A Filipino teen girl shouts slogans during a rally marking International Women’s Day in Manila, Philippines, 08 March 2019. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

Protesters marched on Malacanang presidential palace chanting against Duterte, who has repeatedly made jokes about rape and said last year that when he was a teenager he indecently “touched” the family maid.

    Presidential aides have stressed that the comments were mere jokes, not policies, and should not be taken seriously.

But protest leader Joms Salvador of women’s group Gabriela told AFP that Duterte’s “misogynistic” statements were “unacceptable, be they jokes or not.”

“Law enforcers construe them as policy pronouncements and they embolden criminals,” she added.

Activists from Gabriela push a carriage with an effigy of Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte as they march toward Malacanang palace to commemorate International Women’s Day in Manila on March 8, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

One woman or child is now raped in the Philippines per hour, a 153 percent increase from the decade before Duterte was elected president, according to Salvador.

A small group of policemen monitored the protesters at the palace, numbering around 4,000 according to journalists on the scene, before the group marched to a public square in another section of Manila in the afternoon.

Elsewhere in the city a shopping mall exhibition displayed clothes worn by women and girls when they suffered “gender-based violence” including rape at home, in school, at work or elsewhere.

Filipino women and supporters hold placards during a rally marking International Women’s Day in Manila, Philippines, 08 March 2019. International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day that celebrates women’s achievements in socially, economically, culturally and politically and also an invitation for all elements of society to accelerate gender equality. // EPA-EFE PHOTO

The sponsors said the show, backed by the United Nations Population Fund local office and which has run since last month, challenges “the idea that women’s appearance and behaviour are to blame when they are assaulted”.

“The Gateway (shopping mall) exhibit ‘don’t tell me how to dress’ is heart-rending. Seeing it personally make(s) me feel uncomfortable,” Twitter user @HAUTEANGELUS posted.

“Terrible, I cried while reading all their stories,” @anabemish tweeted with a picture of herself at the exhibit.

“It’s a good exhibit. It raises awareness about rape. Women of all ages and backgrounds can become victims and it is infuriating that some people trivialise it,” said Salvador, the protest leader.

Kim Ki-duk, 58, is one of the nation’s top filmmakers whose awards include the Golden Lion at the 2012 Venice Film Festival for “Pieta” and Berlin’s 2004 Silver Bear for Best Director.

But an actor in 2017 accused him of sexual and physical abuse, saying he forced her into unscripted sexual scenes and slapped her repeatedly while shooting his 2013 award-winning film “Moebius”, before replacing her with another actor.

Earlier this year, prosecutors dropped the sex abuse charge citing lack of evidence but fined Kim five million won ($4,600) for physical assault under a procedure to settle minor cases out of court.

    Last month, Kim filed a compensation suit worth 300 million won ($265,000) against Womenlink, an influential women’s rights group in Seoul that campaigned on the actor’s behalf, a spokeswoman for the Seoul Western District Court told AFP.

The director claims his reputation has been “significantly damaged” especially after the group asked an international film festival to cancel their invitation to Kim, citing allegations of sexual abuse made against him, the Womenlink group said.

Organisers of the Japan-based Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival eventually cancelled the invitation, but kept Kim’s movie as the opening film for this year’s edition, which is being held this week.

The director also accused the women’s rights group of “unfairly stigmatising him as a sexual predator”, even though prosecutors dropped the charge, and thereby causing financial damages as some of his films could not secure distribution at home and abroad as a result, the group added.

“The person who damaged Kim Ki-duk’s reputation is Kim Ki-duk himself,” the Womenlink group said in a statement Thursday.

“He is yet again tarnishing his own reputation by filing a lawsuit against an organisation that supports victims (of sexual violence).”

The director has won a global following with his broody, allegory-rich movies but has faced accusations of misogyny over gruesome scenes featuring sexual and physical violence against women, mostly sex workers.

