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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s prime minister vowed Monday to “break the shell of mutual distrust” with North Korea by meeting leader Kim Jong Un face-to-face and restoring diplomatic relations between the two historic foes. In a major policy speech to mark the opening of parliament, Shinzo Abe also vowed to push Sino-Japan ties “to a new stage” and pledged a record budget to improve crumbling infrastructure in the world’s third-biggest economy. “I will act […]
MAKASSAR, Indonesia (AFP) — Floods and landslides in Indonesia have killed at least 59 people, the government said Friday, after heavy rain pounded Sulawesi island and forced thousands to flee their homes. “I’ve never seen something this bad — this is the worst,” Syamsibar, head of South Sulawesi’s disaster mitigation agency, told AFP, adding that 25 people were still missing. Lashed by the heavy rain, rivers swelled and burst their banks, inundating dozens of communities […]
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippines welcomed a record 7.1 million tourists to its beaches and dive spots in 2018, despite its most famous resort Boracay being shut half the year to recover, authorities said Thursday. The archipelago nation of over 7,000 islands saw the number of visitors jump by nearly eight percent over the previous year, with South Koreans leading the way as its top tourists. This growth came without much help from Boracay, […]
by Daniel ARONSSOHN / Corentin DAUTREPPE Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Arrested car boss Carlos Ghosn has resigned as chief executive and chairman of Renault, ending his leadership roles in the auto industry and signalling the start of new era for the French manufacturer. Ghosn, the most powerful man in car-making until his sensational arrest last November in Japan on financial misconduct charges, had already been sacked as chairman of Japanese auto groups Nissan […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has expressed “great satisfaction” after receiving a letter from US President Donald Trump ahead of a second summit between the two leaders, Pyongyang’s state media reported Thursday. Kim is making “good technical preparations” for the meeting, the official KCNA news agency said, in the isolated nation’s first comments on the talks scheduled for next month. The letter was handed to Kim by one of his […]
by Maria PANINA Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday vowed to coordinate their actions more closely in Syria. “Cooperation between Russia and Turkey is a touchstone for Syrian peace and stability,” Erdogan said in translated comments at a joint press conference after their talks, which lasted around three hours. “With our Russian friends, we intend to […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A former South Korean chief justice was arrested Thursday on allegations of abuse of power for allegedly meddling in trials to curry favour with now-ousted president Park Geun-hye. Yang Sung-tae was the presiding judge on the Supreme Court for six years until his retirement in 2017. The South’s politicians have long had legal troubles — all the country’s living ex-presidents are either currently in prison or have previously served jail […]
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Five tourists including a honeymooning couple have drowned in a single week in the Maldives, officials said, prompting a nationwide safety warning to holiday resorts in the pristine islands. Tourism officials said all resort operators in the paradise archipelago were urged Monday to keep a close eye on their clients after the spate of deaths. Strong currents caused by a north-east monsoon were blamed for the slew of drownings in […]
by Maria PANINA Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The leaders of Russia and Japan fell short of agreement on Tuesday over a disputed island chain that has long prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty to formally end World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to Moscow marked the 25th time he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have met since 2013, a reflection of their efforts to build cooperation […]
GHAZNI, Afghanistan (AFP) — Around 65 people were killed in a Taliban-claimed attack on an Afghan intelligence base, a local official said Tuesday, raising the toll substantially from 12 announced previously. “We took about 65 bodies out of the rubble yesterday,” Mohammad Sardar Bakhyari, deputy head of the provincial council in Wardak province, where the attack occurred on Monday in the latest blow to beleaguered security forces. A senior security official who spoke on condition […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A hotel employee arrested after a window she was cleaning fell onto a busy Hong Kong street and killed a tourist was released on bail Tuesday as investigators try to work out what caused the fatal tragedy. Police said a 24-year-old female tourist from the Chinese mainland was struck by the window which fell from the 16th floor of the Mira Hotel in the busy Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district […]
by Richard CARTER Agence Franc Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Carlos Ghosn is likely to remain in Japanese custody for the foreseeable future after a Tokyo court denied him bail Tuesday despite a last-ditch personal appeal by the former Nissan boss. The decision was expected as the court had previously judged him to be a flight risk who could potentially tamper with evidence. Even Ghosn’s own lawyer has said his client will likely remain in […]
