Category Archives: Asia Pacific

China sacks defence minister and removes ex-foreign minister from cabinet

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Defence minister, Li Shangfu, sacked and ex-foreign minister Qin Gang removed from cabinet

China has removed the defence minister, Li Shangfu, and ousted ex-foreign minister Qin Gang from its cabinet, according to state media, in a major reshuffle of top leadership.

The news came after months of speculation about the country’s cabinet, including confusion over the abrupt removal of Qin from office in July without explanation and the months-long absence of Li from public view.

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‘Unjust and cruel’ lack of clarity still hangs over 64 refugees exiled in PNG

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Questions remain following whistleblower claims of corruption and nepotism in the Australian-sponsored program

Refugees exiled in Papua New Guinea have labelled the lack of clarity about their fate “cruel and confusing” after explosive claims of “missing” Australian funds and assurances of resettlement from Port Moresby that have not been actioned by the Australian government.

Questions remain unanswered for the 64 refugees, many of whom were sent to Manus Island’s illegal detention centre more than 10 years ago. One refugee in Port Moresby, who wished to remain anonymous, said the lack of clarity about his fate was cruel.

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Christchurch mosque attack inquest opens with scrutiny of police response

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Coroner says inquiry offers chance to consider if response to such incidents could be improved

The police and ambulance response to a white supremacist terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, is under public scrutiny for the first time as an inquest begins into the deaths of 51 worshipers in the 2019 mass shooting.

The coroner, Brigitte Windley, opening the inquest at the high court in Christchurch on Tuesday, said: “This is an opportunity to consider if the response to such extraordinary events like this could be improved in the future, despite our strongest desire that we never again have to.”

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Canada tells of China-linked ‘spamouflage’ blitz on MPs’ social media

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Foreign ministry says bots posted conspiracy theories, lies and abuse as comments on feeds including that of prime minister Justin Trudeau

The Canadian government has said it has detected a China-linked campaign that involved bots posting disinformation and propaganda as comments on the social media feeds of members of parliament, including the prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

The “spamouflage” campaign, using networks of new and hijacked social media accounts to post bulk messages, took place in August and September, and targeted dozens of lawmakers from across the political spectrum, Canada’s foreign ministry announced.

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Siren kings: New Zealand city plagued by Céline Dion ‘speaker battles’

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Cars covered with loudspeakers blasting remixes of singer’s ballads angers residents of Porirua

A small city in New Zealand plagued by “siren battles” – cars decked out in loudspeakers commonly used in emergency warning systems and often blaring Céline Dion hits – is calling on authorities to step in and end the noise.

The battles are part of a New Zealand subculture where music enthusiasts cover their cars in up to dozens of industrial speakers, loudhailers and sirens, then compete to have the loudest and clearest sounds.

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UAE to investigate recruitment of Filipina domestic worker who died

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Inquiry follows Guardian report on Vergie Tamfungan, whose death in the Gulf country has shone a spotlight on ‘cross-country’ employment practices

The UAE government has repatriated the body of a Filipina domestic worker who died last month, and launched an investigation into the findings of a Guardian report on the recruiters that brought her into the country.

When Vergie Tamfungan, 39, died on 25 September, she was being held in her recruiter’s accommodation in the emirate of Sharjah and had not yet been placed in a household to work. Her family said she had gone to the UAE that month after being promised a good salary and bonuses by the agency.

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China launches tax investigations into Apple iPhone maker Foxconn

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Tax audits and land use inquiries follow company founder announcing run for Taiwan presidency

China’s tax authorities have launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iPhone, months after its billionaire founder announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections.

Foxconn faces tax audits of its operations in China, as well as investigations into land use in two Chinese provinces, according to reports by local media.

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The Philippines summons Chinese ambassador after two South China Sea collisions

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The Philippine coast guard claims that ships were ‘bumped’ by Chinese vessels in incidents close to outposts in the Spratly Islands

Manila has summoned Beijing’s ambassador after accusing China of “illegal and dangerous” behaviour that resulted in two collisions in the highly disputed South China Sea.

Philippine foreign ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza said Manila was “making full use of diplomatic processes” after the incidents involving vessels belonging to China and the Philippines, and had summoned the Chinese ambassador on Monday morning.

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Last refugees in Papua New Guinea to begin leaving ‘within weeks’ after Australian funding runs out

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Exclusive: Men left without healthcare and facing eviction, while local businesses are owned tens of millions of dollars

The final group of refugees still held in Papua New Guinea a decade after being exiled there by Australia will begin leaving “within weeks”, the country’s migration chief has committed, saying the majority will be resettled in New Zealand, while those suffering acute health problems will be brought to Australia for treatment.

There is an increased urgency to resolve the situations of the final cohort of refugees and asylum seekers left in PNG after the closure of Australia’s illegal offshore detention centre on Manus Island. The Australian public money provided to PNG to care for the men following the closure of Australia’s illegal offshore detention centre on Manus Island has run out, according to PNG officials, leaving the men without vital health services and facing eviction, while local businesses are owned tens of millions of dollars.

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Joko Widodo’s son chosen as running mate for Indonesia presidential candidate Prabowo

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Choice of 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka as a vice-presidential candidate has fuelled criticism that Widodo is trying to create a political dynasty

Indonesia’s defence minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said on Sunday he has chosen the eldest son of President Joko Widodo to be his running mate in next year’s election.

