Two Koreas meet to plan landmark summit
Seoul: Officials from North and South Korea met on Thursday to discuss the logistics of a rare summit later this month, which will see Kim Jong Un become the first North Korean leader to set foot in the South since the end of the Korean War. Kim and the South’s president Moon Jae-in are due to meet on April 27 at the South’s side of the demilitarised zone for the landmark inter-Korean summit.
Russia, China hail burgeoning ties
Moscow: Russia’s foreign minister is hosting his Chinese counterpart, hailing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing as a key stabilising factor in the global arena. Sergey Lavrov said relations between two nations have a “truly strategic character,” adding that they exemplify a “well-balanced and responsible approach to international affairs.”
Soldier killed in Balochistan
Karachi: A soldier and two terrorists were killed in an encounter during a search operation carried out by the Frontier Corps in Pakistan’s restive Balochistan province.
Boracay island to be closed for 6 months
Manila: The Philippines is closing its best-known holiday island Boracay to tourists for up to six months over concerns that the once idyllic white-sand resort has become a “cesspool” tainted by dumped sewage, authorities said on Thursday. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the shutdown to start on April 26 for a maximum period of half a year, his spokesman Harry Roque said.
240 Chinese cops died due to overwork in 2017
Beijing: More than 240 out of the 361 Chinese public security officers who laid down their lives in the line of duty last year died due to overwork, authorities said on Thursday. Research showed that the front-line policemen work 13 to 15 hours a day, which makes overwork a major concern.
FB data breach: Oz privacy chief to probe
Sydney: Australia is investigating Facebook over alleged privacy breaches, authorities said on Thursday, after the firm admitted the personal data of thousands of local users was improperly shared with a British political consultancy.