08/08/2025

FRIDAY | AUG 8, 2025

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North Korean rescued after swimming across border

Myanmar acting president dies

YANGON: military-appointed figurehead president, suspended from service since last year due to declining health, died yesterday, a junta statement said. Former general Myint Swe was named Myanmar’s acting president in 2021, when the military deposed the democratic government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a coup. The coup handed supreme power to Armed Forces chief Min Aung Hlaing, who last July also took over Myint Swe’s ceremonial role as “acting president” as he suffered the effects of Parkinson’s disease. “Myint Swe passed away at 8.28am this morning,“ said a junta statement, adding that the 74-year-old had died in a hospital in the capital Naypyidaw. “It is hereby announced that the funeral will be held as a state funeral.” State media said on Wednesday Myint Swe was experiencing “weight loss, loss of appetite, fever and a decline in cognitive function”, and had been admitted to intensive care. Myint Swe was vice-president under the democratically elected government of Suu Kyi, who remains jailed four-and-a-half years after the military takeover. The coup sparked pro-democracy protests that were quashed, before activists quit the cities to wage guerrilla warfare, finding common cause with ethnic armed groups that have long resisted central rule. Min Aung Hlaing last week ended the nationwide state of emergency declared during the takeover, touting plans for an election in December as an off-ramp to the conflict consuming the country. The move handed power from the office of the Armed Forces chief back to the president’s office, both occupied by Min Aung Hlaing. Opposition groups have pledged to boycott the poll while a United Nations expert in June described the exercise as a “fraud” designed to legitimise the junta’s continued rule. – AFP MINISTERS KILLED IN MILITARY HELICOPTER CRASH ACCRA: The Ghanaian government has confirmed that eight people, including two senior ministers, were killed in a military helicopter crash on Wednesday, reported Xinhua. Defence Minister Edward Kofi Omane Boamah and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Murtala Muhammed were among those killed in the crash, announced Presidency Chief of Staff Julius Debrah. Other victims include National Security Acting Deputy Coordinator Muniru Mohammed Limuna, ruling National Democratic Congress National Vice-Chairman Samuel Sarpong and former parliamentary candidate Samuel Aboagye. – Bernama-Xinhua SEOUL SEEKS ARREST WARRANT FOR EX-FIRST LADY SEOUL: South Korea’s special prosecutor appointed to investigate former first lady Kim Keon Hee over corruption charges submitted yesterday a request to the court to issue a warrant to detain her, the prosecution team said. Kim faces charges that include stock fraud, bribery and illegal influence peddling. The special prosecutor did not immediately provide more details NEW YORK: Severe drought in central and northern Somalia has affected hundreds of thousands of people, according to a United Nations (UN) spokesperson, reported Xinhua. More than 880,000 people are living in impacted areas across 16 districts, based on an analysis by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, said deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq. He said reports point to escalating food insecurity, dwindling access to water and disruptions to livelihoods. – Bernama-Xinhua Myanmar’s about its warrant request. – Reuters SEVERE DROUGHT AFFECTS THOUSANDS IN SOMALIA

used in modern wars, he said, citing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The exercise would include a scenario of a North Korean missile launch but not a potential nuclear test by Pyongyang, he said. The decision to spread out the scheduling involved reasons such as extreme weather, said Lee, denying any political factors. The drills are due to be staged as the new South Korean government of President Lee Jae Myung seeks to improve strained ties with Pyongyang and revive stalled dialogue with its neighbour. A senior official from South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which manages relations between the Koreas, said yesterday the delay in some training exercises is aimed at easing tensions with North Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported. “North Korea will not be satisfied with the adjustment at all,” said research centre on North Korean affairs Sejong Institute vice-president Cheong Seong-chang. “What the regime wants is the termination of the drills with the United States, not a slight rescheduling.” On Monday, South Korea removed loudspeakers blasting anti-North Korea propaganda near its border with the North in a bid to lower friction with Pyongyang. North Korea has rebuffed such overtures by Seoul. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, recently said South Korea’s decision to stop the broadcasts was “not work worthy of appreciation”, state media KCNA reported. – AFP Tycoon charged over building collapse BANGKOK: Thai prosecutors indicted 23 parties yesterday, including a construction tycoon and a Chinese state-owned firm for violations that led to the collapse of a building during an earthquake, killing nearly a hundred workers. The partially built 30-storey State Audit Office tower in Bangkok was the only building to collapse from tremors emanating from the 7.7-magnitude quake in neighbouring Myanmar on March 28. Italian-Thai Development president and China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Ltd executive Premchai Karnasuta is charged with breaching construction regulations and causing death through negligence, said Attorney-General’s Office spokesperson Sakkasem Nisaiyok. Other individuals have also been charged with forging engineering documents, he said. Premchai and 14 others denied all charges when arrested in May. – Reuters

