INDONESIA BOOSTS SECURITY FOR CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR

JAKARTA: Indonesia will deploy some 180,000 security personnel ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, authorities said on Friday, following the arrests of more than a dozen suspected militants in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country. Thirteen suspected militants were arrested in separate, pre- emptive raids across the Southeast Asian nation earlier this month. Many of the suspects were proven to have links to the Islamic State group or had fought in Syria. Police spokesman Martinus Sitompul said no specific terror threats had been detected since the arrests, but security would be boosted to safeguard churches and public spaces between December 22 to January 2. About 70,000 people from other government agencies and civil society groups—including the country’s largest Islamic youth organization—would assist security personnel, Sitompul said.

FOUNDER OF SKOREA’S LOTTE GROUP GIVEN 4 YEARS JAIL

SEOUL: The wheelchair-bound nonagenarian founder of South Korea’s embattled Lotte retail conglomerate was convicted of embezzlement and breach of duty on Friday and sentenced to four years in prison. Shin was convicted of embezzling at least 128.6 billion won ($119 million) from the firm to the benefit of his relatives and given a four-year sentence, although the court allowed him to remain free on health grounds pending an appeal—he has diseases of old age, including dementia. He caused 77.8 billion won in damages to the group by renting out Lotte Cinema’s shopping malls at discounted rates to his eldest daughter and mistress, the court ruled. The founder, three of his children, and his mistress were all in the dock on multiple charges at the Seoul Central District Court. The daughter was jailed for two years, while the mistress was given a suspended sentence. Shin and his son and successor Dong-Bin were also found guilty of giving another son, Dong-joo, and the mistress a total of 50.8 billon won ($47.2 million) in wages from Lotte units in South Korea for whom the two never worked.