JAPAN
DPP leader admits affair
Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People (DPP), said that a tabloid report about his extramarital affair with a model was “basically true.” “I apologize for the trouble caused,” Tamaki told reporters at a hastily called news conference after tabloid SmartFlash yesterday reported the affair. Despite the scandal, Tamaki retained the unanimous support of the party’s lawmakers to stay on as party leader, DPP Secretary-General Kazuya Shimba told reporters. SmartFlash reported that Tamaki, 55, and a 39-year-old model and entertainer rendezvoused in July and last month.
AUSTRALIA
Chef Oliver withdraws book
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has withdrawn his latest children’s book from sale after criticism it stereotyped members of the indigenous community. Billy and the Epic Escape, released in May, contains a passage where an indigenous Australian girl living in foster care is abducted by the story’s villain — a sensitive issue in a country where indigenous children were for decades forcibly removed from their parents. It also contained errors made by mixing different indigenous languages. “I am devastated to have caused offence and apologise wholeheartedly,” the Guardian reported Oliver, who is currently in Australia promoting his latest cookbook, as saying in a statement on Sunday. “It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue. Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.” Oliver’s publisher Penguin Random House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SINGAPORE
Priest ‘stabber’ charged
A Singaporean man was yesterday charged with stabbing a priest celebrating a weekend Mass, court papers showed, but the Ministry of Home Affairs said there was no evidence the attack was religiously motivated or an act of terror. Basnayake Keith Spencer, 37, is accused of using a foldable knife to stab parish priest Christopher Lee Kwong Heng, 57, in the mouth during Saturday’s evening Mass at St Joseph’s Church in the upmarket Bukit Timah District, the charge sheet showed. Spencer was disarmed and held by members of the congregation until police officers arrived. Among the four other weapons on him were a penknife and a mallet, authorities said. Spencer was charged with voluntarily causing grievous hurt using a weapon likely to cause death, which carries a life sentence, or up to 15 years in jail, along with a caning and a fine. Media said he was not represented in court. His motive for the attack was not immediately clear. The ministry said he had a history of offenses of causing serious hurt and drug use. The priest, who suffered cuts to his tongue, upper lip and a corner of his mouth, is recovering in hospital.
MEXICO
Mariachis ‘break’ record
More than 1,000 mariachis on Sunday gathered in Mexico City’s main plaza, strumming guitars and singing classics like Cielito Lindo to end a mariachi congress celebrating the musical form. The number of musicians apparently topped the previous record of 700 mariachis at an earlier gathering in the city of Guadalajara. The Guinness World Records organization has not replied to a message from The Associated Press asking whether Sunday’s gathering broke the previous record. The musicians, many of whom had traveled from other cities, expressed their joy at singing in the giant iconic plaza, saying the music is a family tradition they start learning at a young age.
A beauty queen who pulled out of the Miss South Africa competition when her nationality was questioned has said she wants to relocate to Nigeria, after coming second in the Miss Universe pageant while representing the West African country. Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, was crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania and was runner-up to Denmark’s Victoria Kjar Theilvig in Mexico on Saturday night. The 23-year-old law student withdrew from the Miss South Africa competition in August, saying that she needed to protect herself and her family after the government alleged that her mother had stolen the identity of a South
BELT-TIGHTENING: Chinese investments in Cambodia are projected to drop to US$35 million in 2026 from more than US$420 million in 2021 At a ceremony in August, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hoped would transform his country’s economic fortunes. Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49 percent to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that would link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on Vietnam. Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project would cost US$1.7 billion, nearly 4 percent of the nation’s annual GDP. However, months later,
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
RSS