By Reuters  July 3, 2023 | 11:50 am GMT+7 A Hanwha Aerospace engineer works on a KAAV (Korean Amphibious Assault Vehicle) at Hanwha Aerospace factory in Changwon, South Korea, March 16, 2023. Photo by Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji South Korea’s factory activity shrank at a steeper pace in June and extended its downturn to a record 12th consecutive month, a survey showed on Monday, underlining the challenges facing the economy as it struggles to mount solid recovery. The survey result comes in stark contrast to other brighter signs of recoveries in the country’s output and exports, suggesting manufacturers’ downbeat sentiment and weak…
Author: Mike Harrison
Authorities offered no motive for the gun violence, which erupted at about 12:35 am local time in a courtyard of grass and pavement between a pair of two-story rowhouse structures in South Baltimore’s Brooklyn Homes community.The two people slain in the hail of gunfire were identified by police only as an 18-year-old woman and a 20-year-old man. As of Sunday afternoon, nine others wounded remained hospitalized, a few of them listed in critical condition, police told reporters.Among the 28 survivors who were injured were an estimated 14 who were under the age of 18, said Richard Worley, acting commissioner of…
A trial court admitted this month a case of sexual harassment and intimidation against the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, an influential lawmaker of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.But the delay in taking action drew global attention when top wrestlers threatened in May to throw their medals into the Ganges, Hinduism’s holiest river, in protest about five months after accusing Singh of groping young women during tournaments.In domestic media interviews, Singh has denied the charges that he sexually harassed the six female wrestlers, who have represented India internationally, with an aide saying…
By Linh Le  July 3, 2023 | 09:14am GMT+7 Malaysian TikToker Kaki Komen has called out fellow self-proclaimed financial experts on TikTok for renting a private jet to create a false image of themselves. The TikToker uploaded a compilation this week in which many TikTokers from his country are seen boarding the same aircraft that none of them actually own, reported The Strait Times. A compilation in which different Malaysian TikTokers appear with the same aircraft. Photo from Kaki Komen’s TikTok Most of these TikTokers captioned their videos with offers to help their followers “earn your first million in six…
Dr. Huynh Tan Vu, professor at the Department of Traditional Medicine, the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy, says that lychees used to be so precious that only the royal family’s members and nobles could eat them. Yang Guifei, consort of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, is known for liking the fruit.Lychees are small round fruits. Their cores are big brown seeds covered in translucent white flesh called aril, which are in turn covered in rough brown shells. When the fruits ripen, the shells turn red. When lychees ripen, their shells turn red. Photo illustration by Freepik When eaten…
Dr. Huynh Tan Vu, professor at the Department of Traditional Medicine, the HCMC University of Medicine and Pharmacy, says that lychees used to be so precious that only the royal family’s members and nobles could eat them. Yang Guifei, consort of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, is known for liking the fruit.Lychees are small round fruits. Their cores are big brown seeds covered in translucent white flesh called aril, which are in turn covered in rough brown shells. When the fruits ripen, the shells turn red. When lychees ripen, their shells turn red. Photo illustration by Freepik When eaten…
Thai authorities had gifted the 29-year-old Muthu Raja, also known back in his birthplace as Sak Surin, to Sri Lanka in 2001.But they demanded it back last year after allegations it was tortured and neglected while housed at a Buddhist temple in the island nation’s south.The 4,000-kilogram (8,800-pound) mammal flew out from Colombo airport on Sunday morning on a one-way commercial flight for a repatriation that Thai officials said had cost $700,000.The Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane carrying Muthu Raja took off around 7:40 am (0210 GMT), the airport manager said.After touching down in Chiang Mai the elephant will be quarantined…
The Consulate General’s formal complaint called for France to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens and their property, the statement said. The bus was attacked by rioters on Thursday, according to state broadcaster CCTV, during violence which hit French cities in recent days since the police shooting of a teenager of North African descent. The Chinese tourists have since left France, the Consular Office statement said. Chinese citizens in France or heading to France should “strengthen prevention” and be “more vigilant and cautious” in light of the riots which have swept across the country in recent days, the Consular office…
By AFP  July 2, 2023 | 08:27am GMT+7 A fire at the Grand Diamond City hotel casino in Poipet, Cambodia, broke out on December 29, 2022. Photo by AFP At least six people were killed in a nightclub fire in Cambodia’s capital on Saturday, police said. Four men and two women died in the inferno, which broke out in the early evening, Phnom Penh Municipal Police spokesman San Sok Seiha told AFP.It took a few hours for firefighters to extinguish the flames.Authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze.”We don’t know yet if there will be more victims,” Sok Seiha…
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival, staged outside city hall in the nation’s capital annually since 2015, except for two years during Covid-19, was instead held nearby after the city government in May gave the permit for a Christian youth concert to be held at the spot premium. “You can see a lot of hateful banners behind me as well as those that support us on our right,” said Yang Sun-woo, chief organizer of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. “South Korea is enjoying a rise in global status but LGBT rights here are at rock bottom,” she said. This year’s march…