TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A 117-year-old Japanese woman, thought to be the world’s oldest person, has died, a local official told AFP Sunday. Nabi Tajima, who was born August 4, 1900, died around 8:00 pm (1100 GMT) Saturday at a hospital on her native Kikai Island in Kagoshima region, according to Susumu Yoshiyuki, a health and welfare official. Tajima, who became the oldest woman in Japan in September 2015, could have been the oldest person […]
Asia
S. Korea halts border broadcasts ahead of Kim summit
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s military on Monday switched off giant loudspeakers blasting messages towards the North’s soldiers at the border, in a conciliatory gesture ahead of Friday’s historic inter-Korea summit. The South has long broadcast a mix of news, music and propaganda messages urging the North’s soldiers to defect through huge speakers along the heavily-fortified border, with operations varying depending on the swings of volatile inter-Korea ties. The North plays propaganda of […]
Suicide attack on Kabul voter registration centre kills 57
by Mushtaq Mojaddidi Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — An Islamic State suicide bomber killed at least 57 people including women and children and wounded 119 outside a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday in the latest attack on election preparations. The assaults underscore growing concerns about security in the lead-up to legislative elections scheduled for October 20, which are seen as a test-run for next year’s presidential poll. […]
Dragon boat accident kills 17 in southern China
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Seventeen people were killed Saturday after two dragon boats capsized in southern China, state-run Xinhua news agency said. Rowers on board the two long, narrow kayak-like boats were practicing for a race in Taohua River in the city of Guilin when the accident occurred Saturday afternoon, tipping some 60 people into the water. Around 40 people were pulled out of the water alive with rescue work ending around 10 pm (1400 […]
Trump: US has conceded ‘nothing’ to N.Korea
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump asserted Sunday that North Korea has agreed to “denuclearization” and a halt to testing while the United States had so far conceded “nothing” in return. North Korea pledged this week to halt nuclear and missile tests as the two countries prepare for a summit between Kim Jong Un and Trump but have not committed to giving up its nuclear weapons — which Pyongyang views as a shield […]
Korean Air boss apologizes as hot-tempered daughters resign
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho on Sunday apologized for the “immature” behavior of his two daughters and said they would both immediately resign from their company posts following separate controversies. Cho Hyun-min, the younger daughter who is marketing executive at the South Korean flag carrier, is under police investigation for assault after she was accused of throwing water into a man’s face at a business meeting. Four years ago her older […]
Family of whistleblowing Myanmar cop evicted after testimony
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — The family of a Myanmar policeman who testified in court that two Reuters reporters had been set up was evicted from their police housing a day after his evidence, his wife said. Deputy police Major Moe Yan Naing, a prosecution witness, surprised the Yangon courtroom on Friday by describing how his colleagues were ordered by a senior officer to “get” reporter Wa Lone by handing him sensitive documents at a meeting. The […]
Kim heralds more N. Korea economic reforms: analysts
by Sebastien Berger © Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s promise to build “socialist economic construction” in his nuclear-armed but impoverished and isolated country could herald more Chinese-style economic reforms, according to analysts — but he will never explicitly say so. Alongside the declaration Saturday that the North had completed the development of its nuclear arsenal and no more atomic or missile tests were needed, Kim proclaimed that the […]
Suicide attack on Kabul voter registration center kills 31: ministry
by Mushtaq Mojaddidi © Agence France-Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — A suicide bomber killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens outside a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, the health ministry said, in the latest attack on election preparations. The assaults underscore growing concerns about security in the lead-up to legislative elections scheduled for October 20, which are seen as a test-run for next year’s presidential poll. “It […]
North Korea’s nuclear declaration: what it does and does not mean
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared an end to the nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests that sent tensions soaring on the peninsula, in the region, and beyond. The move, enshrined in a decision by the ruling Workers’ Party, comes ahead of a summit with the South’s President Moon Jae-in next week, and with a much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump due later. But it is only […]
US-China trade tension dominates IMF gathering
by Heather Scott © Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Trade tensions between the United States and China, which threaten to spill over into the global economy, are dominating a gathering of world finance officials even as the Group of 20 avoided the topic on Friday. Official after official has called for disputes to be resolved through dialogue rather than unilateral tariffs, and warned about the threat to the economic recovery. French Economy […]
Japan’s Abe welcomes N. Korea pledge, but defense chief vows pressure
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday cautiously welcomed North Korea’s pledge to halt nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches but its defense minister warned Tokyo will continue to put maximum pressure on Pyongyang. “We welcome it as a forward-looking move… but an important thing is whether the move will lead to the complete abandonment of missile and nuclear developments in a verifiable and irreversible manner,” Abe told reporters. “We want to […]





