Asia

Japan claims China ‘escalating’ military actions

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s defense chief on Monday warned the country faces a tough security environment, with China and Russia stepping up military activity and North Korea posing “imminent threats”. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said China had been “unilaterally escalating” its military activities in the past year, including carrying out new airborne operations around Japan and running a nuclear submarine near disputed East Coast isles. “China has been rapidly improving its military strength and […]

China’s ‘Silk Road’ project runs into debt jam

  by Julien Girault Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s massive and expanding “Belt and Road” trade infrastructure project is running into speed bumps as some countries begin to grumble about being buried under Chinese debt. First announced in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the initiative also known as the “new Silk Road” envisions the construction of railways, roads and ports across the globe, with Beijing providing billions of dollars in loans to […]

Four dead, three missing after Myanmar dam overflow

BAGO, Myanmar (AFP) — Floods from a dam breach in Central Myanmar has left four people dead and three missing, a ministry official confirmed Friday, the first casualties reported two days after a portion of the levee collapsed from heavy monsoon rains. The deceased were three men and one woman, said Phyu Lei Lei Tun, a director at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. “According to the information we got as of this […]

In Kenya, rubbish reborn as art

by Zina DESMAZES Agence France Presse NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) — In a room that is both home and studio, Evans Ngure works on a sculpture, a fantastical fish fabricated from found objects: wooden spoons, broken scissors and an old machete. Long before upcycling became a hipster mantra, Ngure turned his Nairobi apartment into a workshop, and junk into art, his choice of artistic expression echoing a necessary developing world culture of re-use. After trying his […]

Yemen faces new surge in cholera cases: UN

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – Yemen faces a possible third wave of a cholera epidemic, the UN warned Thursday, following a jump in the number of suspected cases over recent weeks. Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said current rains were increasing the risk of infection in the war-torn country, which has seen 1.1 million suspected cases since last April. “The number of suspected cholera cases has been increasing over the last two months in Yemen,” he […]

China slams Trump’s ‘irresponsible and absurd logic’ on North Korea

  by Elizabeth Law Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China on Thursday derided the “irresponsible and absurd logic” of the United States after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of making Washington’s relationship with North Korea more difficult. Trump doubled down on his suggestion that China was not helping to rein in its Cold War-era ally — a charge he first levelled when he cancelled a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State […]

Rescuers struggle to reach stranded in Myanmar dam flooding

by Ye Aung Thu and Phyo Hein Kyaw Agence France-Presse BAGO, Myanmar (AFP) — Rescuers in boats negotiated muddy waters on Thursday to reach thousands stranded in central Myanmar after a dam overflowed, sending a torrent of water across farmland and villages. No casualties have yet been reported but state media said more than 63,000 people in Bago region were affected after the Swar Chaung dam overflowed early Wednesday morning. The dam’s spillway, a structure […]

S. Korea’s Moon replaces defense chief in cabinet reshuffle

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday replaced his defense chief and four other ministers in a cabinet reshuffle after falling approval ratings in recent weeks. Moon has driven a rapid diplomatic rapprochement with nuclear-armed North Korea, but defense minister Song Young-moo came under fire for mishandling a controversy over a defense intelligence unit. In March, documents emerged detailing military plans to impose martial law against protesters demanding the ouster […]

Hong Kong Red Cross gives citation, award to INC for recent blood donation drive

  (Eagle News) – The Hong Kong Red Cross has given recognition to the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) for its recent blood donation drive in Hong Kong that helped its campaign to save lives. The Hong Kong chapter of the Red Cross cited the “high participation” and the “contribution to social responsibility” of the INC members and awarded the “Give Blood Alliance” Gold, Silver, Bronze award to the Church. The INC was also […]

End of an ‘era’: Emperor’s exit resets Japan calendar

by Miwa Suzuki Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The abdication of Japan’s Emperor Akihito next year will be quite literally the end of an era, the Heisei era of his rule, and behind closed doors, talks on the next era have begun. Japan is the only country in the world still using Chinese-style imperial calendars. It might be 2018 in much of the world, but in Japan it is Heisei 30, or 30 […]

North Korea still ‘serious and imminent threat’: Japan

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — North Korea still poses a “serious and imminent threat”, Japan said Tuesday in its first annual defence review since an outbreak of diplomacy on the Korean peninsula. Japan’s 2018 defence white paper also took aim at China’s rise as a military power, saying Beijing was sparking “strong security concerns in the region and international community, including Japan”. Last year’s defence review was published at the height of the tensions with North […]

Iran vs US case opens at top UN court

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — A legal battle between Iran and the United States over renewed sanctions imposed on Tehran opened Monday, with the Islamic state’s lawyers due to argue the measures are hurting Iran’s economy. The hearings commenced shortly after 0800 GMT at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and are scheduled to run for four days. © Agence France-Presse