The prime minister apologised on Thursday as the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries was found to have concealed the discovery of a human bone fragment from the Sewol ferry until after the joint memorial service of five missing victims.

A search team under the ministry found a piece of human wrist bone from the sunken ship last Friday, a day before the memorial service, but its chief Kim Hyun-tae decided to keep it a secret in a suspected bid to prevent additional search. The five missing victims’ families had decided a day earlier to give up finding the remains.

Kim has been removed from his duties and is under investigation.

“The concealment of the remains of a Sewol victim was beyond disappointment for the bereaved families and the Korean people. It gave them a sense of betrayal. What happened was shameful, with no room for excuse,” Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said during a weekly policy coordination meeting.

“We offer our deepest apologies to the families of the deceased and the people.”

Lee said the government will conduct a swift investigation into the matter and reprimand those responsible for the concealment.

“This incident is a bitter warning that there is a tendency for complacency and irresponsibility in public service,” Lee said.

“We will once again strengthen efforts to tighten discipline of public officials and raise their sense of responsibility.”

Oceans Minister Kim Young-choon also apologised in a statement, saying the ministry will review the entire search process.

The Sewol ferry sank on April 16, 2014, in waters off the country’s southwestern coast, killing 304 people, mostly teenagers on a field trip, in one of the worst maritime tragedies in South Korean history.

BANGKOK – Bangkok’s famous street-food vendors have joined the digital revolution, embracing payment via Quick Response (QR) barcodes that can be read using smartphones.

Thailand is famous for its traditional street stalls that offer everything from stir-fried noodles to clothes and for many Thais eating out at a pavement stall is part of their daily routine.

Now, some vendors in the capital Bangkok are offering digital transactions after the Bank of Thailand (BOT) last week gave the green light for five banks including Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank to implement electronic payment systems using QR codes.

“The global trend is towards a ‘cashless society’ as it is more convenient and there is proof of transaction. The QR code system would be most practical in Thailand as less investment is needed on behalf of vendors,” Somsak Khaosuwan, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, told Reuters.

At Samyan Market, a market and shopping area in Bangkok that sells everything from vegetables to handbags, vendors said QR codes were taking off although some shoppers still prefer to use cash, particularly those who are less tech-savvy.

“I don’t need to worry about finding change,” said Kitti Khoonphisitwong, 40, a dried-fruit vendor.

“But most customers, especially older people, find the app a hassle,” he said.

Shoppers in their 20s and 30s said they were more inclined to use the system.

“I often shop online so I have no issue with digital transactions,” said Thanachanok Teesakul, 20, a student.

Scams using fraudulent QR codes are on the rise in China, where digital payments are booming. Somsak said Thailand needs to ensure QR payment systems are secure.

“We need to make people feel comfortable in using the system,” he said.

Tokyo – Eight warships joined a US aircraft carrier and scores of helicopters and planes Thursday to search for three American sailors who went missing after their plane crashed in the Philippine Sea.

The families of the missing sailors were notified after a C-2A “Greyhound” aircraft with 11 people on board went down Wednesday afternoon around 930 kilometres (500 nautical miles) southeast of Okinawa, the US Navy said in a statement.

Eight sailors were rescued shortly after the accident and taken for medical evaluation to USS Reagan, an aircraft carrier that was in the Philippine Sea for an exercise with Japanese forces.

“All are in good condition at this time,” the statement added.

The plane was on a routine transport flight, carrying passengers and cargo from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in southern Japan to the USS Ronald Reagan.

The Reagan is leading the joint effort by the US and Japanese navies to find the missing sailors.

“Searching through the night, several ships and aircraft covered more than 320 nautical miles (600 kilometres) as of this morning,” the US Navy said in a statement on Thursday.

The American destroyers USS Stethem, USS Chafee and USS Mustin have been combing the area, along with maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters.

They were joined by the Japanese “helicopter carriers” JS Kaga and JS Ise, as well as the Japanese destroyers JS Teruzuki, JS Samidare and JS Shimakaze.

On Wednesday US President Donald Trump tweeted: “The @USNavy is conducting search and rescue following aircraft crash. We are monitoring the situation. Prayers for all involved.” The C-2A is a re-supply workhorse for US aircraft carriers, routinely ferrying cargo, mail and people onto and off the globally deployed vessels.

The cause of the accident is unknown. The US Navy has launched an investigation. US authorities initially told Japan on Wednesday that engine trouble was the suspected cause of the accident.

The crash is the latest in a string of recent accidents involving US naval vessels in the region.

