Woman in Taiwan pours boiling soup on another's face during fight over $870 debt - The Straits Times

A fight over an alleged debt of NT$20,000 (S$870) left one woman with serious burns to her face and neck after another used boiling soup as a weapon against her on Friday morning at a karaoke lounge in Taiwan.

A video circulating on social media shows two women trading blows in a room in an entertainment venue while a seated man watches, as the music video for Taiwanese group MJ116’s Hot Chick plays on a screen.

Another man is seen getting involved by pulling the hair of one of the women – dressed in a white top – and dragging her across the room. He kicks her repeatedly, while she in turn pulls the hair of the other woman, who is wearing a grey crop top.

As the woman in grey manages to break loose, she picks up a pot of visibly steaming soup off a portable stove and pours its contents over the woman in the white top. The aggressor then flings the empty vessel at the victim’s head, causing the latter to scream as the woman in grey takes the opportunity to land more blows.

Police in central Taiwan’s Taichung city said they received a report at around 4.20am on Friday about an incident at a KTV lounge in Xitun district.

The chief of Taichung’s sixth-division police department said the fight started over a dispute related to a personal debt, and added that one woman was taken to hospital.

Another woman and two men were arrested for aggravated harm and the obstruction of freedom and later released on bail. The amount set for the 28-year-old woman, surnamed Chen, was the highest among the three suspects at NT$300,000. Investigations are ongoing.

The injured woman, 29, surnamed Sun, had burns to her face and neck and was hospitalised in the intensive care unit overnight owing to the severity of her injuries, the local media reported.

A separate video circulating online shows her standing outside the lounge, surrounded by police, with blisters on her face, while another woman alleged to be Chen tries to goad her to take a urine test.

Both women were working in the “Big Eight” services industry, according to the local media, referring to “special service” professions in Taiwan that include jobs at bars, dance clubs and saunas, among other entertainment venues.

Ms Sun was alleged to have taken a payment of NT$20,000 that was meant to be returned to an entertainment venue after an assignment.

Leaked messages between her and Chen revealed that their dispute had been simmering, with the two arranging to meet at the KTV lounge to sort out their disagreement, which then escalated into the fight and scalding.

Another leaked exchange indicated that Ms Sun had first hit out at Chen, who is pregnant, before one of the men got involved.

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2023-04-23 08:08:49Z
1976192650

US embassy evacuated as Sudan fighting enters second week - CNA

"STENCH OF BLOOD"

On Saturday, heavy gunfire, loud explosions and fighter jets were heard in many parts of the capital, according to witnesses, despite the army announcing an agreement to a three-day ceasefire a day earlier.

Two 24-hour ceasefires announced earlier in the week were also ignored.

The RSF added in its Sunday statement that "we renew our commitment to a ceasefire during the declared truce, to open up humanitarian corridors and ensure the safety and wellbeing of the citizens".

Daglo said in a statement he had "discussed the current crisis" with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and was "focused on the humanitarian truce, safe passages, and protecting humanitarian workers".

Five humanitarians, including four from UN-linked agencies, have so far been killed.

In Khartoum, a city of five million people, the conflict has left terrified civilians sheltering inside their homes. Many have ventured out only to get urgent food supplies - stocks of which are dwindling - or to flee the city.

While the capital has seen some of the fiercest battles, they have occurred across the country.

Battles have raged in Darfur, where Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the city of El Fasher said their medics had been "overwhelmed" by the number of patients with gunshot wounds, many of them children.

CRISIS MEETING

More plans are being made to evacuate foreigners, with South Korea and Japan deploying forces to nearby countries, and the European Union weighing a similar move.

The German ministers of defence and foreign affairs held a crisis meeting on Saturday on a possible evacuation, after three military transport planes had to turn back on Wednesday, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 420 people had been killed and over 3,700 wounded in the fighting across Sudan, but the actual death toll is thought to be higher.

More than two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states are now "out of service", and at least four hospitals in North Kordofan state were shelled, the doctors' union said.

The World Food Programme said the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where one-third of the population needs aid.

Burhan and Daglo's dispute centred on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a deal aimed at restoring Sudan's democratic transition after the military toppled Bashir in April 2019 following mass citizen protests.

In October 2021, Burhan and Daglo joined forces to oust a civilian government installed after Bashir's downfall.

Daglo now says the coup was a "mistake", while Burhan believes it was "necessary" to include more groups into politics.

