News in Brief(3-5-2018)

FE Team | Published: May 02, 2018 20:18:41

China’s foreign minister arrives in N Korea
PYONGYANG (North Korea), May 2: China's foreign minister arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday, the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit North Korea in years as Beijing tries to mend fences with its nuclear-armed neighbour. The two-day visit by Wang Yi follows a landmark inter-Korean summit and precedes a meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in coming weeks. Wang, who will meet his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho during his stay, was greeted by vice foreign minister Ri Kil Song and other officials at Pyongyang airport. The two top diplomats met in Beijing last month, days after Kim travelled to China for talks with President Xi Jinping. — AFP
Indian court convicts gangster over journalist murder
MUMBAI, May 2: An Indian court on Wednesday convicted notorious gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others of murdering a senior journalist in a drive-by shooting in Mumbai seven years ago. Jyotirmoy Dey, a crime reporter who specialised on gangland activities for the Mid-day tabloid, was shot dead in broad daylight on June 11, 2011. Prosecutors said Rajan had ordered the hit because he was unhappy about negative articles that Dey had written about him. A special court in India's financial capital of Mumbai found Rajan guilty of ordering the contract killing of the 56-year-old. It also convicted eight henchmen, including four shooters. They and Rajan are expected to be sentenced later Wednesday. — AFP
Protests against Thai military govt
Bangkok, May 2: Hundreds gathered outside the United Nations' regional headquarters in Bangkok and two other locations on Wednesday to urge Thailand's military government to end what they say is the intimidation of community activists by authorities. The demonstration was one of the largest displays of displeasure against Thailand's unelected government in recent months. It was organised by the People's Movement for Just Society, or P-Move, a network that represents farmers, the urban poor and indigenous people who have been forced from their land. The protest underscores growing public disgruntlement ahead of a general election that the military government has repeatedly delayed. The latest date has been set for 2019. Thailand was rocked by often deadly, on-off street protests between 2008 and 2014. The ruling junta has clamped down on freedom of expression since a 2014 coup and has banned public gatherings, saying its actions were necessary to keep the peace ahead of the 2019 vote. — Reuters