News Headlines - 09 January 2019
Theresa May has suffered another bruising Commons defeat as MPs voted in favour of an amendment that will force her to present a Brexit "plan B" within three days if her controversial deal does not pass... MPs backed the amendment by 308 votes to 297 on Wednesday afternoon.
It gives MPs the chance to formally put forward alternatives to her deal for the first time, including a People’s Vote, and the Norway and Efta “soft Brexit” options.
▽S. Korean Court Seizes Assets of Japanese Company Over Forced Labor
A South Korean court has seized the local assets of a Japanese company in order to compensate four South Koreans who were forced into labor during Japan's brutal colonial rule of the peninsula between 1910 and 1945... South Korea's Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in last October ordering Nippon Steel to pay nearly $90,000 to each of the four plaintiffs. But Nippon refused to comply, citing a 1965 treaty that formally normalized bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo. The treaty included $800 million in reparations paid by Japan in the form of economic aid and loans.
But the Supreme Court has ruled that the treaty does not prevent individuals from seeking compensation from Japanese companies involved in the forced labor practices of the time.
▽Thai, Saudi officials meet over case of young Saudi woman
Thailand’s immigration police chief met Tuesday with officials from the Saudi Embassy in Bangkok, as Saudi Arabia tried to distance itself from accusations that it attempted to block a young woman’s effort to flee from her family and seek asylum abroad.
Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun arrived in Bangkok from Kuwait late Saturday after slipping away from her family, whom she accused of abusing her. The 18-year-old was stopped by officials in Thailand who confiscated her passport.
Her urgent pleas for help over Twitter from an airport hotel room garnered tens of thousands of followers and the attention of the U.N.’s refugee agency, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Public pressure prompted Thai officials to return her passport and let her temporarily stay in Thailand.
▽Heathrow airport drone investigated by police and military - BBC News
The military is helping police after sightings of a drone temporarily halted flights at Heathrow airport on Tuesday... Departures from the west London airport were suspended for about an hour.
It comes after thousands of passengers were caught up in disruption at Gatwick Airport last month following reports of drone sightings.
▽Snowy Greece sees temperatures plunge to -23C
Greece has been freezing in temperatures as low as -23C (-9F) as some of Athens' most famous monuments got a dusting of snow.
The -23C figure was recorded in the northern city of Florina and led to road closures and disruption to transport.
Further south in the capital, Athens, snow fell around monuments such as the Temple of Zeus as schools closed and some roads became impassable because of ice.
