HONG KONG: Hong Kong officials said yesterday they had smashed a syndicate that used fake documents to smuggle mainland Chinese into Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Australia. The immigration department said 28 arrests were made in a joint operation with mainland Chinese authorities that ended yesterday, adding the ring had smuggled some 50 people since 2011.
Fukushima back on cooling path
TOKYO: A system keeping spent atomic fuel cool at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that stopped yesterday was back up and running a few hours later, its operator said. Tokyo Electric Power said it had fixed the problem around 5.20pm, roughly three hours after technicians confirmed that the cooling system was not working for the used fuel pool attached to reactor 3 at the complex.
Tributes paid to veterans
MANILA: The Philippine Veterans’ Week yesterday started with ceremonies that recognised the sacrifices of heroes who fought for the country’s freedom. Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Col Arnulfo Burgos Jr said activities were meant to inspire the public to emulate the heroism of the war veterans. The week started with a “sunrise ceremony,” wherein veterans honoured their fallen comrades.
Vietnam hero farmer jailed
HANOI: A fish farmer who became a cult hero in Vietnam after fighting off an illegal eviction with homemade guns and mines was jailed yesterday for five years for attempted murder in a case that has stirred public anger over state-backed land grabs. Doan Van Vuon, two of his brothers and a nephew, were given jail terms of between two and five years for injuring seven police and soldiers in northern Haiphong last January. The government offered land leases of 20 years to farmers as part of pro-peasant policies in the 1990s, but critics say corrupt state officials have allowed illegal seizures in return for kickbacks from businesses.
Blast kills two Thai officials
BANGKOK: A bomb blast killed two provincial officials yesterday in Thailand’s insurgency-plagued south, authorities said, blaming the attack on rebel fighters seeking to derail peace talks. The Deputy Governor of Yala province, Issara Thongthawat, was killed along with Yala Permanent Secretary responsible for security, Chavalit Krairisk, after a roadside bomb struck their vehicle. More than 5,500 people have been killed in nine years of bloodshed in tje Muslim-majority south near the border with Malaysia.
Eight perish in Myanmar riots
JAKARTA: Muslim and Buddhist refugees from Myanmar clashed at a refugee camp in Indonesia yesterday in a riot in which eight people were killed and 15 wounded, media reported. They used wooden sticks, knives and iron bars to attack each other during a two-hour clash at an immigration centre in Sumatra island, police added. More than 20 people were arrested.
REUTERS