The global #MeToo phenomenon has exposed South Korea’s previously unreported cases of sexual misconduct by high-profile figures, including a former presidential contender, in a country where patriarchal values remain deeply ingrained.

Jeong Seul-ah, a campaigner at Womenlink, said filing lawsuits — such as defamation and compensation claims — was a common tactic to silence victims of sexual violence in South Korea.

Accused perpetrators of sexual assault can sue under South Korea’s defamation law, which makes libel a crime and provides that stating the truth can still be an offence.

Kim had previously asked prosecutors to investigate journalists who reported his case for defamation, and the “Moebius” actor — who made her allegations anonymously — for defaming and false accusation.

“We see this lawsuit as yet another attack against the #MeToo movement,” Jeong told AFP.

    Air pollution is estimated to contribute to 7 million premature deaths every year and is considered by the United Nations to be the single biggest environmental health risk.

While Delhi was again named the capital with the dirtiest air, in tenth place, neighbouring business city Gurugram, which in 2016 changed its name from Gurgaon, took the not-so-coveted top spot.

Cities in China, Pakistan and Bangladesh were also placed in the top 30.

    The 2018 World Air Quality Report, compiled by Greenpeace and IQAir AirVisual, used air pollution data from tens of thousands of public and private monitoring stations across the world to rank over 3,000 cities from dirtiest down to cleanest.

At a country level, weighted by population, Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted country on average, closely followed by Pakistan and India, with Afghanistan and Mongolia also within the top 10.

“In addition to human lives lost, there’s an estimated global cost of 225 billion dollars in lost labour, and trillions in medical costs,” said Yeb Sano, executive director of Greenpeace South East Asia.

“This has enormous impacts, on our health and on our wallets.”

The report looked at measurements of fine particles known as PM2.5, which can penetrate into the airways to cause respiratory problems.

Of the over 3,000 cities included in the list, 64 percent exceeded the World Health Organisation’s annual exposure guideline for PM2.5.

Average concentrations of the pollutant in Chinese cities fell by 12 percent from 2017 to 2018. Beijing now ranks as the 122nd most polluted city in the world.

“In recent times, East Asia has demonstrated a strong correlation between rapid economic development and increased air pollution,” the report found.

It added that as the need to reduce air pollution has become more pressing in countries like China, “extensive monitoring networks and air pollution reduction policies have been put into place.”

The report also highlighted a lack of public information on air quality, particularly in Africa and South America.

Real-time information is a “cornerstone in generating public awareness and driving action to combat air pollution in the long-term,” it added.

Expressing disbelief at the Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister’s remarks that homosexuality does not exist in Malaysia, Dr Mah also criticised the Parti Warisan Sabah leader’s ability to field questions from the media.

“He was asked by a reporter if Malaysia is safe for homosexuals. All he needed to say was that Malaysia is a safe country and every tourist is safe here,” said Dr Mah.

He said that Mohamaddin had instead made an “outlandish” remark that homosexuality does not exist in Malaysia.

German daily Berliner Morgenpost quoted Mohamaddin on Wednesday (Mar 6) as saying that ” I think we do not have such a thing in our country. I cannot answer whether it’s safe or not,” while in Germany for a travel fair.

Read : Homosexuality? No such thing in our country, says Tourism Minister

Dr Mah said that Mohamaddin’s remarks from had dented Malaysia’s reputation, and advised him to issue clarification on the matter. He also hoped that Mohamaddin would not blame the media for misquoting him.

Dr Mah also raised doubt over the performance of certain ministers.

“It’s clear that some of them are non-performers and that they needed to be dropped soon. Please do not send them to other ministries.”

Neither Mohamaddin nor his press secretary could be contacted at the time of writing.

The first hint that something was afoot came when a trolley was wheeled out of the Kosuge detention centre, with stacks of blankets piled up high.

Photographers began snapping and cameras zoomed in as the blankets were piled into a black van parked at the door by police and people in civilian clothes.

Were these Ghosn’s things — and where was Ghosn?

