Briefly

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Search for six after Chinese boat capsizes

A Chinese fishing boat capsized off the southwestern coast of the Republic of Korea on Tuesday, leaving six Chinese missing, said the Consulate General of China in Gwangju to Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday. Nine Chinese citizens have been rescued. Zhang Chenggang, the consul general in Gwangju, said Chinese coast guard vessels have been dispatched to join search and rescue operations, and an investigation into the cause of the accident is underway. Later on Wednesday, another ship with nine crewmen including four Chinese citizens capsized in waters off the country's easternmost islets of Dokdo, called Takeshima by Japan.

UNITED STATES

Panel votes to hold Bannon in contempt

A special committee of the US House of Representatives investigating the Jan 6 Capitol riot voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve a report which holds Steve Bannon, a former adviser to former US president Donald Trump, in criminal contempt of the Congress. Released on Monday night, the report recommended that the House holds him in contempt for refusing to comply with the panel's subpoena and appearance for a deposition. The report rebutted the executive privilege of Bannon, cited in his refusal. It also provided a legal argument on why Bannon must comply with the subpoena. The report will go to the full House, where CNN cited a source as saying a floor vote could be expected on Thursday. After the vote, the report will be referred to the Justice Department.

GERMANY

Death camp secretary faces court in silence

A 96-year-old former Nazi concentration camp secretary, who absconded before her trial was set to start, stayed almost completely silent as she finally appeared in court in Germany on Tuesday. Irmgard Furchner, the first woman to be prosecuted for Nazi-era crimes in decades, is charged with complicity in the killing or attempted killing of more than 11,000 people at the Stutthof camp in occupied Poland. A bailiff brought the pensioner into the regional court in the northern town of Itzehoe. Furchner confirmed her identity to the presiding judge, but did not otherwise address the court.

DPRK

Missile launch from submarine confirmed

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea said on Wednesday that it had test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine on Tuesday, in its first such underwater test-launch in two years and one it says will bolster its military's undersea capabilities. The DPRK's state-run Korean Central News Agency said the latest test "will greatly contribute to putting the defense technology of the country on a high level and to enhancing the underwater operational capability of our navy".

Xinhua - Agencies