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SYDNEY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Indonesia's release of convicted Bali bomb maker Umar Patek will be a "difficult day" for Australians who lost loved ones and relatives in the attacks, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday. Patek was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2012 for his involvement in bombings that ripped through two Bali nightclubs, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians. "I think this going to be a very difficult day for many Australians – all Australians – to hear about the release of Umar Patek," Marles told ABC radio. "I'm particularly thinking right now of the families of those who were killed and injured in the Bali bombings." [1/2] Indonesian militant Umar Patek walks after reading his final defence at the West Jakarta court May 31, 2012.

☆ South Korea extradites suspect in New Zealand suitcase murders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea extradited a 42-year-old woman to New Zealand, two months after she was arrested following the discovery of the bodies of two long-dead children in abandoned suitcases. New Zealand police said the woman arrived at Auckland Airport on Tuesday after they sent three officers to South Korea to bring her back. New Zealand police said the South Korean warrant for the suspect’s arrest was in connection with two murder charges. South Korean police say the woman was born in South Korea and later moved to New Zealand, where she gained citizenship. Immigration records show she returned to South Korea in 2018.

☆ Russia's justice ministry adds Meta to 'extremist' list - Kommersant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Russia's justice ministry added Facebook-owner Meta Platforms (META.O) to its register of extremist organisations on Friday, the Kommersant newspaper reported. A Russian court earlier this year ruled Meta had engaged in "extremist activity". Moscow has restricted access to Facebook and Instagram as part of a campaign against Western social media platforms. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Magnitsky sanctions aim to punish those accused of corruption or enabling human rights abuses. The U.S. Treasury Department, which is responsible for Magnitsky sanctions, declined to comment. U.S. officials in Brazil and the United States have already begun the process of identifying and investigating specific targets, the source said, with potential punishments ranging from visa blacklists to Global Magnitsky sanctions. It is unclear when or if the United States could sanction specific targets, as the investigations can take a while. Targeting environmental criminals with Global Magnitsky sanctions is unusual but not unprecedented.

☆ South Korea debates scrapping Cold War-era ban on North's propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Debate is brewing in South Korea over efforts to scrap a decades-old ban on North Korean media, as changing attitudes fuel renewed calls to review a national security law dating from the Cold War. South Korea's National Security Act blocks access to the North's government websites and media, barring efforts at "praising, inciting or propagating" its activities. In a statement to the court before the hearing, the national rights watchdog had called the clauses vague, disproportionate and damaging to fundamental rights. North Korean films, songs and other content are already widely available on YouTube and elsewhere, they added. "The North will likely produce television shows and publications specifically designed to sow more division in the South," said defector Kim Tae-san, a former North Korean ambassador to the Czech Republic.

☆ Israel calls U.S. move to investigate Al Jazeera journalist's killing 'serious mistake'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Israel will not cooperate with any external investigation into the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Defence Minister Benny Gantz said on Monday. "The U.S. Justice Ministry's decision to investigate the unfortunate death of Shireen Abu Akleh is a serious mistake," Gantz said in a statement. The circumstances of Abu Akleh's killing remain heavily disputed. Other witness accounts of the incident have disputed that Israeli positions were under fire from the area where Abu Akleh was standing when she was killed. "We continue to pursue all possible avenues for accountability and we have hope that some day we will see justice for Shireen."

☆ Americans convicted in Japan on Carlos Ghosn’s escape return home
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

TOKYO — An American father and son convicted in Japan on charges of helping former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn escape to Lebanon by hiding in a box have been returned to the U.S., their lawyer said Tuesday. The U.S. and Japan have an extradition treaty, while Lebanon has no extradition treaty with Japan. Peter Taylor has already been released, and is back with his family in Massachusetts, said Kelly, whose office is based in Boston. During their trial in Tokyo, Michael and Peter Taylor apologized and acknowledged guilt, saying they had been misled by Ghosn. He says he fled because he could not expect a fair trial in Japan.

☆ This man says he lost all his savings gambling online in China, where players visit 'mirror' websites that change URLs daily and fake 'friends' recruit gamblers in chat groups
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Gambling is illegal in most parts of China, apart from the state-owned national lotteries, and recognised gambling sites are blocked from Chinese users. It is one of many gambling companies that have mirror sites. Experts told Insider mirror websites are a "common" practice by betting companies in countries that don't allow gambling. A virtual armyHuang said it was easy to find a link to a new mirror gambling site once an old one has been blocked: his friends sent him the URL. They make friends with people and claim that they have won money gambling, and encourage other users to visit mirror sites.