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2023-04-23 03:54:01Z
1965440032

Duped into taking a 'business development' job, he was ill-treated, forced to scam by a syndicate - CNA

I don’t know what they said, but she was upset. “Why did you give our information to outsiders?” she asked me. She said she was afraid to talk to me, and that was the last time I heard from her.

She has blocked me. When I tried using my father’s phone to contact her, she blocked him too. When I reached out to her parents, her father said she wanted a divorce.

Our relationship had lasted for seven years — that’s not a short period of time.

I hope she’ll see this interview and understand what happened to me in Cambodia. I can swear to the gods that I didn’t do any disservice to you. Please give me a chance to explain, even if it’s for just five to 10 minutes. 

In November, I got help from an NGO, the Malaysian International Humanitarian Organisation. At the request of its adviser, former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan, the police assigned an officer in a specialist anti-trafficking unit to take my statement.

Last month, the officer in charge of the case told me investigations were ongoing. He didn’t give me any more details.

I’m now relying on donations from the public to fight my case in court. I’m really worried as I’m up against a large organisation.

I’d thought the people who were scammed into going to Cambodia were dumb, but it turns out that I’m just like them. I never thought this would happen to me, but it did.

(Editorial note: Many of the details of Tan’s story could not be independently verified by CNA Insider. However, his account matches the experiences of many other job scam victims put to work by scam syndicates.)

Text: Lianne Chia, Ray Yeh 

To read more first-person accounts by scam victims and former scammers, explore our microsite: Scammers Exposed.

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2023-04-22 22:00:00Z
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Thai authorities issue extreme heat warnings for dozens of provinces - CNA

BANGKOK: Thai authorities on Saturday (Apr 22) warned residents across large swathes of the country, including the capital Bangkok, to avoid going outdoors due to extreme heat.

Parts of Asia are reporting extreme heat this month, with record-breaking temperatures seen in some countries. In Bangladesh and parts of India, extreme heat is leading to surge in power demand, causing power cuts and shortages for millions of people.

In the Bagna district of Bangkok, the temperature reached 42 degrees Celsius, while the heat index - which includes relative humidity and measures what the temperature feels like - hit a record 54 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department.

Authorities warned residents to avoid outdoor activities and be wary of the danger of heat stroke.

"Sometimes, I take refuge in the 7-11 convenience store ... to escape the heat," Amporn Supasert, 67, a grilled chicken vendor in Bangkok, said.

Thailand's department of disaster prevention and mitigation said that temperatures will exceed 40 degrees Celsius in at least 28 provinces on Saturday.

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2023-04-22 08:47:00Z
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Differences in South China Sea are not the sum total of relations between Philippines, China - CNA

MANILA: The Philippines and China pledged on Saturday (Apr 22) to work together to resolve their maritime differences in the South China Sea, where the two have competing claims, and to deepen bilateral ties.

Talks between the countries' foreign ministers mark the latest in a series of high-level meetings between the Philippines and the leaders of the United States and China as the two superpowers battle for strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific.

Manila's relations with Beijing are more than just their differences over the South China Sea, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said as he began talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Manila.

"These differences should not prevent us from seeking ways of managing them effectively, especially with respect to (the) enjoyment of rights of Filipinos, especially fishermen," Manalo said, adding that their livelihoods are undermined by incidents and actions in the waterway.

Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in June last year, the Philippines has filed dozens of diplomatic protests at the presence of Chinese fishing vessels and what it calls China's "aggressive actions" in the strategic waterway.

Both coutnries need to work together to continue a tradition of friendship, deepen cooperation and properly resolve differences, Qin, who is set to meet Marcos later on Saturday, said in his opening remarks.

Working together would help promote peace and the stability of the region and the world, he added.

His visit comes just weeks after the Philippines announced the location of four additional US military bases, two of which are facing north towards Taiwan.

More than 17,000 Philippine and US soldiers are conducting their largest joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country, drawing criticism from Beijing, Manila's rival in the South China Sea.

A landmark ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 invalidated China's claims of sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, which sees the passage of about US$3 trillion worth of ship-borne goods annually and is believed to be rich in minerals, and oil and gas deposits.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines have competing claims in portions of the waterway.

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2023-04-22 04:58:00Z
1961990099

Visually impaired woman fights to save endangered gibbons in remote Indonesian village - CNA

SUKABUMI, Indonesia: With her trusty walking cane in hand and a backpack filled with ripe bananas, Tini Kasmawati trudged through the slippery, mud-caked paths of a dwindling forest near her village, unfazed by the drizzling rain, frigid morning air and most of all: Her deteriorating vision.

