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by Matthew WALSH Agence France Presse Beijing, China (AFP) — For many in China, years of gruelling lockdowns and privacy invasions aimed at extinguishing Covid have caused misery. For President Xi Jinping, the virus curbs are a triumph. His zero-tolerance approach to Covid has become synonymous with the efforts to cement his authority over China and its ruling Communist Party (CCP). The endgame begins on October 16, when thousands of party delegates will gather in […]
Yangon, Myanmar (AFP) — Myanmar’s junta has jailed a Japanese filmmaker for 10 years for encouraging dissent against the military and violating an electronic communications law, a diplomatic source told AFP on Thursday. Toru Kubota was sentenced by the court in Yangon’s Insein prison on Wednesday, a diplomat at Japan’s embassy in Myanmar said, adding that Kubota’s trial for violating immigration law was “still continuing”. Kubota, 26, was detained near an anti-government rally in Yangon […]
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) North Korea’s foreign ministry said Thursday its recent blitz of missile launches were “counteraction measures” against joint military drills by the United States and South Korea. As the United Nations Security Council met to discuss Pyongyang’s Tuesday firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, North Korea said in a statement that such launches were “the just counteraction measures of the Korean People’s Army on South Korea-US joint drills”. Security […]
by Sunghee Hwang Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired two ballistic missiles Thursday, Seoul’s military said, as the UN Security Council met to discuss Pyongyang’s earlier, highly provocative launch of a missile over Japan. The launch is Pyongyang’s sixth in less than two weeks, and comes two days after it fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan, prompting Tokyo to issue a rare evacuation warning. South Korea’s military said it had […]
DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) – Syria’s health ministry has recorded 39 deaths from cholera and nearly 600 cases in an outbreak spreading in the war-ravaged country that the United Nations warned is “evolving alarmingly”. A total of 594 cases have been recorded across 11 of its 14 provinces since late last month, the health ministry said late Tuesday. “The situation is evolving alarmingly in affected governorates and expanding to new areas,” the World Health Organization warned […]
by Mathias CENA Agence France-Presse GINOWAN, Japan (AFP) — For decades, residents of Japan’s Okinawa have strongly opposed the US military bases that dot the region but a subtle shift is under way, driven by Chinese saber-rattling and economic challenges. The bases are often seen as a disproportionate burden for Japan’s sub-tropical southernmost region. Okinawa comprises 0.6 percent of the Japanese archipelago’s territory but contains 70 percent of the land used for US bases, and […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Hong Kong stocks soared more than five percent at the open of trade Wednesday as investors returned from a public holiday to play catch-up, with a global rally fuelled by easing concerns about central bank interest rate hikes. The Hang Seng Index climbed 5.16 percent, or 880.59 points, to 17,960.10. Mainland Chinese markets are closed all week for a national holiday. The surge came in line with an advance across […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The South Korean and US militaries fired a volley of missiles into the sea in response to North Korea firing a ballistic missile over Japan, Seoul said Wednesday. Nuclear-armed North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years on Tuesday, prompting Tokyo to issue evacuation warnings for some residents. South Korea and the United States staged a drill of their own in response, […]
MALANG, Indonesia (AFP) – Elite Indonesian police officers were under investigation Tuesday over a stadium stampede that killed 125 people including dozens of children in one of the deadliest disasters in football history. As public anger grew over the tragedy, police moved to punish those responsible for the crush in the city of Malang that witnesses say started when officers fired tear gas into packed stands to quell a pitch invasion. Arema FC fans set […]
Seoul, South Korea (AFP) South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed Tuesday that there would be a “stern response” to North Korea’s latest sanctions-busting test of an intermediate range ballistic missile, which flew over Japan, prompting evacuations. North Korea’s latest “provocation… clearly violated the universal principles and norms of the United Nations, and [Yoon] ordered a stern response and to take corresponding measures in cooperation with the United States and the international community”, his office said. […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years Tuesday, prompting Tokyo to activate its missile alert system and issue a rare warning for people to take shelter. The latest launch — which the United States branded “reckless and dangerous” — comes in a record year of sanctions-busting weapons tests by North Korea, which recently revised its laws to declare itself an “irreversible” nuclear […]
by Andrew BEATTY Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — During Xi Jinping’s decade-long rule, China has built the world’s largest navy, revamped the globe’s biggest standing army, and amassed a nuclear and ballistic arsenal to trouble any foe. With China’s neighbors now rushing to keep pace, Xi’s next five-year term is likely to see a quickening Asia-Pacific arms race. From South Korea developing a blue-water navy to Australia buying nuclear-powered submarines, weapons shopping has surged […]
