The Mercury

Defamation of former Thai king: 5 held

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BANGKOK: Five people have been charged with lese-majesty offences in Thailand, police confirmed yesterday, amid increasing public aggression towards those allegedly defaming late king Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last week aged 88.

Deputy police chief Srivara Ransibrahm­anakul said the five stand accused of defaming the late monarch on social media.

He also urged Thais to refrain from sharing posts deemed to be defaming or insulting the royal family online.

Thailand’s lese-majesty law is one of the toughest in the world. Those found in violation can face up to 15 years in jail.

Thais were urged to remain calm and not take matters into their own hands following reports of physical and verbal abuse against those considered to have defamed the late king. – dpa

Yemen truce holds

SANA’A: Parties to the war in Yemen for the most part adhered to a 72-hour truce that began just before midnight on Wednesday and the capital Sana’a passed its first night in three months without air strikes, residents and officials said.

The truce was effectivel­y holding across Yemen, despite small breaches in the provinces of Taiz, Hajja and Mareb, officials said.

“It was a quiet night. We slept without explosions,” said Bassam, a worker at a grocery store in Sana’a. “We hope this war ends soon; people are tired. We want to live, not to die.”

The UN announced the ceasefire between warring factions this week.

Several ceasefires have failed to end the conflict, although they have significan­tly slowed fighting in the war, which has killed at least 10 000 people. – Reuters

Ukraine peace plan

BERLIN: The leaders of the so-called Normandy format group comprising Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France have agreed on a new roadmap for peace in eastern Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after discussion­s yesterday.

The leaders of the Normandy format group met on Wednesday in Berlin for talks over implementa­tion of the Minsk agreement for eastern Ukraine, including how to work on its security and political aspects. At the joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande, Merkel noted that Germany and France would continue to support the Minsk process to bring a more stable condition to eastern Ukraine.

The Minsk peace agreement, aimed at ending the conflict, was reached by the Normandy group leaders in February 2015 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. – Xunhua

N Korea under fire

SEOUL: South Korea has strongly condemned a failed North Korean missile test – its second this week – according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The failed missile launch, apparently starting from the north-western city of Kusong, was confirmed by both the US and South Korean militaries.

The launch was “a clear violation of UN Security Council resolution­s, regardless of whether it succeeded or not,” Yonhap quoted South Korea’s foreign ministry. “The launch would only “aggravate North Korea’s internatio­nal and economic isolation.” The missile exploded shortly after take-off. – dpa

Bullfighti­ng ban lifted

MADRID: Spain’s top court has overruled a local ban against bullfighti­ng in the powerful northeaste­rn region of Catalonia, saying it goes against a national law protecting the spectacle.

The constituti­onal court ruled yesterday that Catalan authoritie­s could regulate such public spectacles, and even ban them, but in this case parliament’s ruling that bullfighti­ng is part of Spain’s heritage must prevail.

Catalonia stirred controvers­y when it banned bullfighti­ng in 2010, becoming Spain’s second region to do so after Canary Islands in 1991.

The decision was part of the growing movement against bullfighti­ng but it was also seen as another step in the Catalan government’s push to break away from Spain. The ban had little effect as Catalonia had only one functionin­g bullring in its capital Barcelona. – AP

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