MALAYSIA
Meta apologizes to Anwar
Tech giant Meta yesterday apologized for removing social media posts by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. The apology came a day after Anwar’s office summoned Meta representatives to seek an explanation on why the leader’s Facebook and Instagram posts about Haniyeh’s death had been removed. “The content has since been restored with the correct newsworthy label,” Meta said in a statement. Anwar’s posts included a video showing him on a phone call with a Hamas official, offering his condolences. On Instagram, there was a note by Meta, shared by Anwar, that the posts were taken down because of association with “dangerous individuals and organizations.” Anwar’s office had described Meta’s removal of the posts as “a blatant suppression of free expression” and demanded an apology from the tech behemoth.
MEXICO
Mexico pleads Glas’ case
The government on Monday said it had asked that jailed former Ecuadoran vice president Jorge Glas be allowed to go to a third country due to his “critical” health condition. Glas, 54, had sought refuge in the Mexican embassy in Quito when Ecuadoran security forces raided the building on April 5 and held him on corruption charges, prompting a break in diplomatic ties between the two nations. He was later detained at a high-security prison in Guayaquil, a port city in western Ecuador. In a statement, Mexico’s foreign ministry said it asked Ecuador to allow Glas’ safe passage so that he “may be delivered and transferred to a third country” in accordance with the Caracas Convention on diplomatic asylum. Glas was briefly hospitalized on April 8 after refusing to eat, prison authorities and his attorneys said.
AUSTRALIA
Fisher likely killed by croc
Police yesterday said that human remains were found inside a large crocodile suspected of killing a fisherman in the nation’s second fatal attack in about a month. The latest victim was a 40-year-old man who fell from a steep bank on Saturday into the Annan River south of Cooktown in Queensland state. He never surfaced. Wildlife rangers on Monday killed a 4.9m crocodile in a creek 4km from where the man disappeared. The crocodile had scars on its snout like those witnesses described seeing on a reptile in the vicinity of the disappearance, officials said. The human remains found inside the crocodile during an examination in Cooktown were believed to be the missing man, a police statement said. Further testing would be conducted to positively identify the remains.
UNITED STATES
Lynch has emphysema
Hollywood film director David Lynch on Monday said that he was living with emphysema, a chronic lung disease, but it has not forced him into retirement. “Yes, I have emphysema from my many years of smoking,” he wrote on X. Lynch, 78, had originally discussed the diagnosis in an interview published in the British film magazine Sight and Sound, where he said the condition affected his mobility and that he was only able to continue directing remotely, according to multiple media reports. The director framed emphysema, a chronic lung condition that causes shortness of breath, as a “price” for his smoking habit. Lynch said he has not smoked cigarettes in more than two years and that — barring the emphysema diagnosis — he was “in excellent shape.” “I am filled with happiness, and I will never retire,” he wrote. “I want you all to know that I really appreciate your concern.”
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 —
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
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
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