Category Archives: Asia Pacific

North Korea launches ballistic missiles after US and South Korea bolster nuclear deterrence plans

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Japan’s government has called a meeting of its national security council in response to the launches

North Korea has tested a long-range ballistic missile that is theoretically capable of striking anywhere on the US mainland, Japan officials said, in the regime’s first round of missile tests for about a month.

The missile appeared to have flown about 1,000km (620 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of more than 6,000km before landing in the sea east of the Korean peninsula on Monday.

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David Cameron calls on Hong Kong to release Jimmy Lai

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Foreign secretary’s plea made as publisher faces trial under national security law imposed by China


The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for the release of the British citizen Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy newspaper publisher facing a “politically motivated prosecution” in a high-profile trial in Hong Kong.

In a significant intervention, the former prime minister condemned the charges against Lai, 76, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law that China imposed after the 2019 pro-democracy protests.

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World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kong

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Territory’s global reputation on the line as media mogul and democracy activist finally tried over alleged national security crimes

Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way.

Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison.

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‘Really, really weak’: experts attack claim that Indonesia site is ‘world’s oldest building’

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Sensational report that Indonesia’s Gunung Padang site is 25,000 years old is dismissed by archaeologists around the world

It was one of the most sensational science stories of 2023. Researchers claimed last month that the Gunung Padang site in West Java, Indonesia, is the world’s most ancient pyramid and could be more than 25,000 years old.

Such antiquity would be unprecedented. Stonehenge and the oldest major pyramids of Egypt are only a few thousand years old, while the previous record holder, Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe stone monuments, are thought to be about 11,000 years old.

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Organisers of ultramarathon in which 21 runners died jailed in China

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Seven people sentenced to years in prison over 2021 race in Gansu province hit by extreme weather

Organisers of a 2021 ultramarathon in north-west China during which 21 runners died in extreme weather conditions have been sentenced to years in prison for their roles, state media reported.

Five individuals involved in planning the ill-fated event were given jail terms ranging from three to five and a half years by a court in Baiyin, a city in Gansu, the province where the deaths occurred, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Friday.

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Weather tracker: first snow of winter in Beijing causes widespread disruption

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Transport hit in Chinese capital as cold spell expected to continue across north of country through weekend

Heavy snowfall affected China last weekend in regions north of the Yangtze River, with Beijing experiencing its first snow of the season.

As a consequence of the snow and ice, more than 180 bus routes were suspended across the city on Monday, with several trains and flights delayed or cancelled. Henan province, south of Beijing, had big falls over the weekend, with many areas recording depths of 100mm and even, in some places, up to 150mm.

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Beijing rush-hour metro collision leaves more than 100 people with fractures

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The rear-end collision happened in the Chinese capital, which has been hit by snow storms in recent days

An evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures after a rear-end collision on an above-ground section of tracks, state media said.

The Chinese capital – where such incidents are rare – has been hit by snowstorms in recent days, affecting operating conditions and resulting in transport delays across the city.

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Hong Kong puts arrest bounties on five overseas activists including US citizen

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US and UK criticise move while one of the five decries ‘transnational repression harassment tactics’

Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law.

The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the US and UK governments.

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US Congress passes bill allowing sale of Aukus nuclear submarines to Australia

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Legislation covering a wide range of military issues clears the way for Virginia class vessels to bolster Pacific defence

The US Congress has passed legislation allowing the country to sell Virginia class submarines to Australia under the Aukus security pact.

Sweeping legislation covering a wide range of military priorities including Aukus passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday Washington time, a day after it cleared the Senate.

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Japan’s ruling party engulfed by political fundraising scandal

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Four ministers resign amid reports that prosecutors were poised to raid offices of dozens of ruling party MPs

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, is battling to contain the fallout from a political fundraising scandal that forced the resignations of four of his ministers, amid reports that prosecutors were poised to raid the offices of dozens of ruling party MPs.

The chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, confirmed that he was stepping down, while the economy and industry minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, the internal affairs minister, Junji Suzuki, and the agriculture minister, Ichiro Miyashita, have also resigned.

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‘I’ve never seen anything like this’: Japan says reason behind 1,200 tonnes of fish washing ashore is unknown

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The sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea near the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido

Officials in Japan have admitted they are struggling to determine why hundreds of tonnes of fish have washed ashore in recent days.

Earlier this month, an estimated 1,200 tonnes of sardines and mackerel were found floating on the surface of the sea off the fishing port of Hakodate in Hokkaido, forming a silver blanket stretching for more than a kilometre.

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Festive cheer for Filipino fishers after supply boat evades Chinese vessels

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Boat from Philippines with gifts for fishers, troops and coastguard in South China Sea slipped past vessels that intercepted festive flotilla

It looked, for a time, as if Christmas had been cancelled. A Philippine mission by volunteers to bring the festive spirit to the fishers, troops and coastguard crew in the disputed South China Sea was forced to turn back on Sunday after organisers said they had been shadowed and intercepted by Chinese vessels.

But it later emerged that a smaller supply boat had managed to slip past the Chinese vessels.

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Thai MP given six-year prison sentence for insulting monarchy

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Rukchanok Srinork’s posts on X found to have breached lese-majesty and computer crime laws

A progressive Thai MP has been sentenced to six years in prison for insulting the country’s powerful monarchy on social media.

Rukchanok Srinork, 29, a former activist, also known as “Ice”, was found guilty of breaching Thailand’s strict lese-majesty law and its computer crimes act, according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). The case related to comments posted or reposted on X, including criticism of a decision to hand a contract for manufacturing Covid-19 vaccines to a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

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Japan chooses ‘tax’ as kanji of the year amid concern over cost of living

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Competition winner reflects growing anxiety about tax rises, while second place for word of the year went to ‘hot’ after a sweltering summer

The kanji character for “tax” has been chosen as Japan’s word of the year, in a reflection of growing public anxiety over the cost of living and impending tax rises.

The single character – which can be read as zei or mitsugi – was unveiled this week at Kiyomizu Buddhist temple in Kyoto, whose head priest, Seihan Mori, reproduced it with a huge brush on a white washi paper canvas.

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Rina Gonoi sexual assault: Japan court finds soldiers guilty in landmark case

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Victory for former self-defence forces member after fight for justice that challenged taboos in male-dominated society

A court in Japan has found three former male soldiers guilty of sexually assaulting a female colleague, in what is being seen as a rare victory for survivors and a challenge to taboos surrounding abuse.

The Fukushima district court sentenced Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine and Yusuke Kimezawa to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for “forced indecency” against Rina Gonoi during a military drill in 2021.

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China overtakes US as branded coffee shop capital of the world

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Number rose by almost 60% in a year to 49,691 stores, making China ‘a global coffee industry powerhouse’

The branded coffee chain craze may trace its roots to a single Starbucks in Seattle’s Pike Place market in 1971, but now China has toppled the US as the country with the most branded coffee shops.

The number of branded coffee shops in China increased by 58% over the past 12 months to a record 49,691 outlets, according to research by World Coffee Portal. That was more than 9,000 in excess of the 40,062 in the US, where the market grew by just 4%. The US had held the crown as the world’s biggest coffee shop market for the entire 20-year history of the research.

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Japan zoo investigates possible mass squirrel poisoning

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Dozens of the animals died after they were treated with anti-parasitic medicine

A Japanese zoo has launched an investigation after apparently killing 31 of its 40 squirrels by mistake with treatments meant to kill parasites, officials said.

Keepers at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo treated the animals with anti-parasitic medicine on 4 December as part of a sanitary precaution, while also spraying insecticide over their nest boxes.

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Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘final’ film The Boy and the Heron hits No 1 at North American box office

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The Japanese director’s animation beats The Hunger Games prequel and Godzilla Minus One on its opening weekend in the US and Canada

The Boy and the Heron, reportedly the final film from Japanese master animator Hayao Miyazaki, has taken the number one spot at the box office on its North American release, as well as achieving record figures for the director.

Preliminary box office returns report that The Boy and the Heron took $12.8m in the US and Canada on its opening weekend, putting it a significant distance ahead of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which managed $9.4m. In third place was another Japanese film, the monster movie Godzilla Minus One, on $8.3m.

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Record low turnout as Hong Kong votes in ‘patriots’-only election

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Voters shun district election after pro-democracy candidates were prevented from running

A “patriots only” district election in Hong Kong that barred opposition democrats from the ballot sheet amid a national security crackdown had a record low voter turnout of 27.5% as many voters spurned what was seen as an undemocratic poll.

The sharp slide in turnout since the last such election in 2019 comes after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law that has been used to clamp down on dissent, and overhauled the electoral system to shut out democrats and other liberals.

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Philippine festive flotilla turns back after Chinese ‘intimidation’

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Forty fishing boats loaded with donations, Father Christmas figurines and nativity had set sail in disputed South China Sea

A Philippine mission to bring Santa Claus to the South China Sea to spread holiday cheer to fisherfolk, troops and coastguard officials was cut short after organisers said Chinese vessels intimidated their convoy.

The flotilla of 40 fishing boats loaded with Christmas donations, Father Christmas figurines and nativity displays set sail from El Nido in Palawan province at 1am local time on Sunday (1700 GMT Saturday), on its way to disputed areas that Beijing claims, without legal grounds, as its own.

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