HANOI: Vietnam executed its first prisoner by lethal injection yesterday, state media said, after a two-year hiatus in carrying out capital punishments due to problems procuring chemicals. The communist country stopped using firing squads in July 2011 in favour of “more humane” lethal injections but was unable to import drugs due to a EU export ban. In May this year, Vietnam amended the law to allow locally-produced chemicals to be used, a move expected to resume executions. The first death row prisoner Nguyen Anh Tuan was administered three injections “for anaesthesia, paralysing the nervous and muscle system, and stopping the heart”, according an online report in the Thanh Nien newspaper.
Tibetan set himself on fire
KATHMANDU: A Tibetan exile died after setting himself ablaze at a Buddhist monument in Nepal yesterday in an apparent protest against Chinese rule over Tibet, police said. Around 120 Tibetans have set fire to themselves since February 2009, mostly in China. At least 90 have died. “The man in his 40s set himself on fire at the Bouddhanath Stupa temple. He was badly burned,” police said. “He was taken to the Teaching Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.”
UN sends aid to flood victims
SEOUL: The UN World Food Programme said yesterday it had begun distributing 460 tonnes of maize to victims of floods in North Korea that have killed more than 30 people. The aid aims to meet immediate needs of around 38,000 people living in areas of serious crop devastation. Each person will receive 400 grams of maize per day for a month. North Korea has so far reported 33 deaths and 18 people missing.
Cartoonist sorry for comic strip
SINGAPORE: A Singapore cartoonist facing jail time over satirical comic strips depicting the city-state’s courts as biased had proceedings against him dropped yesterday after he apologised. The Attorney-General’s Chambers said it would no longer pursue contempt of court charges against Leslie Chew, 37, after he removed four offending cartoon strips from his “Demon-cratic Singapore” Facebook page.He had been due in court next Monday. Singapore has no maximum penalty for contempt of court, meaning he could have been jailed and fined if found guilty. AGENCIES
