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French teen fined in Singapore 'straw licking' case

A French teenager was fined in Singapore on Thursday after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge for a straw-licking stunt that landed him in hot water in the city state. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, was handed a Sg$600 ($465) fine after admitting to posting to social media a video of himself putting a straw he had licked back into the dispenser on an orange juice vending machine. The clip went viral on Instagram shortly after the incident on March 12, triggering a backlash that led to his arrest in Singapore, which is known for its strict enforcement of public order and hygiene rules. Handing down the sentence, Judge Kelly Ho said given Maximilien's "age and nature of the offence", alternatives like probation or a community-based sentence would not be imposed. Prosecutors agreed to the defence's proposal for a fine, saying the offence was at the "lower end" of its seriousness and while hygiene was compromised, no member of the public u...

South Korea, Japan discuss military-logistics support deal, Seoul says

South Korea and Japan discussed the possibility of a military-logistics support agreement on Sunday, Seoul's defense chief said, adding that Seoul remains cautious about the politically sensitive pact. "It requires the understanding and persuasion of the citizens of both nations, and I believe we should still proceed with caution," Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back told reporters after meeting his counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi at the Shangri-La Dialogue of regional defence officials in Singapore on Saturday. Read: South Korea protests Japanese event over disputed islands Ahn was referring to a potential acquisition and cross-servicing agreement, which would allow neighbouring United States allies Seoul and Tokyo to share and mutually procure military logistics such as fuel, food and ammunition. South Korea has been cautious about a deal, given persistent grievances over Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule and public resistance to the possibility of Japanese troops operating on the Korean Peninsula. Read More: Japan offers $10b support to help Asian neighbours secure oil Calls to Japan's Ministry of Defense and Prime Minister's Office seeking comment went unanswered outside business hours. Meanwhile, the Japanese defense ministry said in a statement that Koizumi and Ahn discussed conducting a joint humanitarian search and rescue exercise in June, for the first time in about nine years.

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