Unrest in south Thailand
Thai police yesterday reported 22 attacks, including at least five small bomb blasts, in Muslim-majority southern Thailand only hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed a new constitution on Thursday as a step towards ending military rule.There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attacks in the region where there has been a recent upsurge in a decades-old Muslim separatist insurgency.
Mayor faces abuse claims
A lawsuit filed yesterday accuses Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of sexually molesting a teenage high-school dropout in the 1980s, and in interviews with The Seattle Times, two other men claim he abused them. The mayor denied the allegations through his spokesman Jeff Reading. ‘‘These false accusations are intended to damage a prominent elected official who has been a defender of vulnerable populations for decades. It is not a coincidence that this shakedown effort comes within weeks of the campaign filing deadline. These unsubstantiated assertions, dating back three decades, are categorically false.’’ Murray was elected mayor in 2013 after a long career in the Legislature, where he led efforts to legalise gay marriage in the state.
New terror attack victim
A woman who was injured in the March 22 attack on Westminster has died, police said yesterday, taking the death toll from the incident to six including the attacker. Police said they believed the woman, who died on Thursday, was Andreea Cristea, a Romanian national who had been visiting London at the time of the attack. Police have said she fell into the River Thames from Westminster Bridge after being driven at by Khalid Masood who ploughed a rented car into pedestrians and stabbed a policeman to death before being shot dead.
Opposition leader arrested
Police in the Maldives have arrested an opposition party leader on a charge of plotting to overthrow the government, a move the joint opposition condemned yesterday as intensifying the crackdown on political opponents. Jumhooree Party leader and lawmaker Qasim Ibrahim had signed an agreement with others last month to try to restore democracy in the archipelago nation, and the joint opposition said his arrest was aimed at obstructing the work of the alliance, which it said has threatened the power of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Qasim was arrested Thursday evening (local time) on the charges of ‘‘attempting to influence no confidence motions against the Speaker of Parliament’’ and ‘‘plotting to overthrow the government,’’ according to the joint opposition’s statement.
Samsung head in court
The scion of South Korea’s Samsung business empire Lee Jae-yong, has appeared in court on trial for bribery and other charges. Lee listened quietly without speaking yesterday as South Korean prosecutors presented evidence they said showed why and how the 48-year-old used 43 billion won (US$38 million) in corporate funds to bribe the country’s impeached president, Park Geun-hye, and a close confidante in exchange for supporting a smooth leadership transition at Samsung.