TOKYO: The government promised yesterday to examine the voting system after courts ruled that some general election results were unconstitutional. Judges said the disparity in the number of voters in some constituencies meant the value of each vote varied greatly to be fair. Despite the ruling, which affects three seats, results from last December’s general election which swept Shinzo Abe to power will not be overturned.
BBC suspends Lanka services
LONDON: The BBC said yesterday it was suspending World Service FM radio broadcasts in Sri Lanka due to “continued interruption and interference” in its Tamil programming. English and Tamil services broadcast via Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation will be stopped with immediate effect, it said.
Pangolins seized by Thai navy
BANGKOK: The Thai navy yesterday said it had intercepted wildlife traffickers attempting to smuggle 104 endangered pangolins to China on the Mekong River. The creatures, prized for their skin, scales and meat and hunted in Southeast Asia, are believed to have originated in Malaysia or southern Thailand. The pangolins were on their way to Laos and then finally China. Two suspects were arrested.
Taiwan to hold major army drill
TAIPEI: Taiwan yesterday unveiled plans for its biggest live fire military exercise since 2008 to review its defence capability against a simulated Chinese invasion. The operation will take place on April 17 on the Penghu islands in the middle of the strait that separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland.
Cameras for tigers census
DHAKA: Bangladesh is to launch next month a census of tigers living in the world’s largest mangrove forest to determine the extent of the threat to their survival. Yunus Ali, head of the forestry department, said conservationists would fan out across the Bangladeshi side of the Sundarbans to fix cameras on trees to obtain accurate estimates of tiger numbers since the last census in 2004.
Inquest into US scientist set
SINGAPORE: A coroner’s inquiry into the death of a US scientist found hanged in the city-state starts on May 13, prosecutors said yesterday. The case involves Shane Todd, whose parents believe he may have been murdered because of his work for a Singapore institute with alleged links to a Chinese firm seen by the US as a security threat. He was found dead in his apartment last June.
Paralytic gets $2m payout
TOKYO: A Japanese man who became quadriplegic after the front wheel of his Italian Bianchi-brand bicycle came off has been awarded $2m, reports said. The Tokyo District Court ordered the Japanese importer of Bianchi bicycles to pay 189mn yen to him in damages, in addition to 38m yen to reimburse his insurer. Hiroshi Nakajima, 63, filed the suit against importer Cycleurope Japan after he fell and injured his spine in August 2008.
Agencies