maritime border between the countries. Defections across the land border that divides the peninsula are relatively rare as the area is densely forested, heavily mined and monitored by soldiers on both sides. However, a North Korean man defected last month to the South by crossing the Military Demarcation Line. The number of successful escapes dropped significantly from 2020 after the North sealed its borders, purportedly with shoot-on-sight orders along the frontier with China, to prevent the spread of Covid-19. North Koreans are typically handed to Seoul’s intelligence agency for screening when they arrive in the South. In a separate development, South Korea and the United States will conduct major joint military drills starting on Aug 18, although they will delay parts of the annual exercises that have been a source of tension with North Korea to later in the year, officials said. The 11-day annual exercises, called Ulchi Freedom Shield, would be on a similar scale to last year’s but adjusted by rescheduling 20 out of 40 field training events to September, said South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun. The allies agreed to reschedule some parts of the drill to next month over factors “including ensuring training conditions during extreme heat and maintaining a balanced combined defence posture year-round”, he said. This year’s drill would test an upgraded response to heightened North Korean nuclear threats as well as cutting-edge technologies

SEOUL: A North Korean defector who swam across a sea border with South Korea while reportedly tied to plastic water container has been rescued and taken into custody, Seoul authorities said yesterday. The North Korean managed to swim across the de facto maritime border off the western coast of the Korean peninsula on July 30, said South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The border is known as the Northern Limit Line and has occasionally served as a route for North Korean defectors swimming to South Korea’s Ganghwa Island. “Military personnel spotted the individual near the north of the mid-river boundary,” a military official told reporters. The individual waved for help and said he wanted to defect to South Korea when asked by a South Korean naval officer, the official said. The operation took about 10 hours and the individual was rescued at 4am on July 31 (1900 GMT, July 30), according to Seoul. The man is now in custody and has expressed his wish to defect, the Defence Ministry said. Ganghwa Island, located northwest of Seoul, is one of the closest South Korean territories to North Korea, with some parts of the surrounding sea lying just 10km from the o Man expresses wish to defect after being taken into custody: Ministry

BR I E F S

VOICING OBJECTIONS ... Filipinos protesting the Senate’s decision to archive an impeachment case against Vice-President Sara Duterte in Quezon City yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Thailand approves funds for fighter jets, frigates BANGKOK: The Thai government has approved a budget during its weekly Cabinet meeting for the procurement of Gripen fighter jets, the finalisation of a submarine deal with China and the acquisition of two frigates from foreign manufacturers, according to a report by newspaper The Nation , cited by Sputnik/RIA Novosti. 60 billion Thai baht (RM7.82 billion), the report said. The Cabinet also approved the purchase of two frigates for the Thai navy for 35 billion Thai baht, the newspaper reported. The delivery date has been extended, with the first submarine expected in 2030, several years later than originally planned. The contract for the diesel submarines was originally signed by Thailand with China’s state-owned China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Co Ltd in 2017, with the first submarine to be delivered in 2023.

The purchase is reportedly part of the navy’s strategic plan to have eight frigates by 2037 to bolster the country’s maritime security in the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. In addition, the Cabinet approved amendments to the contract for the purchase of the S26T submarines, changing the engine specifications to the Chinese-made CHD 620 model, the report said.

However, Germany has refused to supply China with the MTU 396 engines specified in the contract between Thailand and China due to the European Union’s ban on strategic equipment supplies to China. – Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti

The fighter jet purchase includes auxiliary systems and electronic warfare equipment, the report said, adding that the aircraft would be equipped with modern Meteor air-to-air missiles and other weapons. The total cost of the aircraft is estimated at