by medics opposed to it. Hospitals have been forced to cancel crucial treatments and surgeries since thousands of trainee doctors stopped working on Feb. 20 to protest proposed training reforms, but the government has vowed not to back down. The Korean Medical Association, a representative body for doctors, criticized the allocation announcement, saying it would “burn the last bridge for compromise” leading to “catastrophic consequences.”
NEW ZEALAND
Disposable vapes face ban
The government yesterday said it would ban disposable e-cigarettes, or vapes, and raise financial penalties for those who sell such products to minors. The move comes less than a month after the government repealed a unique law to phase out tobacco smoking by imposing a lifetime ban on young people buying cigarettes. Under the new laws, retailers that sell vapes to children under 18 would face up to NZ$100,000 (US$60,296) in fines, while individuals would be fined NZ$1,000.
AUSTRALIA
Yoga burglar steals croissant
A woman caught on security cameras doing a yoga routine before allegedly breaking into a bakery and stealing an almond croissant, a pair of shoes and some cleaning products has been charged, police said yesterday. An unnamed woman — dressed in a black leather jacket, ripped black jeans and black shoes — was captured on security cameras stretching for at least two minutes in a Melbourne bakery’s parking lot in the dead of night. After busting out a bridge pose, a sort of side plank and various other yoga-inspired maneuvers, she appeared to enter Phillippa’s Bakery headquarters. She has been charged with theft, burglary and going equipped to steal, police said. The bakery wrote on Instagram that it was “quite surprised” when it saw the footage. “Seems like yoga is a must before breaking in. A few things were stolen including some croissants which were clearly too tempting for this flexible burglar,” the bakery said.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long
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