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BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AFP) — A Sumatran tiger attacked and injured two farmers in a small Indonesian town Wednesday, the second such attack in days, as officials vowed to capture the big cat or cats responsible. The latest attack took place in a protected forest reserve in Aceh province — which sits on the the northern tip of Sumatra island, in the country’s west — at about 2 am (2100 GMT Tuesday). Sumatran tigers — […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — NATO’s chief on Wednesday applauded Japan’s plan to double its defense spending, saying that the pledge reflected the country’s resolve for greater security involvement in a volatile world. Speaking in Tokyo, Jens Stoltenberg said Japan’s renewed focus on security made the nation “even more” of a partner “for peace”. “I am glad that Japan is planning (a military budget) to reach the NATO benchmark of two percent of GDP devoted to […]
Southwest China’s Sichuan province will lift its three-child birth limit and remove restrictions on single parents as the world’s most populous nation faces a looming demographic crisis. China’s population shrank last year for the first time in more than six decades, official data released this month showed, and the nation of 1.4 billion has seen birth rates plunge to record lows as its workforce ages. China ended its strict “one-child policy” — imposed in […]
Myanmar’s junta on Tuesday said the country had “not returned to normalcy” almost two years after its coup, casting doubt over plans for elections and ending a state of emergency. The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the military toppled democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government, alleging massive fraud during elections her party won in 2020. A junta-imposed state of emergency is due to expire at the end of January, after […]
Japan and NATO must “remain united and firm” in the face of security threats posed by China, North Korea and Russia’s war in Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Tokyo. Stoltenberg, secretary general of the European and North American military alliance, warned that Beijing was keeping a close eye on developments in Ukraine and “learning lessons that may influence its future decisions”. He spoke alongside Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after the pair held […]
A pilot was killed after a military fighter jet crashed in northern Vietnam during a training session on Tuesday, state media reported. The plane –- a Russian-made Sukhoi SU-22 belonging to the People’s Army of Vietnam air force — joined the training session around midday before crashing at a military airport in mountainous Yen Bai province, according to Vietnam News Agency. “The pilot was ordered to parachute out of the jet but he tried to […]
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his counterpart in Seoul on Tuesday, pledging to beef up joint drills and security cooperation as South Korea seeks nuclear reassurances in the face of growing North Korean threats. Seoul is eager to convince its increasingly nervous public of America’s so-called extended deterrence commitments, after a year in which North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power and conducted a banned weapons test almost every month. Austin and […]
China criticised Czech president-elect Petr Pavel on Tuesday for holding a telephone call with Taiwan’s president and foreign minister the day before. Beijing is trying to keep Taiwan isolated on the world stage and opposes countries having official exchanges with Taipei. It claims self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as part of its territory to be seized one day, by force if necessary. “Pavel… trampled on China’s red line,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning. “This severely […]
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Bodies were still being pulled Tuesday from the wreckage of a mosque blast at a police headquarters in northwestern Pakistan that killed more than 80 people and wounded 150 more. The attack happened during afternoon prayers on Monday in the provincial capital Peshawar, close to areas along the Afghan border where militancy has been steadily rising. Overnight, at least nine bodies were recovered as rescuers sifted through the rubble of the […]
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — Pakistan is gripped by a major economic crisis, with the rupee plummeting, inflation soaring and energy in short supply as IMF officials visit to discuss a vital cash injection. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for months held out against the tax rises and subsidy slashing demanded by the International Monetary Fund, fearful of backlash ahead of elections due in October. But in recent days, with the prospect of national bankruptcy looming and […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s factory activity expanded in January after four months of contraction, official data showed Tuesday, as its economy rebounded following the relaxation of strict Covid-19 curbs. The world’s second-largest economy is roaring back to life after Beijing’s decision last month to abruptly drop its strict zero-Covid policy, which mandated strict lockdowns, sparking protests and hammering businesses. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) — a key gauge of Chinese factory output […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The United States and South Korea will hold discussion-based exercises on addressing nuclear threats, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday. Washington and Seoul will conduct “increasingly complex scenario-based tabletop exercises focused on nuclear threats on the peninsula,” Austin wrote in an op-ed published by the Yonhap news agency, without specifying when this would occur. Austin is visiting Seoul for the third time as defense secretary, during which he is […]
