S. Korea ex-president loses appeal, jailed
SEOUL • Former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak was taken to prison yesterday to begin a 17-year term for bribery and embezzlement after losing an appeal for a lighter sentence.
Lee, in office from 2008 to 2013, was jailed briefly in 2018 after being sentenced to 15 years and fined 13 billion won (S$15.2 million), but was granted bail while he appealed.
He was found guilty of creating slush funds of tens of millions of dollars and accepting bribes from Samsung Electronics in return for a presidential pardon for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who was jailed for tax evasion.
At a hearing yesterday, Seoul's Central District Court ordered a heavier sentence.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Pakistan deaths: Soya bean dust link probed
KARACHI • The authorities in Pakistan are investigating if exposure to soya bean dust, which can cause severe allergic reactions, is responsible for at least 14 deaths and dozens of illnesses in the southern port city of Karachi.
More than 200 people have been hospitalised or treated for breathing problems since Sunday, as the authorities try to determine if a leak of toxic gas was to blame, after many patients complained of an unfamiliar odour.
"While we are working on this complex bioanalytical problem, we think this may be due to overexposure to soya bean dust," Pakistan's International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences told the authorities yesterday.
REUTERS
Turkey warns Syria of military action
ANKARA • Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday a Turkish military operation to push back a Syrian government offensive against rebel strongholds in north-west Syria was now "a matter of time", after talks with Russia failed to halt the assault.
Turkish troops have already massed inside Syria and more were heading to the border area. The Kremlin, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said a confrontation between Turkish and Syrian forces would be a "worst-case scenario", and Russia would keep working to prevent the situation from worsening.
Syrian troops, supported by Russian warplanes and special forces, have been battling since last December to eradicate the last rebel bastions in Idlib and Aleppo provinces.
REUTERS
