Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Singapore to execute a woman for first time in almost 20 years

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Killing of Saridewi Djamani is one of two this week as activists say most on death row are marginalised people

Singapore is due to execute a woman for the first time in almost 20 years on Friday, one of two killings planned for this week.

Singaporean national Saridewi Djamani was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty in 2018, after she was found guilty of possession of about 30g of heroin for the purposes of trafficking, according to the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), which tracks death row cases.

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UK accused of unlawful crackdown on visitors from Timor-Leste

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Family members of East Timorese in UK denied right to visit, as Home Office says too many hoping to work illegally

The Home Office has been accused of implementing discriminatory policies towards visitors from Timor-Leste, many of whom have the right to travel to the UK but who have been blocked from entering the country in large numbers.

Regulations were changed last week to require East Timorese visitors to apply for visas before travelling to the UK, after decades of visa-free travel. The Foreign Office said this was in response to a “sustained and significant” rise in the number of people travelling from the tiny south-east Asian island with the intention of working here illegally.

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Taiwan: teenage girl sexually abused in botched sting operation

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Police had asked the 13-year-old to assist them in an undercover operation by meeting a man she had accused of blackmailing her

Two Taiwanese police officers are under investigation after a teenager was assaulted by a man she had accused of blackmail, while taking part in a police sting operation to catch him.

The incident took place in November 2020, when the then 13-year-old told police in the northern Taiwan city of Taoyuan that she had been threatened by a man on a dating app, who tried to coerce her into sex by threatening to publish explicit photos of her online.

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Talks initiated with North Korea over US soldier who ran across border

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British general says US-led United Nations Command gives few details of contacts over Travis King who crossed line on 18 July

The US-led United Nations Command has initiated talks with North Korea about the American soldier who ran into that country and crossed one of the most militarized borders in the world, according to an official.

But a British lieutenant general who helps lead the UN command stopped short of saying exactly when talks about Travis King began, whether they have been constructive or how many exchanges there have been. The lieutenant general, Andrew Harrison, also would not address any known details about King’s health condition.

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Malaysia’s gay community fears backlash after Matty Healy’s outburst

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The 1975 singer’s onstage condemnation of homophobic laws has angered conservatives and left some LGBTQ+ people uneasy

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy’s recent appearance at a festival in Kuala Lumpur – where he criticised Malaysia’s homophobic laws and kissed a male bandmate on stage – has strongly angered conservatives in the country.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also expressed unease over his actions, fearing that the episode risks further exacerbating the hostilities they face.

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North Korea fires missiles into sea hours after US submarine arrives in the South

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South Korean armed forces condemn the two launches as a ‘grave provocation’

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, adding to a recent streak of weapons testing that is apparently in protest against the US sending naval assets to South Korea.

In its third round of launches since last week, North Korea fired the missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said early on Tuesday local time. It said the missiles travelled about 250 miles (400km) before landing in waters off the Korean peninsula’s eastern coast.

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Daughter of Hong Kong exiled activist detained by national security police

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Mimi Mi Wahng Yuen, daughter of wanted pro-democracy activist Elmer Yuen, taken for questioning, according to local media

Hong Kong national security police have reportedly detained the daughter, son, and daughter-in-law of a wanted activist, in the latest move targeting the families of pro-democracy figures in exile.

Mimi Mi Wahng Yuen, the daughter of Elmer Yuen, her brother Derek, and his wife, the legislator Eunice Yung, were taken for questioning on Monday morning, according to local media. Sing Tao Daily reported Mimi had only arrived from Los Angeles on Monday morning.

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School gym roof collapses in China, killing 11

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State media says illegally placed construction material on the gymnasium’s roof was behind collapse

Eleven people were killed after the concrete roof of a school gymnasium collapsed in China’s Qiqihar city – many of them believed to be young female volleyball players – with authorities saying the illegal stacking of materials on the roof may have caused the cave in.

The collapse at the No. 34 Middle School in Longsha District in Qiqihar, located in the north-east Heilongjiang province, was reported in the early afternoon on Sunday, but the last remaining person wasn’t pulled out of the rubble until Monday morning.

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Hun Sen issues threat to Cambodians who spoiled ballots

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Authoritarian ruler said voters who destroyed ballot papers will face legal action

Cambodia’s authoritarian leader has warned voters who destroyed their ballots to turn themselves in or face legal consequences, as he claimed victory after running virtually uncontested in a one-sided election.

Hun Sen, 70, who has governed for almost four decades, said in a Telegram post on Sunday night that unofficial results showed his party had won 120 seats and a royalist party had won five.

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Cambodia strongman Hun Sen set to claim landslide election victory after banning opposition

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Long-time ruler, who has ruthlessly oppressed critics, has indicated he will soon hand power to his son

Cambodians have begun voting in a one-sided general election in which the country’s strongman leader will run virtually uncontested.

