McDonald's restarts share buybacks as business recovers from pandemic hit

AFP
39 foreigners flee Myanmar scam centre: Thai police
Thirty nine foreigners have fled an online scam centre in Myanmar across the border to Thailand, where officials are working to identify potential trafficking victims, police told AFP on Monday.Immigration officials were working to identify potential victims of human trafficking, Petcharat said.
AFP
As baboons become bolder, Cape Town battles for solutions
On a sunny afternoon in Cape Town’s seaside village of Simon’s Town, three young chacma baboons cause a commotion, clambering on roofs, jumping between buildings and swinging on the gutters. About 500 chacma baboons -- among the largest monkey species and weighing up to 40 kilos (88 pounds) -- roam the peninsula south of Cape Town, says the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
Reuters
Rio Tinto-backed lithium tech startup set to raise second round of funds
A lithium technology startup backed by Rio Tinto expects to finalise a funding round in the next week to raise A$29 million ($19 million), even as the global lithium market struggles, its Melbourne-based CEO told Reuters. ElectraLith is developing a filtration technology that can extract lithium from brine deposits without using water or chemicals, which would be key in arid areas like Chile's Atacama desert, and needs only small amounts of energy. "The lithium market is not great, venture capital markets aren’t great, (so) the fact we are about to close this round with an oversubscribed investor base ... for us that’s fantastic," CEO Charlie McGill told Reuters.
Associated Press
Seoul court acquits South Korean opposition leader on charges of instigating perjury
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was acquitted on Monday on charges that he persuaded a witness to lie in court to understate Lee's past criminal conviction, in a rare moment of relief from broad legal troubles that threaten to derail his political career. Lee thanked the Seoul Central District Court judge after the ruling for “bringing back truth and justice.” The same court earlier this month sentenced Lee to a suspended prison term for violating election law by making false public statements while running for president in the 2022 election, which he narrowly lost to conservative rival Yoon Suk Yeol.
Reuters
Atos receives offer from French government for its advanced computing activities
The target is to have a share purchase agreement signed by May 31, 2025, it said in a press release. Atos also announced a commitment to launch a formal sale process for BDS's Mission-Critical Systems and Cybersecurity Products businesses. Advanced Computing, Critical Systems and Cyber Products are part of Atos' cybersecurity unit BDS.
Associated Press
Landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island, leaving 16 dead and 6 missing
Rescuers in Indonesia recovered 16 bodies under tons of mud and rocks or that were swept away in flash floods that hit mountainside villages on Sumatra Island, officials said Monday. Mud, rocks and trees tumbled down a mountain after torrential rains over the weekend and rivers burst their banks, tearing through four hilly districts in North Sumatra province, washing away houses and destroying farms. Police, soldiers and rescue workers used excavators, farm equipment and their bare hands to sift through the rubble looking for the dead and missing in Semangat Gunung, a resort area in Karo district, said Juspri M. Nadeak, who heads the local disaster management agency.
Reuters
Malaysian court orders return of Swatch LGBTQ-themed watches
A Malaysian court ordered the government on Monday to return rainbow-coloured watches and accessories made by Swatch Group that were seized last year for designs celebrating LGBTQ rights, a prosecutor told Reuters. Homosexuality is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and rights groups have warned of growing intolerance toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community in the Southeast Asian country. In May 2023, Malaysia confiscated 172 rainbow-coloured watches from the Swiss watchmaker's 'Pride collection' from 16 outlets due to the presence of the acronym 'LGBTQ' on the timepieces.
Associated Press
The number of children recruited by gangs in Haiti soars by 70%, UNICEF says
Gangs in Haiti are recruiting children at unprecedented levels, with the number of minors targeted soaring by 70% in the past year, according to a report released Monday by UNICEF. Currently, between 30% to 50% of all gang members in the violence-wracked country are children, according to the U.N. “This is a very concerning trend,” said Geeta Narayan, UNICEF’s representative in Haiti.
Associated Press
DHL cargo plane crashes into a house in Lithuania, killing at least 1
The head of the country's police said plane crashed shortly before landing at Vilnius airport. “It fell a few kilometers before the airport, it just skidded for a few hundred meters, its debris somewhat caught a residential house," said Police Commissioner-General Renatas Požėla. "Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people.”
NBC News
Dartmouth sorority, 2 fraternity members charged in death of student found in river
A Dartmouth College sorority and two members of a fraternity were charged in connection with the drowning death of Won Jang, whose body was found over the summer in the Connecticut River following an off-campus party, police said.
