JAPAN
Death penalty defended
Minister of Justice Hideki Makihara said abolishing the death penalty would be “inappropriate,” despite the recent acquittal of the world’s longest-serving death-row prisoner. The policy — always carried out by hanging — “would be inappropriate to abolish,” as “heinous crimes continue to occur,” Makihara told reporters on Wednesday after being nominated by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba the previous day. He pledged to be “cautious and extremely sincere” when making the decision to sentence someone to death, Nippon Television reported.
SINGAPORE
Ex-minister sentenced
Former minister of transportation S. Iswaran was yesterday sentenced to 12 months in prison for obstruction of justice and accepting illegal gifts. Iswaran was charged this year with 35 counts mostly related to graft. His sentence was more severe than the six-to-seven months requested by the prosecution, which High Court Justice Vincent Hoong said would have been “manifestly inadequate” given the impact of the case on public trust. “Trust and confidence in public institutions are the bedrock of effective governance, which can all too easily be undermined by the appearance that an individual public servant has fallen below the standards of integrity and accountability,” Hoong said as he delivered the sentence.
UNITED KINGDOM
Johnson interview canceled
The BBC canceled an interview with former prime minister Boris Johnson after Laura Kuenssberg, one of its presenters, sent him the notes prepared for her questions. Kuenssberg, the host of the BBC’s Sunday morning news program, said she sent Johnson the notes “in a message meant for my team” and this meant the interview had to be canceled. “It’s very frustrating, and there’s no point pretending it’s anything other than embarrassing and disappointing, as there are plenty of important questions to be asked, but red faces aside, honesty is the best policy,” Kuenssberg wrote on X.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Deportation plans unveiled
The government on Wednesday unveiled a plan to start expelling 10,000 undocumented Haitians a week as part of a crackdown on migration from its neighbor. “This operation aims to reduce the excessive migrant populations detected in Dominican communities,” presidential spokesman Homero Figueroa said, adding the expulsions would start “immediately” and be done “according to strict protocols that ensure respect for human rights.”
MEXICO
Migrants killed in shooting
Six international migrants are dead after soldiers opened fire on a truck carrying a group near the border with Guatemala, the Department of Defense said on Wednesday. The soldiers claimed they heard shots as the trucks and two other vehicles approached their position late on Tuesday in Chiapas state, near the town of Huixtla, the department said in a statement. Two soldiers opened fire on the truck, which was carrying migrants from Egypt, Nepal, Cuba, India, Pakistan and at least one other country, it said. Soldiers then approached the truck and found four of the migrants dead and 12 wounded, it said, adding that two of the wounded later died of their injuries. The department did not say whether the migrants died as a result of army fire, or whether any weapons were found in the truck.
An endangered baby pygmy hippopotamus that shot to social media stardom in Thailand has become a lucrative source of income for her home zoo, quadrupling its ticket sales, the institution said Thursday. Moo Deng, whose name in Thai means “bouncy pork,” has drawn tens of thousands of visitors to Khao Kheow Open Zoo this month. The two-month-old pygmy hippo went viral on TikTok and Instagram for her cheeky antics, inspiring merchandise, memes and even craft tutorials on how to make crocheted or cake-based Moo Dengs at home. A zoo spokesperson said that ticket sales from the start of September to Wednesday reached almost
‘BARBAROUS ACTS’: The captain of the fishing vessel said that people in checkered clothes beat them with iron bars and that he fell unconscious for about an hour Ten Vietnamese fishers were violently robbed in the South China Sea, state media reported yesterday, with an official saying the attackers came from Chinese-flagged vessels. The men were reportedly beaten with iron bars and robbed of thousands of dollars of fish and equipment on Sunday off the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), which Taiwan claims, as do Vietnam, China, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. Vietnamese media did not identify the nationalities of the attackers, but Phung Ba Vuong, an official in central Quang Ngai province, told reporters: “They were Chinese, [the boats had] Chinese flags.” Four of the 10-man Vietnamese crew were rushed
CHINESE ICBM: The missile landed near the EEZ of French Polynesia, much to the surprise and concern of the president, who sent a letter of protest to Beijing Fijian President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere called for “respect for our region” and a stop to missile tests in the Pacific Ocean, after China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Katonivere recalled the Pacific Ocean’s history as a nuclear weapons testing ground, and noted Wednesday’s rare launch by China of an ICBM. “There was a unilateral test firing of a ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean. We urge respect for our region and call for cessation of such action,” he said. The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the
As violence between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Iran is walking a tightrope by supporting Hezbollah without being dragged into a full-blown conflict and playing into its enemy’s hands. With a focus on easing its isolation and reviving its battered economy, Iran is aware that war could complicate efforts to secure relief from crippling sanctions. Cross-border fire between Israel and Hezbollah, sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has intensified, especially after last week’s sabotage on Hezbollah’s communications that killed 39 people. Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon followed, killing hundreds. Hezbollah retaliated with rocket barrages. Despite the surge in