World News Roundup: South Korea court convicts 'comfort women' activist of embezzling donations; After 104 hours buried by Turkey earthquake, woman brought out alive and more

Yoon Mee-hyang was indicted in 2020 on several charges of fraud and embezzlement during her days as head of the group, which advocates for surviving "comfort women" - a Japanese euphemism for those forced to work in its wartime brothels during its 1910-45 colonisation of the Korean peninsula. After 104 hours buried by Turkey earthquake, woman brought out alive Rescuers pulled a woman alive out of the rubble of a collapsed building in Turkey on Friday, prompting cheers from onlookers 104 hours after she was buried by the huge earthquake that wrought death and destruction across the region.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

South Korea court convicts 'comfort women' activist of embezzling donations

A South Korean court on Friday convicted a lawmaker who led an activist group for victims of Japanese wartime sexual exploitation of embezzling group funds and fined her nearly $12,000, while clearing her of other charges. Yoon Mee-hyang was indicted in 2020 on several charges of fraud and embezzlement during her days as head of the group, which advocates for surviving "comfort women" - a Japanese euphemism for those forced to work in its wartime brothels during its 1910-45 colonisation of the Korean peninsula.

After 104 hours buried by Turkey earthquake, woman brought out alive

Rescuers pulled a woman alive out of the rubble of a collapsed building in Turkey on Friday, prompting cheers from onlookers 104 hours after she was buried by the huge earthquake that wrought death and destruction across the region. "Now I believe in miracles," rescue team leader Steven Bayer, said after crews carefully lifted 40-year-old Zeynep Kahraman on a stretcher past shattered blocks of concrete and twisted metal into an ambulance in the town of Kirikhan.

Trudeau joins vigil for Montreal daycare crash victims

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined a grieving suburban Montreal community at a vigil on Thursday evening, a day after a bus driver plowed his vehicle into a local daycare center, killing two children and injuring six other kids. Police charged the driver, 51-year-old Pierre Ny St-Amand, with nine counts, including first-degree murder and assault offences. Authorities have not yet given any indication of a motive behind the incident in Laval, Quebec, as they wait for a psychological evaluation of the suspect.

Children plucked from ruins days after earthquake, but death tolls tops 21,000

Rescue crews on Friday pulled a 10-day-old boy and his mother from the ruins of a collapsed building in Turkey and dug out several people in other sites four days after a huge earthquake wrought death and destruction across southern Turkey and northwest Syria. The confirmed death toll from the deadliest quake in the region in two decades stood at 21,000 in both countries on Friday.

In aging China, a call for 'bold' steps to cut cost of having babies

A Chinese health official has urged local governments to take "bold" steps to lower the cost of having babies and raising children to reduce the burden on families and boost fertility, a state-backed publication reported on Friday. China's population fell last year for the first time in six decades, data released last month showed, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline.

Boy killed as car ploughs into Jerusalem-area bus stop -Israel's Army Radio

Two people including a child were killed and several injured when a driver rammed his car into a group of people at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Friday, Israeli emergency services said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incident as a terrorist attack and ordered security forces to be reinforced.

Cyclone Gabrielle heads toward Australia's Norfolk Island, New Zealand

Residents in Australia's Norfolk Island and in New Zealand braced for heavy rain and gales over the weekend from Cyclone Gabrielle, with authorities also warning of hazardous surf conditions and strong winds along Australia's east coast. Australia's weather bureau on Friday upgraded the tropical cyclone to a category 3 storm that can generate winds of 118-159 km per hour and gusts up to 224 kph (140 mph).

Missiles target Ukraine's cities as Russian forces advance in east and south

Russia launched a wave of attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in the cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia on Friday morning as Ukrainian officials said a long-awaited Russian offensive was under way in the east. At least 17 missiles hit the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia in an hour, acting mayor Anatolii Kurtiev said, and the state grid operator said high-voltage facilities across the country had been hit and electricity supplies shut down.

Exclusive-Under U.S. pressure, Lula delays Brazil docking of Iran warships -sources

Brazil bowed to U.S. pressure and declined an Iranian request for two of its warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro at a time when Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was planning his trip to Washington to meet U.S. leader Joe Biden, sources said. Brazil's decision represents a gesture for closer ties with the Biden administration after U.S.-Brazil relations soured under Lula's far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. The move came despite Lula's longstanding opposition to U.S. sanctions on Tehran, advocating for a neutral foreign policy.

Hong Kong's Lee faces stern test over $3.4 billion bid to ease housing shortage

A flagship $3.4 billion plan by Hong Kong to build temporary housing to ease a massive shortage is facing fierce criticism over its high cost and the absence of a longer-term solution in one of the world's most unaffordable property markets. The global financial hub has long struggled with sky-high house prices, which have rocketed by 350% in the past two decades and created one of the widest wealth gaps in the world, making accommodation a serious social problem that Beijing is keen to see the city's leaders tackle.