Hanoi – Five frozen tigers have been discovered in a Vietnamese man’s freezer with their organs removed, according to official reports Tuesday, in a country seen as a global hub for the illegal wildlife trade.

Tiger organs and bones are used for medicinal purposes in the communist country, where a thriving local market drives the illegal sale of animal parts including ivory and rhino horn.

But Vietnam is also a key transit route for wildlife parts destined for elsewhere in Asia, including neighbouring China.

The five tigers were discovered in the central province of Nghe An on Monday, according to a report from the official provincial newspaper.

“The authorities found inside a freezer five dead tigers, with the skins intact but the internal organs removed,” it said.

The tigers were Indochinese, according to Vietnam News Agency, but officials said police would investigate further.

Police refused to comment.

Tiger bones are commonly boiled down and mixed with rice wine in Vietnam, a mixture believed to treat arthritis and promote strength.

Conservationists say Vietnam is one of the world’s worst countries for trade in endangered species, an accusation which it denies.

Police regularly seize hauls of ivory, rhino horn and exotic species including pangolins, but conservation groups say these represent just a small part of the trade passing through the communist country.

Britain’s Prince William delivered an urgent plea in Vietnam in November to end wildlife trafficking to save critically endangered species.

Yangon – Ride-hailing firm Grab launched a trial service in Yangon on Tuesday, becoming the first international company to enter Myanmar and stealing a march on fierce rival Uber in the largely untapped market.

The Singapore-based company said it was conducting a trial with a small group of taxi drivers in Myanmar’s largest city and planned to gradually scale up its operations.

Several local ride-hailing apps already operate in Myanmar’s commercial hub but Grab is the first international company to enter the country.

“Ride-hailing and using smartphones to book taxis is still a relatively new concept in Yangon,” said Cheryl Goh, Grab’s vice-president of marketing.

Global behemoth Uber said it was in talks with Yangon’s regional government to launch in the city “very soon”.

Once an isolated junta-run nation where only the richest could dream of owning a car, Myanmar has seen an explosion in vehicle numbers in recent years.

There are currently around 430,000 registered cars in Myanmar, according to automotive consulting firm Solidiance, the vast majority of them choking up the streets of Yangon where traffic now moves infuriatingly slowly.

In January local authorities launched a wide-reaching shakeup of the bus service, slashing the number of routes, removing old vehicles and abolishing the regulator.

The move caused chaos, leaving thousands of commuters stranded, and weeks later many complain there are still fewer buses on the roads.

Competition is heating up between ride-hailing firms keen to grab a slice of Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding market.

The market for these apps is forecast to grow more than five times to $13.1 billion by 2025, according to a report by Singapore investment firm Temasek.

Singapore-based Grab has grown rapidly since launching in 2012 and now has more than 700,000 drivers in nearly 40 cities in Southeast Asia.

It offers locally tailored services such as motorcycle taxis, package deliveries and cash payment.

But despite their huge popularity, both Grab and Uber have run into regulatory problems.

In neighbouring Thailand police have threatened to shut down Uber and in recent weeks have taken to arresting and fining its drivers.

SEOUL – Ousted South Korean president Park Geun-hye apologised to the country on Tuesday as she arrived at prosecutors’ offices for questioning as a criminal suspect in a corruption scandal that has gripped the country for months.

Park, 65, became South Korea’s first democratically elected president to be removed from office when the Constitutional Court this month upheld her impeachment by parliament in December.

She has been accused of colluding with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to donate to two foundations that backed her policy initiatives. Park and Choi have both denied wrongdoing.

“I am sorry to the people. I will faithfully cooperate with questioning,” Park said in front of media at the steps of the prosecutors’ office building, her first comments directly to the public since she was dismissed.

Read also: “My heart is breaking”, says South Korean president Park in tearful apology

334262

2016-10-29 18:47:34

Photo Gallery

The ‘female Rasputin’ at centre of S Korean President Park Geun-Hye political scandal

Source:

AFP

Reuters

• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–

Park has not been charged but could face more than 10 years in jail if convicted of receiving bribes from bosses of big conglomerates, including Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee, in return for favours.

After about five hours of questioning, an official from the prosecutors’ office told reporters Park had been forthcoming but he declined to elaborate on what she had been asked, on her responses or on what charges she might face.

Park’s fate and the widening corruption investigation have gripped the country at a time of rising tension with North Korea and China.

Hundreds of Park’s flag-waving supporters gathered outside her home in Seoul’s upmarket Gangnam district to see her off, and later gathered outside the prosecution office.

Television cameras followed her as she was driven in a black sedan to the office, a few minutes away from her home, escorted by police who cleared the road. Earlier, media saw Park’s hairdresser arriving at her home.

Park was dressed in a dark navy coat and trouser suit with grey shoes, and looked sombre as she stood to deliver her brief remarks.

Read also: S Korea’s Lotte family owners go on trial for graft

381440

2017-03-09 16:01:25

Photo Gallery

Samsung heir arrested in S Korea corruption probe

Source:

AFP

Reuters

• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–

‘EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW’

Park, who was accompanied by two of her lawyers, was given tea before her first session of questioning by two prosecutors and an investigation official, prosecutors said in a statement.

One of her lawyers, Yoo Yeong-ha, is known as her “Bulletproof Vest” and has been her legal voice since the beginning of the scandal in October.

Park declined to have her questioning recorded by video camera, prosecutors said.

She later had a lunch break of some seaweed rice rolls and a sandwich, one of her lawyers said.

The questioning is expected to last late into the night and another of her lawyers, Sohn Bum-kyu, told a television channel Park would choose whether it would go beyond midnight.

Prosecutors could detain her but the official from the prosecutors’ office, who briefed reporters on the condition he not be identified, said Park would go home after this session.

He declined to say if she would be summoned again or whether a warrant for her arrest would be filed.

Sohn said Park’s health was not at its best and she had been getting medical checks between questioning sessions. The prosecution official said his office had not received any medical note regarding her health.

Read also: Timeline of South Korean president Park Geun-hye’s political career

351244

2016-11-06 10:08:13

Photo Gallery

Tens of thousands of South Koreans stage protest in Seoul calling for President Park Geun Hye to resign

Source:

AFP

Reuters

• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–
• 
  
  <!–

The scandal has undermined support for Park’s conservative ruling party. A liberal opposition politician, Moon Jae-in, is leading in opinion polls and is expected to win a snap presidential election on May 9.

Park’s supporters and opponents have held protests in Seoul for months but police have managed to keep them apart and no serious violence has broken out between them.

A spokesman for Moon said uncovering the truth would help heal divisions. “We want former president Park to tell the truth and ask for forgiveness. All are equal before the law,” said the spokesman, Park Kwang-on. “Finding the truth is a first step for the unity of the people.”

A top official from Park’s party urged prosecutors not to be swayed by public opinion but to find the truth and give Park the cordial treatment a former president deserved.

“Everyone, not only me, is feeling miserable and distressed,” the party official, Chung Woo-taik, told a meeting.