Asia

Vietnam eyes cryptocurrency crackdown after alleged $660 million scam

HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam has vowed to tighten regulations on cryptocurrencies as authorities investigate an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud in the country, where digital units are traded in a shadowy and unregulated market. Paying with cryptocurrencies is illegal in Vietnam, where they are not recognized as a legitimate tender by the central bank. However, there are currently no laws explicitly banning the possession of assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Regulators have battled to gain […]

Continue Reading →

US, S. Korea national security advisers to meet ahead of summits: Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s national security adviser has flown to Washington to meet his newly appointed US counterpart John Bolton, an official said Thursday in Seoul, where concerns are growing over the American’s hardline stance on the nuclear-armed North. Chung Eui-yong, who personally delivered Kim’s summit offer to Trump last month, returned to the US capital unannounced Wednesday as the two allies plan their upcoming summits with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. […]

Continue Reading →

One killed in hot air balloon crash on S. Korea resort island

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — One person died and a dozen tourists were injured in a hot air balloon crash on South Korea’s popular resort island of Jeju Thursday morning, police said. The balloon was carrying 12 passengers and a pilot — who suffered a head injury and was later pronounced dead — police said, adding they were investigating the cause of the crash. Photos showed the deflated balloon draped over forest trees, with the […]

Continue Reading →

Australia admits tensions with China but denies ‘deep chill’

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s prime minister admitted Thursday bubbling tensions with China over allegations of Beijing meddling in domestic politics, but denied there was a “deep chill” in relations after reports ministers were being refused visas. Bilateral ties took a dive late last year when Canberra announced wide-ranging reforms to espionage and foreign interference legislation, singling out China as a focus of concern. It sparked a furious response from Beijing, which summoned Australia’s ambassador […]

Continue Reading →

N. Korea parliament meets but Kim absent ahead of summits

  SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea’s parliament has met to rubber-stamp Kim Jong Un’s policies, but the leader himself was conspicuously absent as he prepares for two key summits with South Korea and the US. Kim had been present at six out of eight previous Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) sessions held since he officially became party head six years ago, according to the South’s Unification Ministry. But he appeared to skip Wednesday’s meeting, with […]

Continue Reading →

Japan FM to voice N. Korea concerns in rare Seoul visit

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Japan’s foreign minister was in South Korea for a rare visit Wednesday, armed with a list of issues Tokyo wants to push onto the agenda of a looming summit between North and South Korea. The first such visit in more than two years comes at a time of frenetic diplomatic activity in Northeast Asia, ahead of the North’s planned summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald […]

Continue Reading →

Six unaccounted for after landslide in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — At least six people were unaccounted for Wednesday after a landslide hit their houses in southern Japan, local police said. “Three houses were buried after a landslide” in a mountainous area of Nakatsu City, a police spokesman said. “Six people (believed to be in there) were unaccounted for after that,” the official said, adding a resident in the neighborhood called for rescue. Search operations were continuing while troops are expected to […]

Continue Reading →

Trump praises Xi’s ‘kind words’ in fresh sign of trade detente

  by Douglas Gillison and Ryan McMorrow in Beijing © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday praised the “kind words” from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and pledged “great progress” in the looming trade dispute between the world’s largest economies. Still, the White House also admonished China to take concrete action on US complaints about unfair trade practices. Xi earlier Tuesday pledged to open Chinese markets and lower tariffs, remarks that […]

Continue Reading →

Indian truck crash kills 18 laborers: police

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — At least 18 people were killed when a truck packed with laborers overturned on a winding highway in western India on Tuesday, police said. The truck hit a roadside barrier outside Khandala, a hill resort and popular tourist destination 80 kilometers (50 miles) inland from Mumbai. “The truck was definitely speeding and flipped over two, three times and crashed into a highway barrier. We have recovered 18 bodies so far,” […]

Continue Reading →

Saudi crown prince wraps up official visit to France

by Adam PLOWRIGHT / Anuj CHOPRA Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince wraps up his official visit to France Tuesday with a gala dinner hosted by President Emmanuel Macron, as the young leaders seek to shore up cooperation despite lurking differences. Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, previously dined with Macron at Paris’s Louvre museum on Sunday night after flying in on his first trip to France as heir to the […]

Continue Reading →

N. Korea FM in rare Moscow visit amid diplomatic thaw

by Anna MALPAS Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — North Korea’s foreign minister will hold rare talks with his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Tuesday, as Pyongyang moves to improve strained ties with its neighbors. Ri Yong Ho’s visit comes ahead of planned nuclear summits between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of South Korea and the United States in the coming weeks. “Now it’s particularly important (for North Korea) to […]

Continue Reading →

Xi vows to further open China economy amid US trade spat

by Ryan MCMORROW Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Tuesday to lower car tariffs this year and take other steps to further open the world’s number two economy, indirectly addressing major complaints by the United States in a simmering trade row. Promising a “new phase of opening up”, Xi told an economic forum on the southern island of Hainan that Beijing “does not seek a trade surplus” and […]

Continue Reading →
1 … 522 523 524 525 526 … 817