GLOBAL SNAPSHOT

Grim discovery

TOKYO: The decomposed bodies of two men, possibly North Korean fishermen, have been found on a beach in central Japan, alongside the wreckage of a boat. The discovery comes just days after a group of eight fishermen, who claimed to be from North Korea, washed up on Japan’s northern coast.

Miss Universe win

LAS VEGAS: A South African business graduate who helps train women in self-defence has been crowned Miss Universe at the pageant in Las Vegas, with Miss Colombia and Miss Jamaica also making it to the final three. Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, 22, who unleashed a big smile when she won, hails from Western Cape Province and recently earned a business management degree. Miss Colombia, aspiring actress Laura Gonzalez, 22, was the first runner-up.

Hope in sub search

BUENOS AIRES: Searchers for an Argentine submarine missing since November 15 battled galeforce South Atlantic winds while a navy spokesman held out hope that the 44 crew members may still be alive. The ARA San Juan had only a seven-day supply of air when it reported its last position. Relatives of the crew focused on the possibility that the submarine may have refilled its oxygen tanks at some point after its disappearance.

Big quake warning

WELLINGTON: A New Zealand scientist has warned that a previously dormant fault could generate “megathrust” earthquakes of up to magnitude 9.0 in the Pacific country and trigger massive tsunamis. “We need to think Japan 2011 basically, because if our whole plate boundary ruptured it would be a magnitude-9 earthquake,” geologist Ursula Cochran said.

Election limbo

TEGUCIGALPA: Hondurans waited anxiously with no results released hours after polls closed for the presidential election, while both the President and his main challenger claimed victory after what appeared to be a heavy turnout. Authorities urged calm while the ballots were tallied, but gave no time estimate for when results might be reported.

Trump weighs in

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: US President Donald Trump said electing a Democrat as Alabama’s next senator “would be a disaster”, making clear the success of his legislative agenda outweighed widespread repulsion at the prospect of seating Republican Roy Moore, who is dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct. The claims have made the election a referendum on “the character of the country”, said Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.