It’s expected that Hun Sen, 70, who has ruled the country for almost four decades, will claim a landslide victory in Sunday’s vote. The country’s main opposition party, the Candlelight Party, was banned from running after it was accused of not providing the right paperwork.

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Malaysia bans the 1975 after Matty Healy defies anti-LGBTQ+ laws with stage kiss

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Singer’s protest kiss with bandmate and criticism of anti-homosexuality law leads to ban and festival cancellation

The English band the 1975 have been banned from performing in Malaysia after their lead singer criticised the country’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws on stage.

The group, fronted by Matty Healy, were playing at the Good Vibes festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

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US-China cultural exchange at low point after tensions and Covid, data shows

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Tourism, academia and literature all exhibit signs that trend of closer ties has gone into reverse

Cultural ties between the US and China are at a low point after several years of decline, according to Guardian analysis of official figures.

The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students and even the world of literature all affected.

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Bankman-Fried planned to buy Nauru and build apocalypse bunker – lawsuit

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Lawsuit filed against FTX founder, 31, includes memo that detailed plans to purchase Pacific island in case world came to an end

The disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded the FTX exchange, had planned to purchase the small Pacific island nation of Nauru in case the world came to an end, according to a new lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday by FTX against its 31-year-old founder and three other former executives, and seeking $1bn, included a memo created by Bankman-Fried’s younger brother Gabriel and an FTX Foundation executive. The memo detailed plans to buy Nauru.

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Certain of election victory, Cambodia’s Hun Sen prepares to hand power to son

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Hun Manet, eldest son of strongman who has ruled for four decades, faces balancing act when he inherits patronage system

When Cambodians go to the polls on Sunday, there is little doubt about who will be declared the winner. The only major opposition party has been banned from running, its members arrested and activists beaten in the streets. Independent media outlets have been closed down or their websites blocked.

With no viable opposition, Hun Sen, the strongman prime minister who has held power for almost four decades, is expected to again sweep to victory. His intense crackdown – which rights groups say is a deterioration even on the repression that preceded elections in 2018 – comes as he prepares to hand over to his eldest son, Hun Manet, 45.

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‘Facekinis’ become popular in China as temperatures soar

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People buying full-face masks alongside hats, fans – and hats with inbuilt fans – as temperatures rise above 35C

In scorching Beijing, “facekinis” are the hottest new fashion as surging temperatures shatter records.

With the air temperature rising above 35C (95F) and the ground surface temperature soaring as high as 80C in some parts of the country, residents and visitors have taken to carrying portable fans and covering themselves up to avoid getting burnt. Some hats even have fans built in.

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US ambassador to Beijing targeted in Chinese cyber-attack – report

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Nicholas Burns’ emails reportedly accessed in hack that exploited flaw in Microsoft system and took Washington by surprise

The US ambassador to Beijing, Nicholas Burns, was reportedly one of the American officials whose emails were accessed in a recent Chinese hacking attack which took Washington by surprise with its sophistication.

Another target was Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for east Asia, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. When the attack was first disclosed last week, the administration admitted the email account of the commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, had also been compromised. US officials were quoted as saying those were the three most senior targets but that in total, hundreds of thousands of government email accounts could have been breached.

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North Korea fails to answer entreaties about US soldier who crossed border

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Travis King had finished prison term in South Korea for assault and was supposed to be returning to Texas

North Korea is not responding to US attempts to discuss the American soldier who crossed the heavily armed border and whose prospects for a quick release are unclear when military tensions are high and communication channels inactive.

Pte Travis King, who was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, after finishing a prison sentence in South Korea for assault, ran into North Korea while on a civilian tour of the border village of Panmunjom on Tuesday. He is the first known American to be held in North Korea in nearly five years.

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Hong Kong police raid homes of relatives of two exiled activists

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Families of Dennis Kwok and Christopher Mung questioned this week as pressure on dissidents grows

Hong Kong’s national security police raided the homes of relatives of two exiled activists this week, stepping up pressure on the dissidents who have HK$1m (£99,500) bounties on them.

The elder brother of Dennis Kwok, a former legislator, was taken away for questioning by police in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post. The brother was summoned along with another man and two women, whose identities could not be determined.

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New Zealand shooting: gunman kills two in Auckland hours before World Cup opening

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New Zealand police say shooter had history of family violence, adding there is no reason World Cup opening match shouldn’t go ahead

Two people have been killed and six injured after a shooting in Auckland city centre on Thursday morning, hours before the Women’s World Cup kicked off there.

New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins said the gunman was also dead and that there was no national security risk or rise in the national threat level. Visiting the scene on Thursday afternoon, he confirmed that that the World Cup would proceed as planned and that people should feel safe to attend the matches. He described the shooting as a “standalone incident”, but fans would see an enhanced police presences in and around sports venues.

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Gunman who killed two had family violence history, say New Zealand police – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. You can read our full story on the shooting in Auckland at the link below:

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has cancelled a trip to the city of Hamilton, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Auckland, and is on his way back to the national capital Wellington, media reports said.

He is speaking now.

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