Asia in 3 minutes: A coffee killer in Indonesia to a Tokyo station attendant too sexy for comfort

INDONESIA’S COFFEE KILLER SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS JAIL AFTER CASE THAT CAPTIVATED A NATION

An Indonesian court jailed a woman for 20 years for murdering her college friend by poisoning her coffee, ending a dramatic case that gripped the country for months. Jessica Kumala Wongso, 27, an Indonesian citizen and permanent resident of Australia, was convicted of murdering 27-year-old Wayan Mirna Salihin in January by slipping cyanide into her drink in a cafe at one of Jakarta’s most upmarket shopping centres. The soap opera-style tale of two members of the wealthy elite having a dramatic fallout culminating in murder was dubbed “the poisoned coffee” case. Prosecutors said Wongso “meticulously” planned to murder Salihin after the victim advised the defendant to break up with a boyfriend who was using drugs.

What next? The 20-year sentence was in line with prosecutors’ demands. Wongso had denied the charge of premeditated murder. President Joko Widodo’s administration waded in on the case, saying Wongso would not be executed if she got the death penalty. Her lawyers said they would appeal.

XI JINPING JOINS THE LIKES OF MAO ZEDONG, DENG XIAOPING AFTER PARTY DUBS HIM ‘CORE’ LEADER

The Communist Party elevated President Xi Jinping’s political status on Thursday, referring to him as the “core” of its leadership ahead of the party’s five-yearly congress late next year. The status gives Xi greater power to shape the party’s top ranks at the gathering. Analysts said the “core of the leadership” often represented the power of final approval or veto. The term was used by late leader Deng Xiaoping in 1989 to describe Mao Zedong, himself and his successor Jiang Zemin. The title however eluded Jiang’s successor and Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao.