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KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh (AFP) — UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he heard “unimaginable” accounts of atrocities during a visit Monday to vast camps in Bangladesh that are home to a million Rohingya refugees who fled violence in Myanmar. Guterres described the situation for the persecuted Muslim minority as “a humanitarian and human rights nightmare,” as he prepared to tour makeshift shelters crammed with people who escaped a huge Myanmar army operation last year that the UN […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s 84-year-old Emperor Akihito cancelled his official duties on Monday after being taken ill, the country’s top government spokesman said. Akihito “had a sudden feeling of sickness and heavy sweating” in the early morning and Empress Michiko “immediately brought in the palace doctor,” Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The doctor diagnosed the emperor with “symptoms of vertigo and nausea due to cerebral anemia, which require a complete rest and follow-up checks,” […]
Rescue divers inched closer to a spot in a flooded cave where 12 boys and their football coach have been missing for more than a week after days of bad weather beset the grueling search. The children, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old assistant coach have not been heard from since they ventured into the recesses of the Tham Luang cave in northern Thailand on Saturday and were blocked by heavy rains. But the […]
Protesters marched through central Hong Kong on Sunday in one of the city’s major annual pro-democracy rallies as organisers said the event was coming under unprecedented pressure from authorities. Beijing has become increasingly intolerant of signs of dissent in semi-autonomous Hong Kong since massive pro-democracy rallies in 2014 brought parts of the city to a standstill and led to the emergence of activists demanding independence from China. Hong Kong has rights unseen on the mainland, […]
by Julien Girault © Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s government is facing a multi-front battle to defend its economy, fighting to reduce its debt mountain while the yuan and local stock markets tumble in the face of a US trade conflict. With the Trump administration preparing to roll out tariffs on some $34 billion of Chinese imports next week, the Shanghai Stock Exchange is taking a nosedive — down some eight percent in […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP)–Japan’s jobless rate slumped to a 26-year low in May while the jobs-to-applicants ratio hit new record high, as the country struggles with labor shortages, official figures showed Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 2.2 percent from 2.5 percent in the previous three months, according to a survey by the internal affairs ministry, the lowest level since August-October of 1992. The jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at its highest rate in 44 years, with 160 […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld the jailing of those who evade the country’s military conscription law, but ordered authorities to provide conscientious objectors with an alternative form of national service. Almost 65 years after the end of the Korean War, nearly every able-bodied South Korean man between the ages of 18 and 35 must still complete around two years of military service. Anyone refusing the call-up usually ends […]
DENPASAR, Indonesia (AFP) — Bali closed its international airport following a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian resort island that sent thick smoke and ash billowing 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) into the air, an official said Friday. Ngurah Rai airport was due to be closed from 3:00 am (1900 GMT) to at least 7:00 pm Friday after a pilot report detected volcanic ash as high as 23,000 feet following Mount Agung’s eruption on Thursday. “Based on […]
by Paul Handley © Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — US Defense Secretary James Mattis told South Korea Thursday that their alliance remained “ironclad”, as he sought to reassure key East Asian allies following Donald Trump’s unilateral suspension of military exercises with Seoul. Concern has mounted in the region over the stance of the US president, who has lauded North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a “talented guy” as he seeks to persuade […]
by Paul Handley © Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping stiffly defended his country’s claim to disputed islands in the South China Sea after US Defense Secretary James Mattis questioned the militarization of the region in a day of meetings in Beijing Wednesday with top officials. The two sides held firm to their stances on a hot-button issue which has added to broader tensions between the rival superpowers, but US officials said […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP)–The patriarch of South Korean flag carrier Korean Air was grilled by prosecutors Thursday over alleged tax evasion and other crimes, as a series of probes reached the top of the troubled business dynasty. Cho Yang-ho, 69, and his brothers and a sister allegedly avoided paying 50 billion won ($45 million) in taxes on the overseas assets they inherited after their father Cho Choong-hoon died in 2002. “I am sorry. I will […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is carrying out rapid improvements to its nuclear research facility, a monitor said on Wednesday, despite declaring a commitment to denuclearisation of the peninsula at the Singapore summit. The nuclear-armed North’s leader Kim Jong Un promised to “work toward” the goal at a landmark summit in the city-state earlier this month with US President Donald Trump. But the Singapore meeting failed to clearly define denuclearisation or produce […]
