News Headlines - 16 July 2019

▽New Thai Cabinet marks 'return to democracy' | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News

Thailand's new Cabinet has been sworn in, marking the end of five years of military rule. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says the country has returned to democracy. But, with the former army chief staying on as leader, the military is expected to continue exerting a strong influence on Thai politics.
Prayut and 35 other Cabinet members attended a ceremony on Tuesday. Key posts went to figures from the outgoing government, including the deputy prime ministers and the finance and foreign ministers.

▽Toyota, JAXA ink 3-yr pact over plan to send rover to Moon in 2029

Toyota Motor Corp. and Japan's space exploration agency said Tuesday they have signed a three-year agreement to jointly research and develop a rover to be sent to the Moon in 2029.
Under the agreement covering the period through March 2022, Toyota and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will develop, manufacture and test a prototype rover capable of running on the surface of the Moon using fuel cell power.

▽South Korean forced labor victims to seek Japan's Mitsubishi asset sale - Reuters

South Koreans forced to work for Japanese occupiers will seek a court order to forcibly liquidate Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ assets to compensate them, their lawyers said on Tuesday, risking more Japanese anger over the issue.

▽Ukraine Passes Law Allowing Chemical Castration as a Punishment for Pedophiles

Pedophiles can be chemically castrated as a punishment in Ukraine under a new law passed on July 11 by the national parliament.
According to the government-run news agency, Ukrinform, chemical castration has been added to the criminal code.

▽Child soldiers used in Yemen civil war, report says | DW

More than 1,000 Yemeni children have been forced to fight in the civil war, the Yemen based NGO "Mwatana for Human Rights" has said.
The organization's annual report, which they presented on Tuesday in Paris, detailed how 1,117 children as young as 17 had been recruited by military groups in 2018... The children are used "by every group in the conflict to fight, guard checkpoints, and to provide logistical support to the military," the report said. The Houthi rebel group, which is backed by Iran and the terrorist group Hezbollah, is responsible for 72% of child soldier use. But the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has also used child soldiers in 11% of cases identified in the report.