Ex-S. Korean President dies

FORMER South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan died yesterday at the age of 90, his former press aide said.

Chun had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer which was in remission, and his health had deteriorated recently, his former press secretary Min Chung-ki told reporters. He passed away at his Seoul home early in the morning and his body will be moved to a hospital for a funeral later in the day.

French PM tests positive

FRENCH Prime Minister Jean Castex has tested positive for COVID-19, French media reported Monday.

Returning from Brussels on Monday afternoon after meeting with his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo, Castex learnt that one of his daughters tested positive for COVID-19, Le Figaro reported.

De Croo will be tested today and will remain in quarantine until the result of his test, local media reported.

Several senior members of the Belgian government will also go into quarantine to avoid any risks.

French ministers in the delegation include minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, Interior minister Gerald Darmanin, minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, and Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune.

8 bodies found

EIGHT bodies were discovered Monday near the Salgueiro favela in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region a day after a shootout during a police operation, according to local authorities.

The bodies were found in a mangrove after members of the Military Police’s Special Police Operations Battalion entered the favela Sunday, following the shooting death of an officer on patrol there on Saturday night.

During the police operation, suspected drug traffickers who control the area engaged in a shootout with police, said state police, adding that the bodies, all male, wore camouflage uniforms and carried rifle cartridges.