Briefly

JAPAN

Prosecutors charge 8 in kickbacks scandal

Japanese prosecutors have charged eight people, including two lawmakers, from Japan's ruling party over a funding scandal. The scandal adds more pressure on Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose approval ratings are now dismally low ahead of a key party presidency election later this year. At the center of the scandal are kickbacks that allegedly went to party members who exceeded their ticket sales quotas for fundraising events.

SUDAN

Membership frozen in east African bloc

Sudan's Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday the country has frozen its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, an east African bloc. The chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, informed the president of the current session of the IGAD of Sudan's decision, the ministry said in a statement.

SOUTH KOREA

Police chief indicted over Halloween crush

South Korean prosecutors have indicted the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, charging him with contributing through negligence to the Halloween crowd crush in 2022, according to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office. In October 2022, 159 people on a Halloween weekend were killed in a stampede.

Agencies Via Xinhua