International

Demise of US-Russia nuclear treaty fuels fears of new arms race

  by Sebastian Smith / with Anna Smolchenko in Moscow and Francesco Fontemaggi in Bangkok Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States vowed to upgrade its cruise and ballistic missile capability as the collapse Friday of a Cold War nuclear pact with Russia triggered fears of a new arms race. As Washington placed the blame firmly on Moscow over the demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, President Donald Trump […]

Indonesia hit by 6.9 magnitude quake; tsunami warning lifted

  by Ganis Bungsu Agence France Presse BANTEN, Indonesia (AFP) — Indonesian authorities lifted a tsunami warning late Friday after a powerful earthquake earlier struck off the southern coast of heavily populated Java island. The 6.9 magnitude quake registered at a depth 52.8 kilometres (33 miles), some 150 kilometres (90 miles) from Labuan, southwest of the capital Jakarta, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Panicked residents fled their homes as the quake hit, […]

Following bombings amid ASEAN meet, PHL Embassy urges Filipinos in Thailand to take extra precautions

(Eagle News)–The Philippine Embassy in Bangkok on Friday, Aug. 2, urged Filipinos there to take extra precautions following the “bombings” that ripped across the capital as it hosted a regional summit. In a statement,  the embassy also urged Filipinos to cooperate with authorities “as they implement heightened security measures.” Earlier in the day, several small bombs exploded across Bangkok, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers meeting also attended by US Secretary of […]

Japan-S. Korea row escalates as relations hit new low

  by Miwa SUZUKI Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan and South Korea Friday rescinded each other’s favoured export partner status in an escalating row as relations between the US allies hit a new low. The two countries — both of them democracies and market economies — are mired in long-running disputes over the use of forced labour during World War II. But Tokyo, which made the first move despite US calls for […]

S. Korea to remove Japan from export ‘white list’: finance minister

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea will remove Japan from its “white list” of trusted trading partners, Seoul’s finance minister said Friday, reciprocating just hours after a similar move by Tokyo. The Japanese government’s decision “fundamentally destroys the relations of trust and cooperation that the two countries established” in the past, said Hong Nam-ki. “For this, we express our strong protest and deep regret, and urge Tokyo to immediately withdraw its vengeful trade measures.” […]

Japan hangs two for murder, first executions in 2019

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday hanged two men convicted of murder, the justice ministry said, the first executions this year after 15 death row inmates were executed in 2018. With more than 100 inmates on death row, Japan is one of the few developed nations to retain the death penalty, and public support for it remains high despite international criticism, including from rights groups. “I ordered the executions after very careful consideration,” Justice […]

S. Korea’s Moon condemns Japan’s ‘reckless’ trade decision

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday condemned Japan’s decision to remove his country from a “white list” of favored trading partners, calling it a “reckless” move and threatening unspecified countermeasures. Tokyo’s “selfish act will inflict tremendous damage on the world economy by disrupting global supply chains”, he said in remarks to a cabinet meeting called at short notice and televised live. “Japan should withdraw its unilateral and unfair measures as […]

Japan to remove Seoul from favored export partner ‘white list’

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday said it will remove South Korea from a “white list” of favored export partners, a move that Seoul has warned will have “grave consequences” for security ties between the US allies. “The government at a cabinet meeting today approved a revision to the export control law… South Korea, the only Asian nation on the list, will be removed,” Japan’s Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters. The measure, which […]

Latest Trump tariffs to directly hit consumers

by John BIERS NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Earlier US tariffs enacted in President Donald Trump’s trade war with China has dealt only a glancing blow to consumers, but those announced Thursday are different. “This hits consumers straight on,” Steve Pasierb, president of the Toy Association, said in an interview. “This is the finished products. It’s not raw materials.” The tariffs, a 10 percent levy on $300 billion in Chinese goods that Trump said […]

EU countries at UN condemn North Korean missile tests

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — European Union members of the UN Security Council condemned North Korea Thursday over its recent spate of missiles tests that have fueled fears Pyongyang is developing more advanced weapons. Britain, France and Germany urged North Korea to “take concrete steps towards its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the US as agreed between President Trump and Kim Jong Un on 30 June.” UN […]

Six shot dead in Croatian capital: state media

ZAGREB, Croatia (AFP) — Croatian police launched a manhunt Thursday night after six people were found dead with gunshot wounds in a house in the capital Zagreb, state media reported. Officers found the bodies in a home in a southern neighborhood of the city after being alerted by neighbors, who heard gunshots at around 1930 GMT, state-run Hina news agency reported. “Six corpses have been found by police in the Kajzerica district of New Zagreb,” […]

Trump has ‘no problem’ with latest North Korean missile tests

by Sebastien BERGER / with Chris Stein in Washington SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea carried out its third missile test in eight days Friday, according to the South’s military, but US President Donald Trump said he had “no problem” with the spate of launches by Pyongyang. The nuclear-armed North is barred from ballistic missile tests under UN resolutions and its actions have drawn condemnation from European members of the Security Council but a […]