Asia

US House passes Uighur bill urging sanctions on Chinese officials

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation Tuesday that would apply sanctions against senior Chinese officials, triggering a furious response from Beijing. The legislation adds to tensions between the two superpowers just as they are locked in negotiations to finalize a “phase one” deal to resolve their protracted trade war. Washington had already angered Beijing when President Donald Trump signed legislation supporting pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, prompting China […]

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Indian warship drives away Chinese vessel: reports

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s Navy chief said Tuesday that an unauthorized Chinese vessel had entered its waters in the strategic Indian Ocean Region in September, with media reports suggesting New Delhi deployed a warship to repel the vessel. India is wary of Chinese clout in the Indian Ocean Region — one of the busiest maritime routes in the world — which it considers to be in its sphere of influence. The Chinese research […]

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Wall collapse kills 17 in India

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — At least 17 people from four families in India were buried alive as they were sleeping on Monday when heavy rains caused a large wall to collapse on their homes, police said. The dead included two children in the village in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, which was being pounded by torrential rain, a police official told AFP. The 20-foot (six-meter) high wall crumbled at around 5:30 am some […]

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Protests send Hong Kongers to Taiwan in search of new lives

by Amber Wang, with Yan Zhao in Hong Kong KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AFP) — Protests that have paralyzed Hong Kong for nearly six months is pushing residents to seek new lives abroad, with many turning to nearby democratic Taiwan to escape the uncertainty at home. Taiwan has long attracted Hong Kongers seeking an alternative to their city’s frenetic pace and sky-high rents. But the number granted short-term and permanent residency in Taiwan rose nearly 30 percent […]

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Iraq’s embattled PM bows out as protesters mourn dead

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — The government of Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi ended Sunday after two months of violent unrest that has left more than 420 people dead and thousands mourning them in nationwide marches. As anti-government demonstrators across the strife-torn country massed to honor the fallen activists, parliament met to accept the resignation which the 77-year-old had offered two days before. While Abdel Mahdi stays on initially to lead a caretaker government, President […]

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‘Frozen 2’ holds top spot at N.American box office

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Disney blockbuster “Frozen 2” held top spot at the North American box office over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, taking in an estimated $85.2 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday. The animation adventure movie follows beloved characters from 2013 hit “Frozen” as they travel to an ancient, autumn-bound forest in search of the origin of the magical ice powers of Queen Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel). “Frozen 2,” which […]

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Facebook corrects post under Singapore disinformation law

SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Facebook published a correction on a user’s post-Saturday following demand from Singapore, the first time a tech giant has complied with the city-state’s law against misinformation. Authorities had ordered the social media giant to correct a post promoting an article on a fringe news site containing “scurrilous accusations” of election rigging, ramping up their use of a controversial law against misinformation. The law gives ministers powers to tell platforms to put […]

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‘Still angry’: Hong Kong protesters return to the streets

by Jerome TAYLOR / Su Xinqi HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Police fired tear gas and pepper spray in Hong Kong on Sunday as tens of thousands of black-clad protesters flooded into the streets, a week after pro-democracy candidates scored a landslide local election victory. The rally heralded an end to a rare lull and a return to the large-scale demonstrations that Hong Kongers have staged for nearly six months, fuelled by growing fears that […]

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Hong Kong Airlines delays salaries as protests hit tourism

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Low-cost carrier Hong Kong Airlines said Friday it will delay salary payments to some staff, warning its business has been “severely affected” by the political unrest in the city. Nearly six months of protests in the international finance hub have dealt its tourism sector a massive blow, and airlines serving the city have struggled. “Hong Kong Airlines’ business is severely affected by the social unrest in Hong Kong and […]

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Former Japanese PM Nakasone dies at 101

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, an ardent conservative who worked to forge a stronger military alliance with the United States, has died at the age of 101, local media said Friday. In-office for five years from November 1982 to November 1987, Nakasone was known for trying to integrate the nation defeated in World War II as a full-fledged member of the West during the Cold War era. He poured his […]

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Assad approves $9.2 billon budget

DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on Thursday approved a $9.2-billion budget for his war-torn country, official media reported. The 2020 budget, approved by Syria’s parliament before being signed off by Assad, sees the country’s deficit rise by 54 percent compared to the current budget, according to the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan. The country’s devastating eight-year war has inflicted damage estimated by the United Nations last year at some $400 billion. The Syrian pound […]

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Former Maldives leader jailed for money laundering

MALE, Maldives (AFP) — Disgraced Maldives ex-president Abdulla Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering on Thursday after a corruption probe into the former strongman’s rule of the luxury tourist destination. Yameen, who ran the Indian Ocean archipelago with an iron fist before his shock election loss in 2018, was accused of illegally transferring one million dollars from one of his bank accounts during an ongoing graft investigation. The 60-year-old was […]

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