Other News

Vice President Mike Pence reaffirms US continued commitment to ASEAN

United States Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed his country’s continued commitment to strengthen and deepen its strategic partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations during his historic visit to the ASEAN Secretariat on April 20, where he met the regional bloc’s secretary-general Le Luong Minh. He described ASEAN as a “historic institution” that ensures the security of the region, and acknowledged its success in promoting the quality of life and the prosperity of its people. “It has […]

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South China Sea and security issues to top ASEAN agenda

(Reuters) — Tensions in the South China Sea are expected to top the agenda at this year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which will be kicking off later this week in Manila amid tight security. Negotiators from China and ASEAN have met in Indonesia and Cambodia over the last few months to try to come up with a final draft of a Code of Conduct for the waterway, which is claimed by several […]

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South Korea, US hold joint military drill

POCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean and United States troops held a joint live-fire exercise on Wednesday (April 26) amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula. The two countries staged the live fire drill featuring a wide array of army aviation, artillery, and armored vehicles at an artillery range in Pocheon, about 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) northeast of Seoul. The South Korean defense ministry said about 2,000 troops from both countries participated in […]

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Taliban using intelligence to attack Afghan government, military: Analysts

KABUL, Afghanistan (Reuters) — The Taliban are quickly changing and are using intelligence resources in carrying out attacks against the Afghan government and military, according to some political analysts in Afghanistan. On April 21, 10 Taliban militants disguised in army uniforms snuck into the 209th Corps army base in northern Balkh province, shooting scores of unarmed soldiers and officers. Local media reported that the death toll of the assault has surpassed 250. The heavily armed […]

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South Korean presidential candidates battle in TV debate

SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korea’s two main presidential candidates Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo spoke about security and diplomatic issues including the deployment of the controversial United States Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in a TV debate on Tuesday (April 25) night. Frontrunner Moon has said the decision to deploy the THAAD should be made by the next president and that cooperation amongst South Korea, the US and China are necessary […]

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China launches second aircraft carrier

Northeast China (Reuters)– China launched its second aircraft carrier Wednesday morning at the Dalian shipyard, northeast China’s Liaoning Province. The new carrier, the first built in China, was moved from a dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony that started at about 09:00. It is China’s second aircraft carrier after “Liaoning,” a refitted Soviet Union-made carrier that was commissioned to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in 2012. China began building its second […]

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Coca-Cola to cut 1,200 jobs as earnings fall

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Coca-Cola plans to cut 1,200 jobs as it deepens its cost-cutting initiatives in response to sluggish soda sales, the company said Tuesday. The maker of Sprite and Fanta announced the job cuts as it reported lower second-quarter profits due to restructuring costs and flat sales amid efforts to tout new low-sugar beverages in response to flagging demand for soda. The job cuts account for about one percent of the […]

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Asian markets extend global rally into third day

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Asia’s equity rally pressed on for a fourth day Wednesday following another record close on Wall Street and with investor optimism high as Donald Trump is expected to unveil his much-vaunted tax overhaul. After shooting out of the blocks Monday in response to Emmanuel Macron’s election triumph in France’s election first round, trading floors remain buoyant on a strong start to the US earnings season and Trump’s expected stimulus. The […]

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Cannes film festival announces full jury line-up

LOS ANGELES, United States (Reuters) — The Cannes film festival announced on Tuesday (April 25) its full line-up for the jury which presides over the main competition at France’s most famous cinema event. Although Spanish director Pedro Almodovar was announced as President of the Jury at the end of January, the additional eight were formally unveiled as four women and four men from the international film industry. From Hollywood, actors Will Smith and Jessica Chastain […]

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Japan disaster minister resigns over quake gaffe

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s disaster reconstruction minister resigned Wednesday after remarking it was lucky the catastrophic 2011 earthquake-tsunami  had hit a largely rural region rather than Tokyo. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was forced to apologize to residents of the devastated northeastern region of Tohoku, which is still recovering more than six years on, after Masahiro Imamura sparked outrage with his comments. “It was good that it (the disaster) occurred over there in Tohoku,” he […]

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NASA’s Super Pressure Balloon lifts off in New Zealand

WANAKA, New Zeland (Reuters) — A stadium-sized super pressure balloon launched by NASA in New Zealand began collecting data in near space on Wednesday (April 25), beginning a 100-day planned journey after several launch attempts were thwarted by a series of storms and cyclones. The balloon, designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to detect ultra-high energy cosmic particles from beyond the galaxy as they penetrate the earth’s atmosphere, is expected to circle […]

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US missile defense equipment reaches S. Korea site

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — United States troops began delivering a missile defense system that has infuriated China to a deployment site in South Korea Wednesday, amid heightened tensions over the North’s nuclear ambitions. Washington is urging Beijing — Pyongyang’s sole major ally — to do more to rein it in, but the Asian giant has reacted with fury to the planned installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The US and ally […]

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