Reuters
South Korea's Yoon, Malaysia's Anwar agree to cooperate in defence, minerals
South Korea and Malaysia signed an agreement on Monday to cooperate in supplying critical minerals from Malaysia's reserves and to boost cooperation in the defence industry as the Southeast Asian country looks to upgrade its air force jets. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also shared their commitment at a summit to conclude a free trade agreement by next year, which would include additional areas such as services, investment, and green energy, Yoon's office said.
CNN
Inferno destroys thousands of shanties in Manila’s biggest slum area
A massive fire tore through a coastal shanty town in the Philippine capital on Sunday, leaving at least 2,000 families homeless as flames billowed for nearly eight hours.
Reuters
South Korean opposition leader cleared of forcing witness to commit perjury
South Korea's main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was cleared on Monday of charges that he forced a witness to commit perjury, the Seoul Central District Court said, in the latest of a series of legal cases that could threaten his political future. Lee, the leader of the Democratic Party, still faces several other trials including for bribery and other charges mostly tied to a $1 billion property development scandal. Lee, who narrowly lost to President Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 election and is widely expected to seek to run again, has said there was no basis for the indictment and described other charges against him as "political retaliation".
AFP
Uruguay's Orsi: from the classroom to the presidency
Uruguay's next president is a former history teacher who swapped the classroom for local government -- and will now lead the nation of 3.4 million following his Sunday win at the polls.Orsi taught history in high school until 2005, when he entered local government.
CNN
Father of Australian teen who died in Laos urges government ‘to protect others’ from tainted alcohol
The father of an Australian teenager who died from suspected methanol poisoning while on a backpacking holiday has issued a plea to the Laos government to fully investigate his daughter’s death and ensure such incidents don’t happen again.
AFP
UN chief slams landmine threat days after US decision to supply Ukraine
The UN Secretary-General on Monday slammed the "renewed threat" of anti-personnel landmines, days after the United States said it would supply the weapons to Ukrainian forces battling Russia's invasion. This includes the renewed use of anti-personnel mines by some of the Parties to the Convention, as well as some Parties falling behind in their commitments to destroy these weapons," he said in the statement.
Associated Press
A desert oasis outside of Dubai draws a new caravan: A family of rodents from Argentina
A desert oasis hidden away in the dunes in the far reaches of skyscraper-studded Dubai has drawn a surprising new set of weary world travelers: a pack of Argentinian rodents. A number of Patagonian mara, a rabbit-like mammal with long legs, big ears and a body like a hoofed animal, now roam the grounds of Al Qudra Lakes, typically home to gazelle and other desert creatures of the United Arab Emirates. How they got there remains a mystery in the UAE, a country where exotic animals have ended up in the private homes and farms of the wealthy.
Associated Press
Lebanon's Shiite Muslims pay high price in war between Israel and Hezbollah
The Lebanese civilians most devastated by the Israel- Hezbollah war are Shiite Muslims, and many of them believe they are being unfairly punished because they share a religious identity with Hezbollah militants and often live in the same areas. “This is clear,” said Wael Murtada, a young Shiite man who anxiously watched paramedics search rubble after a recent Israeli airstrike destroyed his uncle’s two-story home and killed 10 people. Israel has concentrated its attacks on villages in southern and northeastern Lebanon and neighborhoods south of Beirut.
Reuters
Philippines' Marcos vows to fight back after estranged VP's assassination threat
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Monday vowed to fight back against what he called reckless and troubling threats against him, speaking out after his estranged vice president said he would be assassinated if she herself were killed. In a strongly-worded video message addressing the nation, Marcos did not name Vice President Sara Duterte, his presidential running mate, but said "such criminal plans should not be overlooked." In a dramatic twist in fierce spat between Marcos and the powerful Duterte family, the daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said she had instructed an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife and the lower house speaker, in the event that she were killed.
Associated Press
Namibia may elect its first-ever female president in elections this week
Namibia's Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country’s first female president if she wins the presidential election Wednesday. At least 1.4 million people, or about half of the population, have registered to vote in the elections, with 15 political parties running for president and seats in the National Assembly. Results from special early polls held for Namibia 's foreign missions, seamen and security services announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia this month indicate Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party, the South West Africa People’s Organization, or SWAPO, are in the lead.

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