No severe haze expected in Malaysia this year

KUCHING • Malaysia's environment minister said the country will not experience a severe transboundary haze this year, as only a few hot spots are reported in Indonesia, Bernama reported yesterday. Indonesia seemed to be doing its part to honour its commitment to keep the annual phenomenon in check, said Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

Body inside suitcase in Tokyo canal identified

TOKYO • A body found inside a suitcase floating in a Tokyo canal last month has been identified as that of a Chinese woman missing for more than two years, police said yesterday. Ms Yang Mei, 34, came to Japan in September 2013 as a trainee for an internship programme. She was working at a car parts plant in Kyoto, but disappeared after being last seen in her dormitory cafeteria in March 2014.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

US sanctions Kim over human rights abuses

WASHINGTON • The United States on Wednesday sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for the first time, citing "notorious abuses of human rights", in a move that diplomats say will infuriate the nuclear-armed country.

REUTERS