    And then suddenly police officers started to file out of the building, all wearing standard issue dark caps as well as the medical face masks commonly seen in Japan during cold and flu season.

The phalanx of officers seemed to suggest that Ghosn would soon be emerging behind.

But who was that? A short man wearing a light blue cap unlike the others. His work jacket was a similar dark hue to those of the officers, except for some bright orange reflective stripes.

Could that be Ghosn?

A cacophony of camera shutters clicked as the man calmly strode the few steps from the detention centre doors, but most of his face was covered with a medical mask.

He turned slightly, and his eyes were visible behind a pair of dark-rimmed glasses. Only a glimpse, but enough to confirm that the auto titan was now out of detention.

He could hardly have looked different from the man who flew around the world on private jets and once threw a lavish party at France’s Versailles Palace.

Stripped of his sharp suits, with his trademark bushy eyebrows obscured by his cap and glasses, and a mask covering most of his face, the disguise was almost good enough for him to slip past.

Almost.

   – ‘Ghosn’s disguise’ –

Ghosn said nothing audible as he walked out, his hands empty.

He did not acknowledge the media massed at the perimeter of the centre’s grounds as he walked towards a silver van that appeared intended to complete the disguise, replete with a workman’s ladder strapped to the top.

The man who once headed Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors and Renault climbed into the minivan — Suzuki brand.

A camera zoomed in on him inside, showing his head tipped slightly into his hand, as though he were trying to hide his face.

There was no sign of his wife and daughter who were earlier seen entering the detention centre.

Several police officers on motorbikes followed behind in an escort as the van pulled away from the centre, its destination unclear.

The release sparked a furore on Japanese media and Twitter, where the sight of a man once hailed as a national hero dressed in a workman’s disguise inspired mirth and confusion.

“Mr. Ghosn clad in workclothes is enjoying a ride in a minivan,” joked one Twitter user in Japanese.

“Ghosn’s disguise, couldn’t it be a bit better?” asked another.

In a brazen killing that shocked the world, Vietnam’s Doan Thi Huong and Indonesia’s Siti Aisyah are accused of assassinating Kim Jong-nam by smearing VX nerve agent on his face at Kuala Lumpur airport in February 2017.

The women have denied murder, saying they believed they were taking part in a prank and were tricked by North Korean agents.

Salim Bashir, one of Huong’s lawyers, said she will testify on Monday when the trial resumes with the defence stage of proceedings after a break of several months.

“Huong is in good health, confident and is ready to take the stand,” he said, adding that the thrust of the defence remained that the women were tricked into carrying out the killing.

“Huong had no . . . intention to commit murder.”

The pair have been on trial since October 2017 but proceedings have been hit by repeated delays, and Aisyah’s defence – which was originally due to start last year – is currently on hold due to a row over witness statements.

Prosecutors presented their case in the first stage of the trial, with witnesses describing how the victim – once seen as heir apparent to the North Korean leadership – died in agony shortly after being attacked.

In August, a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence the suspects had engaged in a “well-planned conspiracy” with four North Koreans to murder Kim, and ordered that the trial continue to the defence stage.

The four, who are accused of having recruited the pair and being the masterminds of the plot, are also formally accused over the killing. They fled the country shortly after the murder.

South Korea has accused the North of ordering the hit, which Pyongyang denies.

A murder conviction carries a mandatory penalty of death in Malaysia. The government has vowed to abolish capital punishment for all crimes, although parliament still needs to vote on changing the law.”

“Homosexuality? I don’t think we have such a thing in our country. “I cannot answer whether it’s safe or not,” he was quoted as saying by Berlin daily Berliner Morgenpost.

Mohamaddin, who was in Germany this month for the ITB Berlin travel fair, was answering a question from a reporter who asked if Malaysia was a safe destination for homosexuals.

Last July, Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa, who’s the Minister in charge of Islamic Affairs, said the laws were clear that homosexual activities were prohibited in the country.

Mohamaddin and his press secretary could not be contacted at the time of writing.

