PHILIPPINES
Large quake shakes south
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake yesterday struck off the coast of the southern Philippines, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, but no tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage. The shallow quake hit just before 6:30am about 20km from the village of Barcelona on the east of Mindanao island, USGS said. In Lingig Municipality, where Barcelona is located, local disaster officer Ian Onsing said he was woken by the tremor. “The shaking was quite strong. The things around here were moving. I guess, the shaking took around 10 to 15 seconds,” he said.
NORTH KOREA
Kim blasts flood ‘rumors’
Leader Kim Jong-un accused South Korean media outlets of spreading rumors about flood damage and casualties in his country, state media said yesterday, days after Seoul reached out to offer humanitarian aid. Pyongyang said earlier this week there had been unspecified casualties resulting from the flooding in its northern regions, in addition to damage to thousands of homes. Seoul on Thursday said it was willing to “urgently provide” humanitarian assistance to “North Korean disaster victims” following a South Korean news report that the toll of dead and missing could be as high as 1,500. The report by TV Chosun, which was later picked up by other outlets, also reported on the possible death of rescue workers killed in helicopter crashes. However, Kim slammed the reports for “spreading the false rumor that the human loss ... is expected be over 1,000 or 1,500,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported yesterday. Kim “bitterly censured the inveterate habits and despicable nature of the ROK scum,” referring to South Korea, KCNA said.
NIGERIA
Nine dead amid protests
Security forces clashed with protesters during mass demonstrations over the country’s economic crisis, leaving at least nine people dead, Amnesty International said on Friday. One police officer was killed as the military threatened to intervene to quell any violence. Meanwhile, four people were killed and 34 injured on Thursday when a bomb went off in a crowd of protesters in the conflict-hit northeastern state of Borno, authorities said. Police continued to fire tear gas at protesters in several locations, including the capital, Abuja, as they regrouped on Friday. The military would also intervene if the looting and destruction of public properties witnessed on Thursday continued, Chief of the Defence Staff General Christopher Musa said. “We will not fold our arms and allow this country to be destroyed,” Musa told reporters in Abuja.
VENEZUELA
Leaders call for protests
The nation yesterday braced for fresh protests, after President Nicolas Maduro’s disputed election victory was ratified and a growing number of nations recognized his opposition rival as the true winner. Maduro and the opposition, led by Maria Corina Machado and her presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, have called on their supporters to demonstrate this weekend, in the wake of Sunday’s controversial vote. Meanwhile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay have recognized opposition Gonzalez Urrutia as the true president-elect, joining the US and Peru in rejecting the official results. Machado, who was barred from running herself, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that she was in hiding and “fearing for my life,” along with other opposition leaders. She called on supporters to rally to “assert the truth.”
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
‘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
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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