In August, the destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with a tanker off Singapore, killing 10 sailors and injuring five others.

Two months earlier in June, another destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, and a cargo ship smashed into each other off Japan, leaving seven sailors dead.

There were two other, lesser-known incidents. In January, the USS Antietam ran aground near its base in Japan, and in May, the USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing vessel.

New Delhi – Indian police have arrested a senior army officer for the murder of a journalist shot dead while investigating allegations of financial fraud against him.

Reporter Sudip Dutta Bhaumik was allegedly killed by a junior officer when he went to a paramilitary base in the northeastern state of Tripura on Tuesday to investigate a story.

Police said Tapan Debbarma, the commandant of the Second Tripura State Rifles, was arrested Wednesday on charges he ordered his bodyguard to shoot the reporter.

“He (Debbarma) was arrested yesterday and produced before the magistrate. He has been remanded to 10 days of police custody,” local police superintendent Pradeep Dey told AFP on Thursday.

“His security guard Nandu Reang was arrested on Tuesday itself.” On Wednesday Bhaumik’s editor Subal Kumar Dey said the murder was linked to articles the reporter had written.

He was the third journalist to be killed in as many months in India and newspapers in Tripura on Thursday carried blank editorial pages in protest.

In September, a reporter in the state was lynched by a mob during clashes between police and warring political factions. His mutilated body was found the next day.

Also in September gunmen shot dead renowned journalist Gauri Lankesh in the southern city of Bangalore. No arrests have been made in her killing, but some believe she was targeted for her outspoken criticism of Hindu nationalism.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says 41 reporters have been killed in India since the early 1990s, a figure that excludes the two latest deaths in Tripura.

With fewer people getting married and having kids in Japan over the years, one company thought it prudent to embrace the future and recognise marriages between men and their anime “waifus”.

In otaku culture, the term “waifu” refers to an anime girl whom a fan has taken a specific liking to. “Waifu” stems from the English word “wife” but is given a Japanese pronunciation. The counterpart word “husbando” for male characters has a similar use and origin.

According to a special Gatebox website, interested parties may submit their marriage registration for the company’s recognition. The site even provides a marriage registration form to download, fill-up and submit.

Since anime fans typically have more than one waifu, Gatebox took this into consideration. They specifically mentioned that only one waifu could be registered. This means fans will really have to think long and hard on which waifu to officially tie the knot with.

Apart from registering for marriage, Gatebox also accepts job applications. Lucky applicants who get hired and have successfully registered their waifu marriage are entitled to receive a monthly stipend of 5,000 yen (S$60.65) on top of their salary.

To sweeten the deal, these new Gatebox employees could also take the day off to celebrate their waifu’s birthday. Anime characters in Japan often have an official birthday which fans celebrate each year.

Applications will be accepted between Nov 22 to Dec 7, 2017

It’s worth noting that Gatebox also happens to sell a product called Gatebox Virtual Home Robot. The device projects a small holographic image of an anime girl which responds to voice commands, such as the hologram artificial intelligence Joi featured in “Bladerunner 2049”.

The characters act like virtual assistants which can turn on lights, appliances, play music and keep in contact with the owner through a smartphone app.

The product currently features two anime girls. One is an original Gatebox creation called Hikari Azuma while the other is virtual diva Hatsune Miku who recently celebrated her 10th anniversary. The waifu registrations may be an elaborate marketing strategy to gather feedback on which popular character should be added next to their lineup.

A “Suneung” student residing in Gyeonggi Province, who was trapped in her room in her house due to a broken door knob, successfully made it to the college entrance exam on Thursday after being rescued by Anyang Fire Department.

Worried that her daughter might miss the examination, the student’s mom called the fire department at 7.30am on Thursday, upon realising that the door would not budge.

Fire fighters soon arrived at the scene and broke the door knob to release the student, who reportedly looked extremely anxious about missing the once-a-year administered exam.

The Suneung, similar to the SAT examination in the US, plays a large part in determining what university a student will be accepted to. Some students have even described the exam as “the chance to make or break one’s future.”

Because the national exam is administered only once a year, senior high school students face significant pressure to perform well. According to South Korea’s Ministry of Education, approximately 25 per cent of students taking the Suneung this year are “re-takers,” slightly more than the 24 per cent that retook the exam last year.

One fire fighter later confirmed seeing the student hurry off to the test site in her mom’s car. It is not uncommon in Korea, however, to see police officers escort students to test sites on such an important day.