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by Sunghee Hwang North Korea launched eight ballistic missiles from multiple locations Sunday, South Korea‘s military said, a day after Seoul and Washington completed their first joint drills involving a US aircraft carrier in more than four years. Pyongyang has doubled down on upgrading its weapons programme this year, despite facing crippling economic sanctions, with officials and analysts warning that the regime is preparing to carry out a fresh nuclear test. “Our military detected eight […]
Cash-strapped Sri Lanka is seeking urgent United Nations help to build a stockpile of essential foods, the prime minister’s office said Friday, after authorities warned of looming starvation. Acute shortages of food, fuel and other essential goods, along with record inflation and rolling blackouts, have inflicted widespread misery in the island nation’s unprecedented economic crisis. Scarce supplies of petrol, diesel and fertiliser have made it difficult for farmers to grow crops, while the agricultural sector […]
China and Papua New Guinea held talks on a free-trade deal Friday, as Beijing’s foreign minister wrapped up a landmark tour of the Pacific Islands with a stop in the resource-rich nation. Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape said discussions in the capital Port Moresby had focused on economic cooperation and a long-mooted trade agreement. China is already a major investor in Papua New Guinea and buys much of the country’s gas, minerals, timber […]
The United States on Thursday backed the Philippines in criticizing a unilateral seasonal ban on fishing declared by Beijing in the dispute-rife South China Sea. The State Department pointed to a 2016 ruling by a court in The Hague that rejected Beijing’s claims, as well as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, ratified by China although not by the United States. “The PRC’s unilateral fishing moratorium in the South China Sea is […]
by Hector Retamal with Jing Xuan Teng in Singapore Agence France Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Locked in their homes as neighbours celebrate freedom, hundreds of thousands of Shanghai residents are finding the path out of lockdown more complicated than the victory trumpeted by Chinese state media. The metropolis of 25 million people was closed in sections from late March after becoming the epicentre of China’s worst Covid outbreak in two years. After gradually […]
HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam has developed an African swine fever vaccine for pigs in partnership with the United States, and is aiming to become the first global commercial exporter, an official said. The virus, harmless to humans, decimated hog populations in Asia after it was detected in Vietnam in 2019, with millions of the animals culled following outbreaks in Mongolia, Cambodia, Hong Kong and mainland China. Pork prices rose dramatically as a result, […]
by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — South Korean K-pop sensations BTS didn’t sing a word but in a White House visit Tuesday to meet President Joe Biden the supergroup’s message against anti-Asian racism came loud and clear. The seven stars, dressed in matching dark suits and ties, with white shirts, joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at the briefing room podium — a tiny, but powerful stage. The […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A shallow 6.1 magnitude quake struck the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Wednesday, China’s earthquake agency reported, with no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck a sparsely populated area in Lushan County of Ya’an City, about 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the provincial capital Chengdu. The China Earthquake Networks Center said the epicentre was at a depth of 17 kilometres, according to state news agency Xinhua. The US […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Cash-strapped Sri Lanka saw its highest inflation on record for the eighth consecutive month in May, official data showed Wednesday, as the island nation grapples with its worst-ever economic crisis. The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) rose 39.1 percent year-on-year last month, up from 29.8 percent in April, according to the statistics department. Food inflation in Colombo came in at 57.4 percent, up from 46.6 percent in April. The […]
by Catherine Lai Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Long queues at stalls selling a popular chicken dish, increasing prices and warnings about supply disruptions — Singaporeans are in a flap due to curbs on poultry exports from neighboring Malaysia. Malaysia’s move to halt exports of 3.6 million chickens a month, which kicks in Wednesday, is the latest protectionist move in Asia aimed at tackling domestic shortages and taming surging inflation. But the surprise […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Shanghai eased a range of Covid-19 restrictions on Wednesday in a step towards returning to normal after a two-month lockdown that confined residents of the megacity to their homes and battered China’s economy. The commercial hub of 25 million people was closed down in sections from late March, when the Omicron virus variant fuelled China’s worst outbreak since Covid first took hold in 2020. After some rules were gradually relaxed over […]
A bomb blast killed one person and injured nine others in a busy district of central Yangon on Tuesday, a Myanmar police source told AFP. The blast occurred around 3:20 pm local time (0850 GMT) near a bus stop,” the police source said, requesting anonymity. “One man died in hospital and nine others are injured.” A bomb squad team was working to determine if the blast came from a grenade or mine, the police source […]
