Asia

Nationwide probe after Tokyo med school excludes women

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan Friday launched an unprecedented probe into gender discrimination at all the nation’s medical universities after a Tokyo medical school admitted altering the entrance test results of female applicants to exclude them. The education ministry has asked all 81 private and public medical schools to check their admission procedures for possible discrimination against female applicants. Authorities said they would also check the gender ratio of successful applicants for the past six […]

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Russia, China block US bid to slap N.Korea sanctions

by Carole Landry Agence France Presse Russia and China on Thursday blocked a US request to add a Russian bank to a UN sanctions blacklist along with a North Korean official and two entities, diplomats said. The United States last week asked a UN sanctions committee to slap an assets freeze on Agrosoyuz Commercial Bank for allegedly helping North Korea evade UN-imposed restrictions on financial transactions. The request also targeted Ri Jong Won, the deputy […]

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Strong aftershocks rock Indonesia’s Lombok as quake death toll tops 300

  by Kiki Siregar Agence France Presse MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) —  The death toll from a devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok jumped to 319 Thursday, as strong aftershocks triggered panic among traumatized survivors waiting for aid in the worst-hit regions. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake Sunday levelled tens of thousands of homes, mosques and businesses across Lombok, with relief agencies only just starting to reach survivors in some of the worst-hit areas four […]

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Strong 5.9-magnitude aftershock jolts Indonesia’s Lombok; quake survivors panic

  MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) — A strong aftershock struck Indonesia’s Lombok on Thursday, causing panic among evacuees sheltering after a devastating earthquake killed more than 160 on the holiday island four days earlier. The 5.9-magnitude quake Thursday struck at a shallow depth in the northwest of the island, the US Geological Survey said, even as relief agencies raced to find survivors among wreckage from Sunday’s quake. “The quake was felt strongly. There have been 355 aftershocks […]

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Criminal case filed against BMW over S. Korea car fires

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A group of BMW owners in South Korea filed a criminal complaint against the German automaker Thursday over alleged delays in recalling more than 100,000 cars after a spate of engine fires, their lawyer said. The timing of the recall, which was issued last month, is already the subject of a government probe, after more than 30 BMW cars — mostly the 520d sedan model — caught fire this year […]

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Indonesia quake toll jumps to 164, survivors wait for aid

  by Kiki Siregar Agence France-Presse MATARAM (West Nusa Tenggara), Indonesia (AFP) — The devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok was “exceptionally destructive” and wiped out entire villages in the worst-hit regions, relief agencies warned as the death toll jumped to more than 160 on Thursday. Relief efforts have yet to reach parts of the island four days after the quake hit, Indonesian authorities said, as hopes fade of finding further survivors among the […]

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Iran’s Zarif: ‘no one trusts America’ anymore

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) —  Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday it was hard to imagine new talks with the US after it lost the trust of the world with its erratic decision-making. “Imagine negotiating now — how can we trust them?” Zarif told reporters on state broadcaster IRINN. “America has zig-zagged constantly, so now no one trusts them.” Zarif was speaking a day after Washington reimposed a first tranche of harsh sanctions following […]

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Strong typhoon churns towards Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A powerful typhoon was churning towards Japan on Wednesday, prompting the nation’s weather agency to warn of heavy rain and violent winds and airlines to cancel dozens of flights. Typhoon Shanshan was expected to make landfall about 100 kilometres (62 miles) northeast of Tokyo by early Thursday, sparking fears that the busy morning commute in the capital could be disrupted. The storm is packing maximum gusts of 180 kilometres per hour […]

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More than 70,000 homeless after deadly Lombok quake

MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) — More than 70,000 people have been left homeless in the deadly earthquake that hit Lombok island, forced to sleep in makeshift shelters and lacking food, medicine and clean water, authorities said Wednesday. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake killed at least 105 people and triggered panic among locals and tourists on Lombok on Sunday, just a week after another tremor surged through the holiday island and killed 17. Some 236 people have been […]

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First round of US tariffs on Chinese goods to hit $50 bn Aug 23: USTR

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The first round of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on China will hit the full $50 billion in goods starting August 23, the government announced Tuesday. Washington already imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese products on July 6. But it held off on a final $16 billion as a result of concerns raised by US companies. Although the move was expected, it cements the view that there appears to […]

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Tourist exodus from Lombok as quake toll hits 105

by Kiki Siregar Agence France Presse MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) — Terrified holidaymakers rushed for boats and planes to leave Indonesia’s Lombok island Tuesday after it suffered a second deadly quake within a week, as rescuers scrambled to reach remote areas where survivors are in urgent need of food and shelter. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake killed at least 105 people and destroyed thousands of buildings in Lombok on Sunday, just days after another deadly tremor surged […]

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Indonesia quake death toll rises to 98; more than 2,000 tourists evacuated

  by Kiki Siregar Agence France Presse MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesia Monday sent rescuers fanning out across the holiday island of Lombok and evacuated more than 2,000 tourists after a powerful earthquake killed at least 98 people and damaged thousands of buildings. The shallow 6.9-magnitude quake sparked terror among tourists and locals alike, coming just a week after another deadly tremor surged through Lombok and killed 17 people. Rescuers on Monday searched for survivors […]

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