THAILAND
Dozens flee scam center
Thirty-nine foreigners have fled an online scam center in Myanmar across the border to Thailand, where officials are working to identify potential trafficking victims, police said yesterday. The group from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia and Russia crossed into Tak province, the police chief in the city of Mae Sot said. They had fled from Myawaddy just across the border, Colonel Pittayakorn Petcharat said. Sri Lanka’s embassy had asked Thai authorities for help after it was informed that 32 of its citizens were trapped in Myanmar, Petcharat said. Five Nepalis, one Malaysian and one Russian were also in the group that arrived in Thailand. AFP has contacted the embassies of the four countries for comment.
SOUTH KOREA
Opposition leader cleared
Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was yesterday cleared of charges that he forced a witness to commit perjury, the Seoul Central District Court said. Lee thanked the court for “bringing back truth and justice” after the ruling as his supporters cheered. He had been accused of ordering a witness in a 2019 trial related to an election law violation to give false testimony. The leader of the Democratic Party still faces several other trials, including for bribery and other charges mostly tied to a US$1 billion property development scandal.
NEW ZEALAND
Stranded whales saved
More than 30 pilot whales stranded on a beach were on Sunday safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, the Department of Conservation said. A team was yesterday monitoring Ruaaka Beach near the city of Whangarei to ensure there were no signs of the whales stranding again, the department said, praising as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod. “It’s amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals,” department spokesman Joel Lauterbach said in a statement. “This response demonstrates the deep connection we all share with our marine environment.”
MALAYSIA
Swatch wins Pride suit
The Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday ordered the Ministry of the Interior to return dozens of watches seized in a crackdown on LGBTQ-themed Swatch timpieces last year, a federal counsel said. The 172 watches, worth about US$14,000, were seized in raids of Swatch stores across the nation in May last year. An official said the watches were taken because they bore the “LGBTQ” acronym and depicted the six colors globally synonymous with the rainbow Pride flag. The government subsequently banned the watches, warning that owners or sellers could face up to three years in prison. Swatch said the products “did not promote any sexual activity, but merely a fun and joyous expression of peace and love.”
JAPAN
Weasel steals shoes
Police thought a shoe thief was on the loose at a kindergarten in Fukuoka Prefecture until a security camera caught the furry culprit in action. A weasel with a tiny shoe in its mouth was spotted on the video footage after police installed three cameras in the school. “It’s great it turned out not to be a human being,” Deputy Police Chief Hiroaki Inada said on Sunday. Teachers and parents had feared it could be a disturbed person with a shoe fetish.
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
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