Wearing dark glasses, a hood and a mask, the 15-year-old Filipino girl explained to the Philippine senate committee that she had been recruited as a masseuse.It was not until later she found she would be prostituted out as one of nine females under the control of a Chinese boss who sold her body nearly exclusively to Chinese clients in Philippine hotels. Her boss would keep half her earnings, which began at 6,000 pesos per client and increased if she stayed overnight. And “Carina”, as she was…
Indonesia’s Aceh hires female floggers to whip women for premarital sex, cuddling in public
The masked woman nervously approaches her target, shuffles into position and then unleashes a flurry of lashes – proving herself as the newest member of the first female whipping squad in Indonesia’s Aceh province.The new recruit initially needed some coaxing to punish the offender – an unmarried woman caught in a hotel room with a man.Such behaviour constitutes a morality crime in Aceh, the only region in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation that imposes Islamic law – known as sharia…
Kei Kobayashi makes Michelin history as first Japanese chef to receive three stars in France
Chef Kei Kobayashi became the first Japanese chef ever to win the maximum three Michelin stars in France on Monday.The 42-year-old, who was born in Nagano, was the biggest winner on a night when Japanese cooks triumphed in the backyard of French haute cuisine.Kazuyuki Tanaka won two stars for Racine, his French restaurant in the northeastern city of Reims, as did Yasunari Okazaki for his crossover Franco-Japanese cuisine at L’Abysee au Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris.Kobayashi – a striking figure…
China coronavirus: Singapore reports fifth confirmed case
Singapore confirmed its fifth case of the coronavirus on Monday.The patient is a 56-year-old female Chinese national from Wuhan who arrived in Singapore with her family on January 18, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.The woman has been warded in an isolation room at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). She is in a stable condition.The health ministry said the patient was asymptomatic during her flight to Singapore but developed symptoms several days later, on January 24…
On Malaysia visit, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh urges all Christians to oppose Trump’s Middle East peace plan
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has called on Christians around the world to oppose the Trump administration’s “deal of the century”, saying the proposal intended to solve the Israel-Palestine issue would end any hope of a two-state solution. Haniyeh, speaking at a closed-door meeting with NGOs in Malaysia’s administrative capital of Putrajaya on Saturday, said Christians were as much victims of Israeli policies as Muslims and were equally fervent in their opposition to the occupation. “Israeli…
Chinese Muslims: how Indonesia’s ‘minority within a minority’ celebrate Lunar New Year
As he does every year, ethnic Chinese Indonesian Purnama celebrated Lunar New Year on Saturday at a dinner with his extended family of more than 50 in Jakarta where they exchanged traditional red envelopes containing money.But the 49-year-old Purnama, who uses one name, is unlike most of his ethnic Chinese family: he is a Muslim.At the dinner, he and his immediate family were at a table where all the food was halal, while the rest of the tables featured non-halal dishes for the non-Muslims. But…
China coronavirus: Singapore and Malaysia both report fourth confirmed cases
Singapore and Malaysia both reported their fourth confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection late on Saturday night.The new pneumonia-like illness originated in Wuhan in central China in December and has killed at least 41 people so far, with over 1,300 cases in mainland China.It has spread to other parts of Asia, with seven confirmed cases in Thailand, four in Australia, three in Japan, two in South Korea, two in Vietnam and one in Nepal.Singapore’s Ministry of Health said in a statement…
US navy helicopter crashes in Philippine Sea, crew of five rescued
All five crew members on board a US navy helicopter that crashed in the Philippine Sea have been rescued, the 7th Fleet said on Saturday.Three of the crew members were transported by Japanese helicopter to the naval hospital in Okinawa for evaluation, while the other two were able to return to the USS Blue Ridge vessel, the 7th Fleet added in a statement.The MH-60 helicopter “went down while conducting routine operations,” it said.The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, Japanese Coast Guard, two…
Irish court approves extradition of 2 men charged with manslaughter in deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in London truck
An Irish court on Friday approved the extradition of one of the two Northern Irish men charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found in the back of a truck near London last year.British authorities are seeking Eamonn Harrison, 23, on charges of human trafficking and immigration offences, as well as the 39 offences of manslaughter in a case that has shone a light on the illicit human smuggling trade.Judge Donald Binchy deferred ordering Harrison’s handover to Britain…
Singapore PM: ‘one country, two systems’ may not last unless Hong Kong’s housing crisis is fixed
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the “one country, two systems” principle that governs Hong Kong may not last unless the government makes progress on protester concerns over the lack of affordable housing in the Asian financial hub.Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lee said he sympathises with Hong Kong protesters, but does not see how their methods – which have included violent rallies, petrol bombs and vandalism – will resolve their problems.Hong…