News Headlines - 08 April 2021

▽Opposition wins by landslide in Seoul, Busan mayoral elections - The Mainichi

South Korea's main opposition People Power Party won by a landslide in Wednesday's mayoral elections in the country's two largest cities, Seoul and Busan, sending a shockwave to the administration of President Moon Jae In less than a year from the next presidential election.

▽Coronavirus spreading among SDF in Djibouti | NHK WORLD

Japan's Defense Ministry says members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces on a counter-piracy mission off Somalia have been infected with the coronavirus.
About 180 Self-Defense Force personnel are currently stationed at the mission's base in Djibouti.
The ministry says all personnel were tested after infections were confirmed last Friday and Saturday. An additional 17 personnel tested positive on Wednesday, bringing the total to 21.

▽Lawyer: Russian opposition leader Navalny has spinal hernias

A lawyer for imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has complained of serious back and leg pain in custody, said Wednesday that doctors have found him to be suffering from two spinal hernias.
Vadim Kobzev told the Interfax news agency that Navalny also has a spinal protrusion and is beginning to lose feeling in his hands.
Navalny went on a hunger strike last week to protest what he called poor medical care in a Russian prison. On Tuesday, the leader of the Navalny-backed Alliance of Doctors union was detained by police after trying to get into the prison to talk to doctors.

▽Spain blocks auction of possible Caravaggio painting with opening price of €1,500 - The Local

The Spanish government on Thursday blocked the auction of a 17th-century oil painting in Madrid on suspicion that it may actually be a lost masterpiece by the Renaissance artist Caravaggio... Entitled “Coronation with Thorns”, the canvas shows Jesus before his crucifixion and was attributed in the auction catalogue to “the entourage of (Spanish artist) Jose de Ribera”.
Marked with an opening price of €1,500 ($1,800), it was to have been sold off on Thursday at the Ansorena auction house in Madrid.

▽Norway coast guard rescues crew of Dutch vessel | Euronews

A Dutch cargo ship running adrift was in danger of capsizing on Tuesday after it encountered rough weather conditions off the coast of Norway.
Crew members onboard the Eemslift Hendrika had raised an alert in the North Sea on Monday prompting the Norwegian Coast Guard to launch an operation to evacuate the 12-person staff off the vessel... Some crew members were seen being airlifted from the sea while others were rescued from the ship's deck.
All of the 12 were brought to safety.