SEOUL: A Chinese cruise boat impounded in South Korea over a commercial dispute with another Chinese firm was awaiting release and clearance for departure yesterday, an official on the South Korean island of Jeju said. The vessel, the Henna, had been due to leave mid-afternoon after its owner put up a 3bn won ($2.76m) bond and it was unclear what was delaying the departure. But the South Korean judge overseeing the case in Jeju had yet to give the go-ahead, an official said.
Suu Kyi meets Dalai Lama
PRAGUE: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has risked prompting Chinese anger after it was confirmed she had a private meeting with the Dalai Lama on the sidelines of a Prague rights conference, its spokesman said yesterday. Beijing has for decades opposed foreign dignitaries meeting Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, who fled his homeland for India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.Beijing, a powerful Myanmar ally and major investor has branded the Dalai Lama an anti-China “separatist” who encourages violence.
Typhoon Man-yi hits Japan
TOKYO: Typhoon Man-yi hit central Japan yesterday as officials issued a “special warning” of heavy rain, amid fears the storm could go on to hit the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The typhoon made landfall in Toyohashi, Aichi prefecture, shortly before 8am, packing gusts of up to 162kmph, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Public broadcaster NHK said a woman in her 70s was missing following a landslide in Shiga prefecture, while six people were injured in other areas due to strong wind. Almost 300,000 households were told to evacuate.
China rejects HK remarks
HONG KONG: China said yesterday it would not tolerate outside interference in the affairs of Hong Kong, rejecting as “thoughtless” a call from British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire for people in the former UK territory to have a genuine political choice. Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of autonomy and an independent judiciary and media under a “one country, two systems” formula.AGENCIES
