Asia

Singapore proposes new law to tackle harmful online content

  Singapore, Singapore (AFP) Social media sites could be blocked or fined in Singapore if they fail to stop users in the tightly-controlled country from accessing “harmful” content under a proposed law introduced in parliament on Monday. Under the bill, regulators can order social media platforms to block “egregious content” including posts advocating violence and terrorism or depictions of child sexual exploitation. Content that poses a public health risk or that is likely to cause […]

North Korea fires mid-range ballistic missile that flies over Japan

Seoul, South Korea (AFP) North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile Tuesday which flew over Japan, Seoul and Tokyo said, a significant escalation as Pyongyang ramps up its record-breaking weapons-testing blitz. The last time North Korea fired a missile over Japan was reportedly in 2017, at the height of a period of “fire and fury” when Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un traded insults with then-US president Donald Trump. South Korea’s military said it had “detected […]

Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs hold peace talks

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AFP) – The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have held talks in Geneva on a future peace treaty, officials in Baku and Yerevan said Monday, following recent deadly clashes between the arch foes. Last month, at least 286 people were killed from both sides before a US-brokered truce ended the worst clashes since the Caucasus neighbours’ 2020 war. Baku and Yerevan fought two wars — in 2020 and in the 1990s — […]

Indonesia orders stadium disaster ‘perpetrators’ punished

by Marchio GORBIANO Agence France-Presse MALANG, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia’s government called on the country’s police Monday to identify and punish whoever was responsible for a stadium stampede that left 125 people dead, as anger mounted over one of the deadliest disasters in the history of football. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang also saw 323 people injured after officers fired tear gas in a packed stadium to quell a pitch […]

Anger grows against Indonesia police over football stadium tragedy

Malang, Indonesia | AFP | by Marchio GORBIANO Anger against police mounted in Indonesia on Monday after at least 125 people were killed in one of the deadliest disasters in the history of football, when officers fired tear gas in a packed stadium, triggering a stampede. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang also saw 323 people injured. The incident unfolded when fans of home team Arema FC stormed the pitch at […]

Police under fire after 125 killed in Indonesia stadium stampede

  Malang, Indonesia (AFP) by Marchio Gorbiano with Dessy Sagita in Jakarta Indonesian police came under mounting criticism Sunday after at least 125 people died in a stampede at a football stadium where officers fired teargas on angry fans invading the pitch. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang, which also left 323 injured according to police, was one of the world’s deadliest sporting stadium disasters. Arema FC supporters at the Kanjuruhan […]

One dead, dozens injured after quake hits Indonesia’s Sumatra

  Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island early Saturday, according to the US Geological Survey, killing at least one person and injuring dozens as locals rushed out of buildings seeking safety. The quake hit at a relatively shallow depth of 13 kilometres (eight miles) just before 2:30 am (1930 GMT), about 40 kilometres from the town of Sibolga in North Sumatra province, according to the USGS. A man in […]

UPDATE: North Korea fires ballistic missiles, fourth time this week

      Seoul, South Korea | AFP | by Cat Barton and Kang Jin-kyu North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early Saturday, South Korea’s military said, the nuclear-armed country’s fourth such launch this week, as Seoul, Tokyo and Washington ramp up joint military drills to counter Pyongyang. South Korea, Japan and the US staged anti-submarine drills Friday — the first in five years — just days after Washington and Seoul’s navies conducted large-scale exercises […]

Japan’s digital minister says he’s ready for a fight

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) – Japan’s media-savvy digital minister said Friday he’s ready to take an iron-fisted approach to speed up the nation’s slow embrace of online services at government offices and workplaces. Taro Kono — a political heavyweight who has been minister of defence, foreign affairs and Covid vaccines — has already declared war on fax machines, floppy disks and other obsolete technologies that are still common in the world’s third-largest economy. “I have no […]

Myanmar junta court sentences Australian economist, Suu Kyi to 3 years

Yangon, Myanmar (AFP) Myanmar’s junta sentenced an Australian economist to three years in prison while also handing down another conviction to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, drawing global condemnation on Thursday. Both have been detained since a coup in February last year, when the military ousted Suu Kyi’s government, for which Sean Turnell was an adviser. “Mr Sean Turnell, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and another three were sentenced to three years imprisonment each […]

Taliban fire into air to disperse women’s rally backing Iran protests

KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Taliban forces fired shots into the air on Thursday to disperse a women’s rally supporting protests in Iran over the death of a woman in the custody of morality police. Deadly protests have erupted in neighboring Iran for the past two weeks, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while detained by the Islamic republic’s morality police. Chanting the same “Women, life, freedom!” mantra used in demonstrations in Iran, about 25 […]

Japan urges ‘stable’ China ties, 50 years after normalization

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan called Thursday for “constructive and stable” ties with China as the two sides marked 50 years since the normalization of relations, albeit with little public fanfare. Growing friction over China’s military might and regional saber-rattling has left ties between Beijing and Tokyo frosty, and there was no major diplomatic ceremony to mark the anniversary. Instead, messages from Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping were read out […]