CAMBODIA
Ministry explains explosion
A huge explosion at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured many others was an accident caused by a “technical issue” stemming from the old and degraded ammunition that was being moved, the Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The ministry’s statement followed an allegation leveled by an opposition politician-in-exile suggesting that the explosion had been an attack. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy wrote on Facebook that an armed group of anti-government dissidents had caused the blast. The ministry warned that anyone publishing untrue information about the blast could face prosecution.
INDIA
Spice testing ordered
The Food Safety and Standards Authority yesterday said that it had ordered nationwide testing and inspections at all companies making spice mixes as global regulators investigate contamination issues with three spice-blends made by MDH and an Everest spice mix for fish curry. The agency ordered officials to conduct “extensive inspections, sampling and testing at all the manufacturing units” for powdered spices, with a focus on those making curry powders and mixed spice blends for local and foreign sales.
NORWAY
Sex offender seeks ‘right’
A convicted sex offender is asking the Supreme Court to declare social media access to be a human right. The case before the court yesterday involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging app to connect with boys. The unnamed offender was sentenced last year to 13 months in prison and banned from using Snapchat for two years. His lawyers argue that depriving him of his account is unlawful under the European Convention on Human Rights.
FRANCE
Mudslide kills woman
A mudslide killed a 57-year-old woman, local authorities said yesterday. “An intense and highly localized precipitation event triggered ... a mudslide in the village of Courmelles” about 90k northeast of Paris, the local prefecture said in a statement. The mud “plunged into an area with around 10 homes and built up especially in one house,” Courmelles Mayor Arnaud Svrcek said. With about 1.5m of water in the house, “the husband was able to escape with bruises to the head, but the lady was swept away,” he said.
MEXICO
Remains animals, not human
Skeletal remains discovered in an alleged clandestine grave in Mexico City are those of animals, not humans, prosecutors said on Wednesday. “The 14 bone elements found at the site are of animal origin, particularly of the canine species, and none of them correspond to any person,” Mexico City Prosecutor Ulises Lara said in a statement. Cecilia Flores, who leads the Searching Mothers group, posted on social media on Tuesday the discovery of the remains buried in a vacant lot. The group also found photographs and identification, she said. However, as of midday on Wednesday, a woman and a child who some of the documents belonged to were found alive, the first having lost her ID in a robbery and the child having left his in a book that was discarded. Lara said that with a town nearby, it would be difficult to cremate bodies without the townspeople realizing it. “We can categorically affirm that it is neither a crematorium nor a clandestine grave,” he said.
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
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