    Last week’s meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump ended abruptly after the pair failed to reach an agreement on walking back Pyongyang’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

The renewed activity was recorded two days after the summit and may “demonstrate resolve in the face of US rejection” of the North’s request for sanctions relief, said researchers at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“This facility had been dormant since August 2018, indicating the current activity is deliberate and purposeful.”

    Kim had agreed to shutter the Sohae missile-testing site at a summit with the South’s President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang, as part of confidence-building measures, and satellite pictures in August suggested workers were already dismantling an engine test stand at the facility.

CSIS said activity is “evident” at the vertical engine test stand and the launch pad’s rail-mounted rocket transfer structure at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station — the facility from which Pyongyang launched satellites in 2012 and 2016.

The satellite launches were condemned by the international community and widely viewed as disguised ballistic missile tests.

The CSIS analysis said the Sohae facility “has been used in the past for satellite launches,” which use “ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) technology banned under UN Security Council resolutions.”

In a briefing to parliamentarians this week, Seoul’s spy agency said it had detected signs of work at the site.

Joel Wit, the director of the respected Washington-based 38 North project cautioned that the evidence was not necessarily “consistent with preparations for an ICBM test”.

“Aside from the fact that (North Korea) has never tested an ICBM from Sohae — it’s a space vehicle launch site — preparation for any launch would require a wide range of activities not observed in the imagery.”

Impoverished and isolated North Korea conducted its first successful nuclear test in 2006 followed by a string of increasingly successful ICBM launches.

In 2017, it claimed it had become a nuclear state, capable of fitting a viable nuclear weapon on an ICBM that could reach as far as the United States’ eastern seaboard.

In the same year, the UN Security Council banned the North’s main exports — coal and other mineral resources, fisheries and textile products — to cut off its access to hard currency in response to Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear arms and ballistic missiles.

At their groundbreaking first summit in Singapore last year, Kim and Trump produced a vague statement on the “denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”.

There were high expectations for Kim and Trump’s second meeting in Hanoi, but no agreement was reached. Despite the stalemate in Vietnam, however, both sides said they were open to further talks.

A third summit has not been scheduled.

“Asha” — meaning “hope” in Hindi — was rescued by West Bengal police when they found her being mistreated outside their training facility.

“The dog was bleeding when she was taken inside the campus,” senior West Bengal Police Training Academy official Dipankar Bhattacharya told AFP.

Officers originally intended keeping the mixed-breed stray as a pet, but Asha turned out to have a nose every bit as good as the German Shepherds and Labradors usually trained to sniff out explosives and drugs.

    Sajal Mondal, the head of the academy, said she passed the gruelling training with flying colours and that drugs and explosives like TNT were no match for Asha’s keen sense of smell.

“She performed better than her pedigree peers, jumping nearly six feet (two metres) high and crossing hurdles,” he said.

“She is also our fastest runner.”

Asha is the first mixed-breed dog to join the 30-strong unit.

High-tech Singapore has become a testbed for self-driving technology and the world’s first driverless taxis went into operation in a limited public trial in the country in 2016.

Swedish automaker Volvo Buses and its local partner Nanyang Technological University (NTU) unveiled what they described as a full-size autonomous electric bus and said the vehicle would soon start trial runs in the university’s sprawling campus.

A Volvo AB 7300 electric autonomous bus drives on the track of Centre of Excellence for Testing & Research of Autonomous Vehicles after being unveiled in Singapore on March 5, 2019. // AFP PHOTO

    Data from the trials will be used to improve the technology before the driverless buses are put to the test on public roads, Volvo and NTU said in a statement.

Volvo Buses president Hakan Agnevall said the vehicle was “an important step towards our vision for a cleaner, safer and smarter city”.

The vehicle is 12 metres (39 feet) long with a full capacity of close to 80 passengers.

It uses 80 percent less energy than a diesel bus of a similar size and is equipped with sensors and navigation controls managed by an artificial intelligence system, the statement said.