Asia

Kyrgyzstan special forces seize ex-president in raid

  By Tolkun Namatbayeva Agence France-Presse Kyrgyzstan’s former president was detained in a major security operation Thursday, police said, a day after clashes between his supporters and law enforcement left one dead and dozens injured. The Central Asian state, which has seen two revolutions in less than two decades, is on the brink of crisis amid a standoff between ex-leader Almazbek Atambayev and his protege-turned-foe President Sooronbai Jeenbekov. Atambayev was detained by security services at […]

Continue Reading →

US upgrades Hong Kong travel warning as airport protest planned

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Washington on Thursday warned US citizens to “exercise increased caution” when traveling to Hong Kong, as protesters announced three days of new demonstrations at the city’s airport. The financial hub has been rocked by two months of unrest, initially triggered by opposition to a planned law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China. The demonstrations have evolved into a wider movement for democratic reform that has seriously disrupted the […]

Continue Reading →

Hong Kongers harness traffic cones, kitchenware to battle tear gas

by Catherine LAI HONG KONG, China (AFP) — As a tear gas canister clatters onto a street in Hong Kong, a pro-democracy protester wearing heat-proof gloves and carrying a traffic cone sprints from the crowd to put it out. Police have ramped up their use of the crowd control measure as two months of rallies in the global financial hub have turned increasingly violent, peaking with 800 rounds fired on Monday in what protesters called […]

Continue Reading →

Volcano near Tokyo erupts, prompting warnings

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A volcano near Tokyo has erupted for the first time in four years, throwing ash and smoke nearly two kilometers into the sky and sparking warnings not to approach the mountain. Mount Asama, some 140 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of the Japanese capital, exploded overnight and prompted the national meteorological agency to raise its alert level to three out of five, meaning people should avoid the crater. The agency warned that […]

Continue Reading →

Hong Kong protesters gather for ‘laser show’ rally

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — As Hong Kong buckles under increasingly violent clashes between protesters and police in a deepening political crisis, hundreds gathered at the harbourfront on Wednesday night for a markedly different kind of protest: a laser show. Both police and protesters have used intense beams of light against each other, turning often violent episodes into surreal scenes fit for a disco or science fiction. Demonstrators have aimed lasers towards riot police, irritating […]

Continue Reading →

One dead after 5.9-magnitude quake jolts Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — A 5.9-magnitude earthquake that rattled Taiwan on Thursday killed one woman and caused temporary power outages that affected over 10,000 homes, authorities said. Tremors were felt across the island and high-rises in Taipei swayed as the quake struck off the northeastern coast at dawn, waking sleeping residents. A 60-year-old woman was killed outside the capital after a closet fell on her during the quake, the National Fire Agency said. More than […]

Continue Reading →

Kim sends missile ‘warning’ to S.Korea, US as tensions rise

by Claire LEE Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) —  North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un says the country’s latest missile launches were a warning to Washington and Seoul over their joint war games, state news agency KCNA reported on Wednesday, as tensions rise on the Korean peninsula. The latest launch by the nuclear-armed North came after the South Korean and US militaries began mainly computer-simulated joint exercises on Monday to test Seoul’s ability […]

Continue Reading →

Armed soldiers patrol silent streets after Kashmir curfew

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) — Armed soldiers stand in front of barbed wire in Indian Kashmir’s near-silent summer capital of Srinagar during a massive security lockdown imposed on the restive region by the Hindu nationalist government. Kashmir was stripped of its seven-decade-long autonomous status through a controversial presidential decree on Monday, a day after a crippling curfew was imposed on its main city. Home to more than one million people, Srinagar now looks like a ghost-town: […]

Continue Reading →

Japan urged to sign UN nuke ban on Hiroshima anniversary

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The mayor of Hiroshima urged Japan to sign a landmark UN treaty banning nuclear weapons as the city Tuesday marked 74 years since being targeted in the world’s first atomic attack. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led commemorations at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima as residents offered silent prayers, lit candles, and placed wreaths to remember those killed in the August 6, 1945 bombing. And mayor Kazumi Matsui used the occasion […]

Continue Reading →

China warns Hong Kong protesters of ‘dangerous abyss’

by Eva XIAO BEIJING, China (AFP) — China warned Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters Tuesday that “those who play with fire will perish by it”, a day after the most widespread unrest of the two-month crisis. In its harshest warning yet, Beijing said the immense strength of the central government should not be underestimated, while police in the semi-autonomous city announced they had arrested almost 150 people in connection with Monday’s violence. The global financial center […]

Continue Reading →

Kim sends missile ‘warning’ to S.Korea, US as tensions rise

by Claire LE SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un says the country’s latest missile launches were a warning to Washington and Seoul over their joint war games, state news agency KCNA reported on Wednesday, as tensions rise on the Korean peninsula. The latest launch by the nuclear-armed North came after the South Korean and US militaries began mainly computer-simulated joint exercises on Monday to test Seoul’s ability to take operational […]

Continue Reading →

China reiterates support for Hong Kong’s embattled leader

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s ruling Communist Party once again underlined its wholesale support for Hong Kong’s embattled leader on Tuesday as she struggles to contain increasingly violent anti-government unrest. The two-month crisis has become the biggest threat to Beijing’s rule of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city since its handover from the British in 1997. One of the protesters’ key demands is for Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam to stand down. But, a day […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 429 430 431 432 433 … 843