5 dead, 32 injured in H. Kong coach crash
N. Korean soldier defects
HONG KONG, Dec 1, (Agencies): Five people were killed and 32 injured when a coach carrying Cathay Pacific staff whose CEO is Rupert Hogg to Hong Kong’s airport collided a taxi on Friday, police said, with passengers thrown from the coach’s windows on impact.
The back half of the taxi was completely crushed and both sides of the bus were damaged with traces of blood on the outside following the crash on the island of Tsing Yi.
Police said the collision had happened in the left lane of the main road – the taxi had stopped with its hazard lights on and the coach ploughed into it.
“We believe the taxi was broken down and stopped in the left lane of the road. Around 40 seconds later, a coach hit it from behind,” police superintendent Yip Siuming said.
The coach then lost control, Yip added, hitting the right hand side crash barrier and then the left one and throwing three passengers out of the coach. The 62-year-old driver was also hurled from the vehicle and injured.
The taxi driver, two men and two women coach passengers were killed, according to police. Hong Kong’s hospital authority said one person remained in critical condition and another in serious condition.
The rest of the injured were either stable or had been released from hospital.
Japan prince issues govt criticism:
A senior Japanese prince has issued rare public criticism of the government over plans to spend state funds on religious rites related to the enthronement of a new emperor next year.
Prince Akishino, the younger son of the emperor, will become crown prince in 2019 when his father steps down and his brother Crown Prince Naruhito takes over.
He took the highly unusual step of wading into a controversy about whether using state funds for an enthronement ritual would violate a constitutional principle separating state and religion.
Speaking at a press conference last week that was made public on Friday, he said the Daijosai ritual that will take place in November next year “has a highly religious nature.”
“I wonder if it is appropriate to finance this highly religious thing with state funds,” he said, adding that he had expressed his opposition to the government’s Imperial Household Agency chief but he “didn’t listen to me.”
Local media said agency chief Shinichiro Yamamoto reacted by apologising, but saying the agency had clearly explained its decision-making process to the prince.
N. Korean soldier defects to South:
A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on Saturday across their heavily fortified land border, which the two sides have begun to demilitarise as relations between the Cold War-era foes warm, the South’s military said.
The rare defection came as the two Koreas push ahead with a process of reconciliation in an effort to ease tensions, despite talks between Pyongyang and Washington on the North’s nuclear weapons programme stalling.
The incident did not trigger any gunfire, unlike last year when a North Korean soldier ran across under a hail of bullets from his own side.
“A North Korean soldier was detected crossing the military demarcation line” by South Korean troops using surveillance equipment, the military Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
“Related agencies plan to investigate him regarding the details of how he came to the South,” it said.
1 killed, 2 hurt in S. Korea copter crash:
A South Korean firefighting helicopter crashed into a river in Seoul Saturday, killing one and injuring two others on board, rescue authorities said.
The chopper was hovering over the Han River in eastern Seoul to draw water into its tank when it went down, they said.
The craft had been deployed to fight a bushfire on nearby hills.
Two pilots survived with injuries but a mechanic was killed.
The wildfire on Mount Yeongchuk has since been under control. Police said they were investigating.
Quake strikes off Tanimbar Islands:
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Tanimbar Islands on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake was centered 279 kilometres (173 miles) west of Saumlaki in the Tanimbar Islands, the USGS said. There were no initial reports of injuries or damage. Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes. In 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Manhunt for 87 Indonesia inmates:
Indonesian soldiers and police joined a manhunt on Friday for 87 inmates still on the run after escaping from a prison in the western province of Aceh, officials said.
The 113 inmates who escaped from the Lambaro prison in Banda Aceh on Thursday had hurled water bottles laced with chilis at guards, and used barbells to smash windows, said Sri Puguh Budi Utami, Indonesia’s director of prisons.
Prison authorities quickly recaptured 26 inmates and 87 others were still at large, Utami said.
“We are still chasing the escapees along with the police and military,” she told reporters.
Jailbreaks and riots are common in Indonesian prisons, many of which struggle with overcrowding and a lack of funding.
9 sentenced to death in Vietnam:
Nine drug smugglers were sentenced to death in Vietnam on Friday for selling methamphetamine and heroin in a country with some of the toughest drug laws in the world.
Heroin has long been the drug of choice among users in Vietnam, mostly older men, but synthetic drugs use is on the rise especially among a growing class of hard-partying youth.
The sentences handed down Friday were among the toughest in years and came after a four-long trial in northern Ha Nam province.