☆ (OFFICIAL) Key ministers in new Italian government
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Italy's newly appointed Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni speaks to the media following a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy October 21, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneROME, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Giorgia Meloni's Italian government will be sworn in on Saturday at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT). Here the profiles of some of the key figures:ECONOMY MINISTERGiancarlo Giorgetti, 55, is a veteran political wheeler-dealer viewed as a moderate and relatively pro-European member of his right-wing League party. He was not Prime Minister Meloni's first choice for the job. Meloni insisted on him for the job, overcoming resistance from Berlusconi who wanted a Forza Italia member in the justice ministry.

☆ South Korea is turning away Russians trying to escape Putin's military draft by sea
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russians fleeing Putin's military draft have left via car, train, plane, and less frequently, by boat. All but two Russians known to have sailed into South Korea to avoid the draft have been denied entry. A South Korean lawmaker told NBC News the country must create "dedicated procedures" for those fleeing the conflict. Russia and South Korea have an agreement allowing citizens to enter for up to 90 days visa-free, according to the Korea Herald. "South Korea is already a country that accepts very few refugees," he said.

☆ Russians flee to South Korea to avoid being drafted to fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Stella Kim | Stella Kim Is An Nbc News Freelance Producer Based In Seoul. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL — Groups of Russians have sailed to South Korea in an attempt to avoid being conscripted for the war in Ukraine — only for most of them to be refused entry at the border. Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik via APBut he said 21 were denied approval on the basis of “insufficient documentation and unclear objective" for entering South Korea. The two successful applicants had documents showing records of having previously been in South Korea. A 6-ton yacht also arrived in South Korea on Oct. 1, according to the Coast Guard. All four individuals aboard were denied entry.

☆ Afghan refugees camp out in Brazilian airport in search of new life
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Fernando Cardoso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Brazil has approved about 6,000 humanitarian visas for Afghan refugees since late last year. But local authorities near Sao Paulo's Guarulhos airport said they had little idea there would be dozens of Afghans arriving daily this month. The refugees told Reuters they arrived without promises of a place to stay and now the local government is scuttling to find places for them outside the airport grounds. Afghan women talk near makeshift tents made out of blankets as they camp at Sao Paulo International airport in search of refuge in Guarulhos, Brazil, October 12, 2022. The Sao Paulo state government is working with municipal authorities and civil society to attend to basic needs of the arriving refugees.

☆ Russians fleeing Putin's call-up sail to S.Korea, most denied entry
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Desperate to avoid military call-up to fight in Ukraine, more than 20 Russians have sailed in yachts down the North Pacific coast to South Korea, but most were refused entry, a South Korean lawmaker said on Wednesday. Arriving aboard four yachts, 23 Russians have reached South Korea since late September, but authorities have granted entry to only two, lawmaker An Ho-young said, citing coast guard data. Two yachts left from the South Korean island of Ulleung and southeastern port of Pohang on Tuesday with 15 Russians aboard, An said. Two other yachts remained in Pohang, and one of them - left with just two Russians aboard after two gained entry - intended making the long voyage to Thailand, the lawmaker added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Philippines to shut 175 offshore gambling firms, deport 40,000 Chinese workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MANILA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The Philippines will stop operations of 175 offshore gambling firms and deport about 40,000 Chinese workers, a justice ministry official said on Monday, part of a crackdown on the notoriously opaque online gaming industry. At their peak, Philippine offshore gambling operators, or POGOs, employed more than 300,000 Chinese workers, but the pandemic and higher taxes have forced many to operate elsewhere. The POGOs targeted for closure had licenses that either expired or were revoked, for violations like non-payment of government fees, Clavano said, adding the deportation of the Chinese workers would start next month. The government generated 7.2 billion pesos ($122.21 million) in 2020 and 3.9 billion last year in POGO fees alone, according to the finance ministry. The sector employs 201,000 Chinese and 111,000 Filipinos, according to Leechiu's data, which estimates POGOs deliver 190 billion pesos ($3.22 billion) to the economy each year, a boon to the property and retail sectors.

☆ In pictures: Soccer legend Diego Maradona
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-25 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Diego Maradona is carried around the field after leading Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup final. Maradona is best known for captaining Argentina to victory at the 1986 World Cup, where he was named the tournament's best player and scored two of its most famous goals. In 2008, Maradona became Argentina's manager and led the team at the 2010 World Cup, where it was eliminated in the quarterfinals. At the time of his death, he was in charge of Gimnasia y Esgrima, a club in Argentina's first division. Earlier this month, Maradona underwent successful surgery for a subdural hematoma — more commonly known as a blood clot on the brain.

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