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by Natsuko Fukue Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese soldier was killed Tuesday and several other people injured after a volcano erupted near a popular ski resort, sparking an avalanche and leaving scores stranded — including tourists from Britain and Taiwan. Footage broadcast on Japanese television showed thick black smoke interspersed with falling rocks rolling down the snow-covered side of the volcano towards a ski slope. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters […]
by Ben Dooley Agence France Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — The spill from a sunken Iranian tanker off China’s east coast has more than trebled in size, just over a week after the ship sank in a ball of flames. Authorities spotted three oil slicks with a total surface area of 332 square kilometers (128 square miles), compared to 101 square kilometers reported on Wednesday, the State Oceanic Administration said in a statement late Sunday. […]
by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s efforts to bring the North to its Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month are provoking a backlash among its own people, with accusations that Seoul risks turning the Games into a “Pyongyang Olympics.” Many are fuming over what they see as exploitation of the South’s own athletes for political purposes, and accusing President Moon Jae-In’s government of making too many concessions to […]
Beijing said it has dispatched a warship to drive away a US missile destroyer which had “violated” its sovereignty by sailing close to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea. The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Island on the night of January 17 without alerting Beijing, the foreign ministry said, referring to the shoal by its Chinese name. Also known as Scarborough Shoal, the ring of reefs lies about 230 […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The operator of Fukushima’s crippled nuclear power plant has released fresh images of the wreckage inside a damaged reactor, showing broken metal parts and debris that could be melted fuel. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) inserted a special camera into one of the plant’s three melted-down reactors on Friday, a company spokesman said, as part of its efforts to dismantle the disaster-hit facility in northeastern Japan. Images captured by the camera […]
HONG KONG, China (AFP) — A collision between a mainland Chinese fishing boat and the American-Danish team during the fourth leg of the Volvo Ocean Race left one man dead, police said Saturday, overshadowing a historic victory for the Hong Kong team as the city hosted the race for the first time. Local group Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag triumphed despite some significant setbacks in the gruelling 5,800 nautical mile stage from Melbourne, Australia, closely followed by […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thai police have arrested an alleged kingpin in Asia’s illegal trade in endangered species, dealing a blow to family-run syndicate that smuggles elephant ivory, rhino horn and tiger parts to Chinese and Vietnamese dealers. Boonchai Bach, 40, a Vietnamese national with Thai citizenship, was arrested on Friday evening over the smuggling of 14 rhino horns worth around $1 million from Africa to Thailand. His downfall follows the December 12 arrest of […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – South Korea’s prime minister apologized Friday for suggesting the country’s women’s ice hockey team had no chance of a medal at the Winter Olympics in an unsuccessful attempt to dampen criticism over a unified team with the North. The two Koreas agreed this week to field a unified women’s ice hockey side at the Games, which begin in Pyeongchang next month. It came after Pyongyang agreed to attend what organizers and Seoul […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – Chinese authorities detained a prominent human rights lawyer on Friday, people familiar with the case said, just hours after he provided journalists with a letter calling for constitutional reform. Around a dozen people, including a SWAT team, seized Yu Wensheng as he left his Beijing apartment to walk his child to school, two sources told AFP. Local police said they were unaware of his detention. Yu has been a persistent voice for reform in […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea is preparing a lavish display of its military strength in a parade on the eve of next month’s Winter Olympics in the South, despite a rare sporting detente with Seoul, it was reported Thursday. Pyongyang, which has rattled the international community with its nuclear and missile tests in recent months, has agreed to send athletes to the Games and march with the South under one flag at the […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – Former South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak on Wednesday denounced as “political revenge” a corruption probe into allegations his office accepted bribes from the country’s spy agency. The rare statement from conservative Lee, who stepped down in 2013, came after two of his closest aides were arrested and as his impeached ally and successor Park Geun-Hye stands trial for corruption. South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison — or […]
by Elaine Yu Agence France-Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) – Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was jailed for the second time Wednesday for his role in mass pro-democracy protests as concern grows that prison terms for young campaigners are shutting down debate in the semi-autonomous city as Beijing increases control. Wong, 21, who became the face of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, was handed a three-month sentence on a contempt charge for obstructing clearance of a major […]
