(Eagle News) – Members of Iglesia Ni Cristo in Thailand held a tribute to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the area. (Eagle News Thailand Bureau Christel Mapa)
Asia
Huawei founder denies spying for China in rare interview
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Huawei’s reclusive founder Ren Zhengfei stepped out of the shadows Tuesday to give a rare media interview, forcefully denying accusations that his firm engaged in espionage on behalf of the Chinese government. The company he founded more than 20 years ago has been under fire in recent months with the arrest of Ren’s daughter and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada, the arrest of an employee on spying charges in Poland, […]
Canada asks China clemency for convicted drug trafficker
MONTREAL, United States (AFP) — Canada urged Beijing on Tuesday to grant clemency to a Canadian sentenced to death for drug trafficking, after his sentence reignited a diplomatic dispute that began last month. Ottawa has warned its citizens about the risk of “arbitrary enforcement” of laws in China following a court’s sentencing of Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, to death on Monday, increasing a previous 15-year prison term. The sentence came during a clash between Ottawa […]
Winter weather killed 15 displaced children in Syria: UN
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Freezing temperatures and the lack of medical care have killed at least 15 displaced Syrian children in recent weeks, the United Nations reported on Tuesday. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said eight of them had died as a result of the cold in the Rukban camp in southeastern Syria and seven others during the displacement from the jihadist bastion of Hajin, further north. “Freezing temperatures and harsh living conditions in Rukban… […]
Japan Olympic chief denies corruption allegations
by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The head of Japan’s Olympic Committee Tuesday denied involvement in a suspect payment made before Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Games, while apologizing for any possible impact on the hosting of the event. French investigating magistrates have indicted Tsunekazu Takeda as they probe two payments of 2.8 million Singapore dollars ($2.1 million) made before the Japanese capital was chosen to host the Olympics. During […]
Winter weather killed 15 displaced children in Syria: UN
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — Freezing temperatures and the lack of medical care have killed at least 15 displaced Syrian children in recent weeks, the United Nations reported on Tuesday. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said eight of them had died as a result of the cold in the Rukban camp in southeastern Syria and seven others during the displacement from the jihadist bastion of Hajin, further north. “Freezing temperatures and harsh living conditions in Rukban… […]
China slams Trudeau’s ‘irresponsible remarks’ on Canadian’s death sentence
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing on Tuesday slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for making “irresponsible remarks” after he criticised a Chinese court’s death sentence against a convicted Canadian drug smuggler. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, was given the death penalty on Monday after his previous 15-year prison sentence was deemed too lenient — a ruling that came amid a deepening diplomatic rift between Ottawa and Beijing. Trudeau expressed “extreme concern” on Monday, saying “China has chosen to […]
South Korea awards ferry sinking survivors compensation
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A South Korean court on Monday awarded compensation to some survivors of the Sewol ferry sinking, almost five years after the accident killed more than 300 people in one of the country’s deadliest maritime disasters. The 6,825-tonne Sewol was carrying 476 people — most of them high-school students on a school trip — when it capsized off the southern coast in April 2014. Almost all the victims were children, many […]
Chinese court sentences Canadian drug suspect to death
by Elizabeth LAW Agence France Presse DALIAN, China (AFP) — A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death on drug trafficking charges on Monday after his previous 15-year prison sentence was deemed too lenient, deepening a diplomatic rift as Canadian premier Justin Trudeau accused Beijing of “arbitrarily” using capital punishment. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, nodded as the judge in the northeast city of Dalian asked him whether he understood the verdict, following a day-long […]
Antarctica ice loss increases six fold since 1979: study
by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse TAMPA. United States (AFP) — Global warming is melting ice in Antarctica faster than ever before — about six times more per year now than 40 years ago — leading to increasingly high sea levels worldwide, scientists warned Monday. Already, Antarctic melting has raised global sea levels more than half an inch (1.4 centimeters) between 1979 and 2017, said the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of […]
Thailand to make it rain as pollution chokes Bangkok
THAILAND, Bangkok (AFP) — Thailand is set to deploy rainmaking planes to seed clouds in an effort to tackle the pall of pollution that has shrouded the capital in recent weeks. The weather modification technique involves dispersing chemicals into the air to aid cloud condensation, which should in theory result in rain. “The Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation… expects the rainmaking to be done tomorrow (Tuesday) but it depends on wind and humidity […]
Singapore’s CapitaLand in $8 bn deal creating Asia property giant
SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore’s CapitaLand said Monday it has agreed to buy two real estate holding firms in a Sg$11 billion ($8.1 billion) deal that will create Asia’s biggest property group with assets in dozens of countries. Under the agreement, CapitaLand will acquire two units from a subsidiary of state investment firm Temasek. If approved, the new entity will have assets under management of more than Sg$116 billion, including businesses, industrial parks, hotels, commercial, […]
