Loudspeakers silenced on Korean border

Today's news: Vietnam approves further administrative reform; The United Kingdom freezes the assets of a minister from  former  Prime Minister Hasina's government; In Syria, authorities force women to wear “burkinis” on public beaches.

KOREAN PENINSULA

After South Korea turned off its loudspeakers at the border that were broadcasting South Korean music at full volume, North Korea also suspended its propaganda broadcasts. ‘They stopped late on Wednesday evening and clearly did not occur in the early hours of the morning or early morning,’ Colonel Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press conference. In addition to efforts to ease tensions between the two countries, Lee Jae-myung's presidential office also stressed the need to alleviate the suffering of residents in the border area.

JAPAN – CHINA

After a Chinese military aircraft and a Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force patrol aircraft narrowly avoided collision in international waters in the Pacific, Tokyo this morning told Beijing to prevent a similar incident from happening again. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan had expressed its ‘serious concern’ to China.

VIETNAM

Vietnam's National Assembly has approved a plan to unify the provinces, which will reduce the number of local administrations from 63 to 34 and cut around 80,000 government jobs. The decision comes after the number of ministries was reduced from 30 to 22 in February, resulting in the loss of 23,000 jobs. Again, this is part of a series of reforms sought by the head of government, To Lam, for “rapid, stable and sustainable development”.

UK – BANGLADESH

The UK's National Crime Agency has frozen the assets of Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, former Bangladesh land minister and ally of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled last year following anti-government protests. The decision follows legal requests from the Bangladeshi authorities to take action against Chowdhury's assets, who is under investigation for money laundering.

SYRIA

The Syrian government has ruled that women should wear burkinis or other full-body swimsuits on public beaches. This is the first time the Syrian authorities have issued guidelines on what women can wear since Bashar al-Assad's regime was overthrown in December. The decision will not apply to four-star hotels or higher and private beaches, tourism officials said.

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