Asia/Oceania

Secrecy around executions continues to plague some Southeast Asian countries, with newly released figures showing the “disturbing” use of the death penalty in Vietnam, Amnesty International says. At least 1032 people were executed worldwide in 2016, while at least 3117 were sentenced to death, according to Amnesty International’s global report. The figures exclude the thousands of executions believed to have taken place in China. Amnesty says Vietnam continues to classify figures on the death penalty as state secrets. In February 2017, Vietnam media reported statistics by the ministry of public security showing 429 people had been executed between August 2013 and June 2016. A toddler is dead after he was hit by a car in the driveway of a home on the Victoria-NSW border. The 3-yearold boy died in hospital after he was struck in the driveway on Cramp Road in Robinvale. Police say the incident is being treated as an accident. An Australian rapper allegedly racked up a $670 bill while dining for four hours at a beach-side restaurant and then dived into the sea to avoid paying, prompting a police pursuit on a jet ski. A Queensland court heard that 33-year-old Terry Peck, who goes by the professional name “2pec”, is thought to have consumed two lobster mornays, 21 oyster vodka shots, a baby octopus and “a number of coronas”. But when handed the bill, Peck ran into the sea in an effort to evade the restaurant staff at Omeros Bros Seafood Restaurant, in Main Beach. Peck was charged with stealing and two counts of seriously assaulting a police officer. He is due back in court on May 4.