Australian Cardinal’s child sex conviction appeal hearing in June
AFP, Melbourne
Disgraced Australian Cardinal George Pell, convicted over child sex crimes, will get a second chance to clear his name this June, a court official said Wednesday, if a judge grants his appeal.
His appeal application has been listed for hearing on June 5-6, a Supreme Court of Victoria spokesman said.
S Korean ex-President Lee granted bail
AFP, Seoul
Jailed former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was granted bail on Wednesday, nearly a year after he was arrested over corruption charges.
The CEO-turned president, who served from 2008 to 2013, was found guilty on charges including bribery and embezzlement and sentenced to 15 years in prison last October.
But the Seoul High Court approved the request for bail that the 77-year-old Lee made on the grounds of ill health, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported.
Indonesia mine collapse death toll rises to 16
AFP, Jakarta
The death toll from last week’s collapsed gold mine in northern Indonesia has risen to 16, as hopes to find survivors fade, an official said Wednesday.
Eighteen people have been pulled alive but injured from the illegal mine on Sulawesi island, but it is unclear how many were inside when the accident happened last Tuesday.
Ghosn out on bail after more than 100 days
AFP, Tokyo
Former Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn left his Tokyo detention centre Wednesday after more than 100 days in custody, following a shock court decision granting him bail of one billion yen ($9 million).
Ghosn left the detention centre in northern Tokyo flanked by guards, wearing a blue cap, a white medical face mask and a work jacket with orange reflective stripes.
87 migrants rescued off Italy’s Lampedusa
Reuters, Valletta
Eighty-seven migrants in a wooden boat have been rescued off the Italian island of Lampedusa and are due to arrive in Malta on Wednesday, officials said.
Malta’s armed forces said one of its patrol boats took in the migrants late on Tuesday after an Italian vessel sent to rescue them broke down.
Italy has become engaged with a number of spats with Malta – the European Union’s smallest country – over who should take in migrants found in the Mediterranean.
16 killed in Afghan suicide attack
AFP, Jalalabad
At least 16 people were killed in a suicide attack early Wednesday on a construction company in eastern Afghanistan, an official said, the latest bloody assault in the war-torn country.
The hours-long assault in Jalalabad began early Wednesday when at least two blasts were heard, an AFP reporter said, before security forces rushed to the scene in the city, which is the capital of Nangarhar province.