Occasionally, the visually impaired woman lost her footing on the hilly terrain. But she pressed onward, eager to encounter the elusive creatures that called this forest home: The silvery gibbons, an endangered species endemic to Indonesia’s most populous island, Java.

For the past nine years, Kasmawati, a 51-year-old food vendor from Lengkong village in West Java’s Sukabumi regency, has been providing food to a family of gibbons that roam a once lushly canopied hill. 

That hill is now slowly being converted into rubber plantations and human settlements.

“The gibbons only eat ripe (fruits), but before (the fruits) are ripe, they are either harvested by the farmers (who grow them) or stolen by others,” Kasmawati told CNA.

With virtually nothing they could eat aside from leaves and insects, conflicts with humans became rampant in Lekong village, threatening the survival of a species with a population of just around 2,000 left in the wild.

The silvery gibbons are territorial and rarely venture out of their respective areas, unless to find a suitable partner with which they mate for life.

Kasmawati’s efforts to provide food for the gibbons – using a bucket hoisted onto a makeshift bamboo platform – not only prevented these conflicts from happening but also improved the gibbons’ welfare.

“The gibbons have very good instincts. If they feel that a long drought is coming and food scarcity is imminent, they would hold off from producing more offspring,” she said.

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2023-04-21 22:01:00Z
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Indonesia's PDI-P picks Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo as presidential candidate - CNA

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Friday (April 21) announced that Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo will be its presidential candidate for the upcoming election next year.

Head of PDI-P Megawati Soekarnoputri made the announcement during a meeting of her party which was streamed online.  

“(In the name of God), I appoint Ganjar Pranowo, current governor of Central Java and party cadre, I add his duties to become a presidential candidate ...,” said Mdm Soekarnoputri.  

She was accompanied by President Joko Widodo and her daughter Puan Maharani, who is the head of PDI-P’s political and security unit.

After Mdm Soekarnoputri’s announcement, Mr Widodo said that the next leader needs to continue the fight of the Indonesian people and carry out visions such as uniting the citizens and maintaining tolerance in the country.

Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, said he appreciates Mdm Soekarnoputri’s announcement as the public has a right to know the presidential candidates since the election is nearing.

“Mr Ganjar (Pranowo) is a leader who is close to the people, who always approaches them and is very ideological,” he said.

Following the announcement, Mr Pranowo said he is honoured to have received the appointment.

“Of course this will not be easy … therefore, I ask for your support,” he said.

Mr Pranowo added: “Hopefully, I will be capable (of running). God willing I will fight.”

Last year, Mr Pranowo indicated his readiness to run for the presidential race during an interview with local media BeritaSatu. Pollsters had also continuously ranked Mr Pranowo as a strong potential presidential candidate.

Prior to the Friday announcement, local media reported that Mdm Soekarnoputri wanted to nominate Puan Maharani - who is also the parliamentary speaker - as PDI-P’s presidential candidate. However, polls had shown that Puan Maharani’s electability is below 10 per cent.

To nominate a presidential candidate, a party must obtain at least 20 per cent of the total seats in parliament or obtain 25 per cent of votes in the previous legislative election.

PDI-P is the only party that meets this criterion as it has 22.26 per cent of the seats in parliament. Other parties must form a coalition if they want to nominate a presidential candidate.

Potential presidential and vice-presidential candidates must then register themselves with the elections commission this October if they want to contest in the polls on Feb 14, 2024.

According to analysts, a grand coalition for the upcoming Indonesian election may be on the cards. The parliament’s second biggest party Golkar has formed a coalition with Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN) and Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP). Named Koalisi Indonesia Bersatu (KIB), it holds 25.73 per cent of the parliament seats.

Meanwhile, the third largest party in parliament, Gerindra, has formed a coalition with the National Awakening Party (PKB). Together, the Koalisi Kebangkitan Indonesia Raya (KKIR) has 23.66 per cent of parliament seats.

The two coalitions and Jokowi had met earlier this month, triggering speculation that a grand coalition may be in the works.

Jokowi, who is a member of PDI-P, became Indonesia’s president in October 2014. He is constitutionally barred from a third term in office. This means that Indonesians will be electing a new head of state to lead the world’s third-largest democracy next year.

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2023-04-21 07:01:00Z
CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS9pbmRvbmVzaWEtZWxlY3Rpb24tcHJlc2lkZW50LWdhbmphci1wcmFub3dvLXBkaXAtbWVnYXdhdGktc29la2Fybm9wdXRyaS0zNDM0MjM20gEA