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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday laid out its most detailed case yet against Beijing’s “unlawful” claims in the South China Sea, rejecting both the geographic and historic bases for its vast, divisive map. In a 47-page research paper, the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs said China had no basis under international law for claims that have put Beijing on a collision course with […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on five North Koreans linked to the country’s ballistic missile program, a day after Pyongyang carried out what it said was the launch of a hypersonic missile. The Treasury Department said the five North Koreans being sanctioned were “responsible for procuring goods for the DPRK’s (North Korea’s) weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile-related programs.” “Today’s actions, part of the United States’ ongoing efforts […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Russia had two weeks to prepare for a fresh wave of coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant after the WHO warned of a surge in Europe. Russia has lifted nearly all the restrictions designed to limit new cases, despite an increasing caseload and growing Omicron infections. It is currently the worst-hit country in Europe in terms of virus-related deaths. “We see what is happening in […]
by Cat Barton SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the successful test of a hypersonic missile, state media said Wednesday, and urged North Korea to press ahead with building more “strategic military muscle” despite international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program. Pictures in state media showed Kim using binoculars to observe the second missile launch by the nuclear-armed nation in less than a week. Hypersonic missiles are listed among the “top […]
by Cat Barton SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the successful test of a hypersonic missile, state media reported Wednesday, the second such launch by the nuclear-armed nation in less than a week. The missile carrying a “hypersonic gliding vehicle” hit “the set target in waters 1,000 km off,” the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Photographs posted on the website of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates has threatened to jail people who make fun of its anti-Covid measures after mocking photos and videos appeared online. Federal prosecutors said social media users could be punished under new laws which allow at least two years’ jail and 200,000 AED ($54,000) fines for sharing misleading information during a pandemic. The UAE has introduced a number of measures to tackle a wave of Omicron variant […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will extend measures barring almost all new foreign arrivals until the end of February and reopen mass-vaccination centres as it battles an Omicron-fuelled coronavirus surge, the government said Tuesday. “We will keep the current border control policy until the end of February while taking necessary measures from a humanitarian viewpoint and considering the national interest,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. Local media said there would be some new […]
by Matthew Walsh with Jerome Taylor in Hong Kong BEIJING, China (AFP) — Five million residents of a central Chinese city were confined to their homes Tuesday while another megacity shuttered all non-essential businesses, as the country battles a spate of coronavirus outbreaks including from the Omicron variant. Beijing is on high alert as it prepares to host the Winter Olympics next month, sticking to a zero-Covid strategy of targeted lockdowns, border restrictions and lengthy […]
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AFP) — A 6.6-magnitude quake hit off the west coast of Cyprus early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. The relatively shallow quake was centered 48 kilometers (30 miles) west-northwest of the town of Polis on the Mediterranean island, the USGS said. © Agence France-Presse
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea fired an “unidentified projectile” into the sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, less than a week after Pyongyang reported testing a hypersonic missile. The projectile was fired into the sea east of the peninsula, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, without giving further details. The launch was also reported by Japan’s coast guard, which said the North had fired a “ballistic missile-like object”. […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — The northern Chinese city of Tianjin on Sunday advised its nearly 14 million people to stay home while it conducted mass Covid testing after a spate of recent cases, including two caused by the Omicron variant, state-controlled media reported. Tianjin emerged as a new area of concern after more than 20 Covid cases were reported there in the last few days, most of them imported from abroad, according to the National […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China reported more cases of the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant on Monday, with authorities on high alert over flare-ups in major cities just weeks ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The emergence of the fast-spreading variant is yet another test of China’s zero Covid strategy, with authorities already battling several outbreaks — including in Xi’an where 13 million city residents were in their third week of lockdown. Fears grew about […]
