News in Brief(2023-08-04)

FE Team | Published: August 03, 2023 23:20:14

N Korea confirms custody of US soldier
SEOUL, Aug 03: North Korea has confirmed custody of Travis King in its first response to requests for information on the US soldier's whereabouts, the UN Command has said. The 23-year-old private dashed across the border from South Korea on 18 July while on a guided tour. The UN Command said it would not give more details about Pyongyang's response at this time. It said it "did not want to interfere with the efforts to bring him home". However, the reply indicates Pyongyang could be ready to start negotiating. — BBC
Thai parliament delays PM vote
BANGKOK, Aug 03: Thailand's parliament on Thursday postponed a vote to choose a new prime minister after a Constitutional Court ruling, prolonging the kingdom's political deadlock nearly three months after an election. The reformist Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May's polls but fell well short of a majority, and an eight-party coalition was not enough to get its leader Pita Limjaroenrat approved as premier. — AFP
Beijing floods: 21 deaths, 26 missing
ZHUOZHOU, China, Aug 3 (AP): China's capital has recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the region, turning streets into canals where emergency crews used rubber boats to rescue stranded residents. The city recorded 744.8 millimeters (29.3 inches) of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau said Wednesday. The number of confirmed deaths from the torrential rains around Beijing rose to 21 on Wednesday after the body of a rescuer was recovered. At least 26 people remain missing from the rains. — AP
Egyptian 'unfairly' jailed in Saudi: HRW
DUBAI, Aug 03: An Egyptian psychiatrist jailed in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to prison on terrorism charges following an "unfair trial" triggered by a salary dispute, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. Sabri Shalabi, 66, was taken from his home in the coastal Saudi city of Al-Wajh by plainclothes police officers in January 2020 and last year was hit with a 10-year prison term over alleged links to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, according to the New York-based rights group. But "Saudi prosecutors based the charges largely on forced confessions and apparently in retaliation for a work-related dispute," HRW added. Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf states view the Muslim Brotherhood as a "terrorist" organisation. -AFP
13 hurt in S Korean 'stabbing rampage'
SEOUL, Aug 03: A man went on a "stabbing rampage" near a South Korean subway station, police said Thursday, with as many as 13 people reported wounded two weeks after a similar attack killed one person. The attack took place near the Seohyeon subway station in Bundang, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southeast of Seoul, an official at the National Police Agency told AFP. The suspect "had been arrested at the scene", the official said. The Yonhap News Agency reported that 13 people had been wounded in the incident. Unverified images of Thursday's attack showed what appeared to be a floor stained with blood drops and at least one emergency medical helicopter. — AFP
Typhoon leaves two dead in Japan
TOKYO, Aug 03: Typhoon Khanun pounded Japan's southwestern Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures with heavy rain and gusty winds for a second straight day on Thursday, leaving two dead and moving so slowly its damaging impact could be prolonged. Khanun, which means "jackfruit" in Thai, was heading slowly northwest in the East China Sea as of early afternoon, with sustained winds of 162 kph (100 mph) and gusts of up to 234 kph (145 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said, adding that they no longer forecast it to directly hit China. An elderly woman in Okinawa died when her house apparently caught fire because she was using candles since the power had failed, NHK public television said. — Reuters