The choice of 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, now the mayor of Surakarta city, as a vice-presidential candidate for the February vote has fuelled criticism that Widodo is trying to create a political dynasty in the world’s third-largest democracy.

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Australia and China suspend WTO wine tariff dispute before Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing

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Countries agree to halt World Trade Organization dispute pending outcome of China’s ‘expedited review’ of duties imposed on Australian wine in 2020

China has agreed to review the tariffs it places on Australian wine producers after a breakthrough in negotiations before Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing next month.

Albanese said on Sunday the two countries had agreed to suspend their long-running World Trade Organization dispute while Beijing undertakes an “expedited review” of duties, which is expected to take five months.

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Chinese ship is focus of investigation into damaged pipeline, Finland says

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Police focusing on Newnew Polar Bear cargo ship that was in the area when gas pipeline was damaged

Finnish police have said a Chinese ship whose movement coincided with the time and place of the suspected sabotage of a pipeline between Finland and Estonia that was damaged this month is now the focus of their investigation.

After a leak led to the shutdown of the Balticconnector pipeline on 8 October, Finnish authorities have been investigating the damage they say was caused by “external” activity.

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Australia rules out cancelling Chinese company’s lease over Port of Darwin

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Government also presses for removal of imposts on wine ahead of Anthony Albanese’s visit to Beijing next month

Australia is moving to repair ties with China ahead of Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing, ruling out cancelling a Chinese company’s lease over the strategically important Port of Darwin.

The move, which is likely to be welcomed by the Chinese government, comes as Australia also prepares to scrap tariffs on imports of Chinese wind towers, potentially defusing one of Beijing’s trade complaints.

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China’s Country Garden risks default after ‘missing bond payment’

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Property developer denies claims founder and chair have left country amid reports it missed key deadline

The crisis in China’s property sector deepened as Country Garden, the country’s biggest developer by sales, reportedly missed its final deadline for an interest payment on a dollar bond, putting it at risk of default.

The company, which has about $200bn (£163bn) in liabilities and nearly $11bn in dollar-denominated offshore bonds, was due to make a $15.4m coupon repayment this week, but failed to do so, according to reports. Its share price fell 4% in Hong Kong on Thursday, and is down 74% since the beginning of the year.

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Australians told ‘do not travel’ to Lebanon – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

No move on paying super to people on paid parental leave

But so far, the government has not moved on paying superannuation to parents (mostly women) on paid parental leave.

Super, of course, is really important and it’s something we would very much like to look to in the future when the budget can afford it. But this is a very big step forward, the current arrangements, but we’ll continue to look around superannuation into the future and consider it in each budget context.

I think with the reserved period as well, we’re going to see an increase in shared care, both parents taking some time out, which is really, really important if we want to get a more equal burden of, you know, of that share of care.

So that is really important as well.

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Russia’s foreign minister hails ‘new level’ of ties during North Korea trip

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Sergei Lavrov praises Kim Jong-un for ‘unambiguous support’ for Ukraine war on visit that could pave way for summit with Vladimir Putin

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Moscow’s relations with North Korea have reached a “new level”, as concern grows over deepening military ties between the two countries amid the war in Ukraine.

Speaking on Thursday in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, Lavrov hailed last month’s summit in Russia’s far east between Vladimir Putin and the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, as evidence that bilateral ties were at a “qualitatively new, strategic level”.

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Undiplomatic impunity: Chinese embassy leaves New Zealand landlord with $900 bill

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People’s Republic is granted immunity from paying cleaning, rubbish removal and key cutting tab after diplomat vacated Wellington house

A landlord in New Zealand has run up against an unusual problem while trying to make his tenant pay $900 for rubbish removal: diplomatic immunity.

Chandler Investments Limited claimed its tenant, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, left a rented mews house in the capital, Wellington, without covering costs for cleaning, rubbish removal and key cutting.

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Australia cannot be ‘passive bystanders’ in a war between US and China, Richard Marles says

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Defence minister says consequences of a conflict over Taiwan are ‘so grave’ and says status of island must be ‘arrived at peacefully’

A war between the United States and China over the future of Taiwan would be “so grave” that Australia cannot be “passive bystanders”, the defence minister has said.

Richard Marles pushed back at the idea advanced by some commentators – including the former Labor prime minister Paul Keating - that Taiwan is “not a vital Australian interest”.

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Australian-based journalist Kean Wong arrested in Malaysia for editing banned book

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Wong under investigation for sedition over book that was banned by Malaysian government three years ago

An Australian-based journalist has been briefly detained and is under investigation for sedition in Malaysia after editing a book that was later banned by the Malaysian government.

Kean Wong is a Malaysian citizen but a permanent resident of Australia, where he has lived and worked for about 30 years.

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China’s economy grows faster than expected as retail sales rise

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Government stimulus gains some traction in third quarter as property downturn continues

China’s economy grew at a faster than expected rate in the third quarter, suggesting the recent flurry of policy measures is helping to bolster a tentative recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Rapidly weakening growth in China since the second quarter has prompted authorities to step up support, with Wednesday’s data indicating the stimulus is starting to gain traction, although a property crisis and other problems continue to pose risks.

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