by Ganis Bungsu Agence France Presse BANTEN, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian authorities lifted a tsunami warning late Friday after a powerful earthquake earlier struck off the southern coast of heavily populated Java island. The 6.9 magnitude quake registered at a depth 52.8 kilometres (33 miles), some 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Labuan, southwest of the capital Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Panicked residents fled their homes as the quake hit, […]
Asia
Following bombings amid ASEAN meet, PHL Embassy urges Filipinos in Thailand to take extra precautions
(Eagle News)–The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on Friday, Aug. 2, urged Filipinos there to take extra precautions following the “bombings” that ripped across the capital as it hosted a regional summit. In a statement, the embassy also urged Filipinos to cooperate with authorities “as they implement heightened security measures.” Earlier in the day, several small bombs exploded across Bangkok, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers meeting also attended by US Secretary of […]
Japan-S. Korea row escalates as relations hit new low
by Miwa SUZUKI Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan and South Korea Friday rescinded each other’s favoured export partner status in an escalating row as relations between the US allies hit a new low. The two countries — both of them democracies and market economies — are mired in long-running disputes over the use of forced labour during World War II. But Tokyo, which made the first move despite US calls for […]
S. Korea to remove Japan from export ‘white list’: finance minister
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will remove Japan from its “white list” of trusted trading partners, Seoul’s finance minister said Friday, reciprocating just hours after a similar move by Tokyo. The Japanese government’s decision “fundamentally destroys the relations of trust and cooperation that the two countries established” in the past, said Hong Nam-ki. “For this, we express our strong protest and deep regret, and urge Tokyo to immediately withdraw its vengeful trade measures.” […]
Japan hangs two for murder, first executions in 2019
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday hanged two men convicted of murder, the justice ministry said, the first executions this year after 15 death row inmates were executed in 2018. With more than 100 inmates on death row, Japan is one of the few developed nations to retain the death penalty, and public support for it remains high despite international criticism, including from rights groups. “I ordered the executions after very careful consideration,” Justice […]
S. Korea’s Moon condemns Japan’s ‘reckless’ trade decision
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday condemned Japan’s decision to remove his country from a “white list” of favored trading partners, calling it a “reckless” move and threatening unspecified countermeasures. Tokyo’s “selfish act will inflict tremendous damage on the world economy by disrupting global supply chains”, he said in remarks to a cabinet meeting called at short notice and televised live. “Japan should withdraw its unilateral and unfair measures as […]
Japan to remove Seoul from favored export partner ‘white list’
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday said it will remove South Korea from a “white list” of favored export partners, a move that Seoul has warned will have “grave consequences” for security ties between the US allies. “The government at a cabinet meeting today approved a revision to the export control law… South Korea, the only Asian nation on the list, will be removed,” Japan’s Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters. The measure, which […]
Trump has ‘no problem’ with latest North Korean missile tests
by Sebastien BERGER / with Chris Stein in Washington SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea carried out its third missile test in eight days Friday, according to the South’s military, but US President Donald Trump said he had “no problem” with the spate of launches by Pyongyang. The nuclear-armed North is barred from ballistic missile tests under UN resolutions and its actions have drawn condemnation from European members of the Security Council but a […]
North Korean soldier crosses DMZ into South
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A North Korean soldier crossed the Demilitarised Zone that divides the peninsula, Seoul’s military said Thursday, in a rare direct defection across the heavily fortified frontier. More than 30,000 North Koreans have escaped to the South since the two were separated by war more than 65 years ago, according to Seoul government data, many of them driven by prolonged economic hardship. But the vast majority have gone first to […]
North Korea leader Kim supervised test firing of new rocket launcher: state media
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test firing of a new multiple rocket launcher, state media said Thursday. Kim “guided a test-fire of newly-developed large-caliber multiple launch guided rocket system on July 31,” state-run KCNA said. South Korea’s military said Wednesday that two ballistic missiles had been fired from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast. Kim “repeatedly expressed satisfaction over the result of the test-fire,” […]
12 killed as flooding paralyses Pakistan’s Karachi
KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) — At least 12 people were killed as monsoon rains lashed Pakistan’s port city of Karachi, officials and charity groups confirmed Wednesday, while flooding also triggered power outages and overwhelmed the metropolis’s fragile infrastructure. Authorities said the deaths occurred largely due to electrocutions caused by ill-maintained power lines even as large segments of the city suffered hours-long outages that lasted up to a day in some areas. According to the Edhi Foundation […]
US-S. Korea military exercises still on despite North’s warnings
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea will go ahead, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday, after missile tests and calls for the drills’ cancellation by North Korea. The affirmation of the annual, joint exercises came amid a series of missile launches by North Korea, one of which it called a “solemn warning to the South Korean warmongers” over the planned military drills. But despite Pyongyang’s warning […]





