No US drills with Seoul during Olympics

SEOUL • United States President Donald Trump has said there will be no military drills with South Korea during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month.

Mr Trump also told South Korean President Moon Jae In in a telephone call that he hoped inter-Korean talks would lead to good results, the Blue House said in a statement yesterday.

The US leader also said he would send a high-level delegation, including members of his family, to the Winter Olympics, the statement added.

REUTERS

Ousted president Park faces bribery charges

SEOUL• Ousted South Korean president Park Geun Hye was charged yesterday with accepting millions of dollars in bribes from the state spy agency, news reports said.

Park allegedly received between 50 million and 200 million won (now S$250,000) from the National Intelligence Service every month soon after her swearing-in in early 2013 until mid-2016, prosecutors told South Korean media.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Clearance of dengue vaccine suspended

MANILA• The Philippines has suspended clearance for Sanofi's dengue vaccine Dengvaxia and fined the French drugmaker a symbolic US$2,000 (S$2,660) citing violations on product registration and marketing, the health secretary said yesterday.

Concerns over the dengue immunisation of nearly 734,000 children aged nine and above resulted in two Philippine congressional inquiries and a criminal investigation.

The country ordered Sanofi to stop the sale, distribution and marketing of Dengvaxia after the company last month warned that the vaccine could worsen the disease in some cases.

REUTERS