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SEOUL, Dec 21, 2023 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned Pyongyang will not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if “provoked with nukes”, state media said Thursday, while Seoul and its allies called for “dialogue without preconditions”. Kim’s warning follows a meeting between South Korea and the United States last week in Washington, where they discussed nuclear deterrence in the event of conflict with the North. The meeting’s agenda included “nuclear and […]
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Malaysia banned on Wednesday Israeli-flagged cargo ships from docking at its ports in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza, which it said ignores “basic humanitarian principles”. Ships on their way to Israel will also be barred from loading cargo at any port in the largely Muslim Southeast Asian nation with immediate effect, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a statement. Anwar singled out Israel’s biggest shipping firm ZIM. […]
BERLIN, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – World powers said Tuesday that the international community needed a firm and unified response to North Korea’s “reckless” nuclear build-up and missile launches. G7 foreign ministers said in a statement after the launch of Pyongyang’s most powerful ballistic missile that “North Korea’s repeated reckless actions must be met with a swift, united and robust international response, particularly by the United Nations Security Council”. North Korea on Monday test-fired its […]
DAHEJIA, China, Dec 20, 2023 (AFP) – Rescuers dug through rubble for a second freezing day on Wednesday after overnight temperatures plunged well below zero, with the death toll in China’s deadliest earthquake in years rising to 131. State broadcaster CCTV said at least 113 people were killed in northwestern Gansu province and 18 more in neighbouring Qinghai after a shallow tremor on Monday night damaged thousands of buildings. The quake was China’s deadliest since […]
By Didier LAURAS PARIS, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – A multinational naval task force to protect a key global shipping lane from Yemen’s Huthi rebels would face severe challenges in a difficult strategic and military context, experts say. The United States has been pushing for such a force after Huthis pledged to continue attacking cargo ships in the Red Sea in support of Palestinians in the Gaza war raging between Israel and militant group Hamas. […]
SEOUL, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to accelerate his country’s nuclear build-up and warned Washington against making a “wrong decision” after overseeing the launch of the country’s most powerful ballistic missile, state media said Tuesday. Monday’s test launch of the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 came a day after the nuclear-powered submarine USS Missouri made port in Busan and followed a US-South Korea warning that a nuclear attack by Pyongyang […]
SEOUL, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Troops on the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area on the border with the North have been authorised to carry guns, the UN Command said Tuesday, after Pyongyang’s soldiers reportedly started carrying weapons there last month. Soldiers from both countries face off at the JSA north of Seoul, which is overseen by the US-led United Nations Command. North and South Korea agreed to disarm their troops on […]
By Sébastien RICCI DAHEJIA, China, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – Rescuers in remote villages of northwest China dug through the rubble of collapsed homes in freezing conditions on Tuesday after the country’s deadliest earthquake in years killed at least 127 people. State media said the shallow tremor just before midnight had caused the deaths of at least 113 and injured more than 530 in impoverished Gansu province, as of Tuesday afternoon. A further 14 died […]
BEIJING, Dec 19, 2023 (AFP) – At least 111 people were killed when an earthquake collapsed buildings in northwest China, state media reported Tuesday, as rescue workers raced to start digging through rubble. About 100 were killed and scores more injured in Gansu province after the strong, shallow tremor struck, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing the provincial earthquake relief headquarters. According to CCTV, 11 others were killed and 100 injured in the city of Haidong […]
BANGKOK, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Thai soldiers killed 15 suspected drug smugglers in a shootout in a remote northern district near the Myanmar border, an army official said Monday. The clash on Saturday evening took place in Chiang Rai province’s Mae Fah Luang district, close to the “Golden Triangle” where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet, which has long been a hub for smuggling. After the clash, officers found 17 bags containing more than two […]
BEIJING, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – China vowed on Monday to “take countermeasures” against companies involved in arms sales to Taiwan after the United States approved a $300-million deal to beef up the self-ruled island’s defences. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has pledged to seize it one day, while the US Congress requires the supply of weapons to the self-governing democracy for its defence. The US State Department last week approved […]
By Xinqi SU and Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Dec 18, 2023 (AFP) – Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai went on trial in Hong Kong Monday on national security charges that could see him jailed for life, with the United States and Britain demanding his release. Lai, 76, is accused of “collusion” with foreign forces under a sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on the finance hub in 2020. He is the founder of the now-shuttered […]
