Dictator visits assembly facility as state media says satellite will be ready for loading after final checks
Kim Jong-un has inspected North Korea’s first military spy satellite and given the go-ahead for its “future action plan”, according to state media.
Kim met the “non-permanent satellite launch preparatory committee” on Tuesday before viewing the satellite, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Continue reading...President had been due to address parliament next week, the first US leader in 10 years to do so, as part of Asia tour
President Joe Biden has cancelled a visit to Australia, the second leg of his upcoming Asia trip, due to the slow-motion crisis building in Washington over the US debt ceiling.
Biden is to attend a three-day summit of G7 leaders that starts on Friday in Hiroshima, Japan, and will return to the US on Sunday.
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Continue reading...Publications targeted include those about protest and subjects Beijing deems politically sensitive
Books about the Tiananmen Square massacre, Hong Kong protest movements, and other subjects deemed politically sensitive by Beijing have been removed from the former British colony’s public libraries in the lead-up to the 34th anniversary of the killings.
Hong Kong media have reported a marked increase in the number of book and documentary removals, which have been growing since the authoritarian clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and the introduction of the national security law in 2020. It has resulted in a significant curtailing of political freedoms in the city and multiple arrests.
Continue reading...‘Smile education’ coach Keiko Kawano says more and more people have developed a ‘complex’ about smiling
After three years of concealing their mouths behind masks, some Japanese people are turning to specialist smile tutors to relearn the art of breaking into a beaming grin without looking awkward.
Since lifting the official advice to wear masks to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, many people have admitted to struggling to adjust to life without face coverings, with some confessing they have forgotten how to smile.
Continue reading...Leading global media figures among signatories backing publisher, hit with wave of ‘lawfare’ including legislation to stop him hiring UK barrister
More than 100 journalists and editors have signed an open letter calling for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, a British media mogul detained in Hong Kong on national security charges.
Leading global media figures including the Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, and Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa called for the charges against Lai and other journalists in Hong Kong to be dropped.
Continue reading...Formal signings to take place in Papua New Guinea next week when Joe Biden holds summit with Pacific leaders
The US is set to sign strategic pacts with Papua New Guinea and Micronesia next week, as Washington seeks to shore up support among Pacific island countries to counter competition from China
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, Jamas Marape, confirmed that his country’s agreements with the US would be signed when Joe Biden becomes the first sitting US president to visit the Pacific nation on 22 May.
Continue reading...Emergency services called to 92-room Loafers Lodge hostel just after midnight and a number of people remain unaccounted for
New Zealand was in shock on Tuesday after a “worst nightmare” fire at a hostel in the capital Wellington left at least six people dead and 11 others missing.
The Loafers Lodge hostel in Newtown, in Wellington’s south, caught alight just after midnight on Tuesday. By dawn, the top floors of the building were charred black.
Continue reading...Campaign to reform laws that shield royal family is now part of mainstream but making it happen will be difficult
Just a few years ago, talking publicly about the status or role of Thailand’s monarchy was taboo. But on Sunday night, a political party that had campaigned for reform of strict laws that shield the royal family from criticism came out on top in a general election, winning the most votes and seats, according to an unofficial count.
Napon Jatusripitak, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, said it was an “extremely significant” moment. “They have the popular mandate – 14 million people voted for this party. And, of course, the party will proclaim this as a sign that Thailand has some readiness for more extensive structural reforms, no matter the institution.”
Continue reading...Johnny Kitagawa’s niece issues apology to men who have made abuse claims while not commenting on veracity of allegations
The president of one of Japan’s most powerful talent agencies has apologised over allegations that the firm’s late founder and pop impresario, Johnny Kitagawa, sexually abused multiple boys.
In a video and statement released on Sunday evening, Julie Fujishima, Kitagawa’s niece, issued the apology to young men who had stepped forward with abuse claims, although she did not comment on the veracity of the allegations.
Continue reading...Leader of liberal Move Forward says he is ‘next prime minister of Thailand’ and ready to form coalition government
Thailand’s opposition parties have secured by far the largest number of votes in national elections, delivering a damning verdict to the military-backed government that has ruled for nearly a decade.
Move Forward, a progressive opposition party popular with young Thais, surpassed expectations by winning the most votes and seats and said on Monday that it was ready to form a government. Its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, told media he had invited Pheu Thai, the party associated with the exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and four other opposition parties to form an alliance.
Continue reading...Hong Kong resident John Shing Wan Leung was chair of Texas branch of Chinese ‘reunification’ association
A Chinese court has sentenced a 78-year-old US citizen to life in prison on espionage charges.
John Shing Wan Leung, a Hong Kong permanent resident, was detained in April 2021 by Chinese security services. His sentence was announced on Monday by the Suzhou intermediate people’s court on its public WeChat account. No further information about his trial or charges were listed.
Continue reading...Early counts appear to show firm rejection of government as Move Forward and Pheu Thai parties are neck and neck
Opposition pro-democracy parties took the lead in an early vote count in Thailand’s national elections, which appeared to signal a firm rejection of the military-backed government that has ruled the country for almost a decade.
According to a preliminary count of more than 80% of the country’s 95,000 polling stations, the progressive Move Forward party was projected to win 114 of 400 constituency seats in the House of Representatives, with Pheu Thai taking 112 constituency seats. Voters have two ballots, and so a further 100 party seats in the house ares allocated on a proportional representation basis.
Continue reading...Record-breaking rainfall hit Auckland in January, only to be followed by Cyclone Gabrielle ravaging the North Island in February
The New Zealand government is allocating NZ$1.1bn to help communities recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding.
The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover “basics” of rebuilding roads, rail and schools, as well as flood protection, the government announced on Sunday.
Continue reading...Young voters demand change but military-appointed senate poses hurdle to a non-establishment candidate becoming prime minister
Thais are voting on Sunday in an election that could lead to the defeat of the military-backed leader who has ruled Thailand for almost a decade.
However, a skewed election system means the shape of the new government is “very unpredictable”, say analysts, and it is not clear if pro-democracy candidates will succeed in unseating the generals.
Continue reading...Move Forward party leader’s promise in election campaign to end political stranglehold chimes with younger generation
When Pita Limjaroenrat took to the stage for his final big campaign event before Thailand’s elections, the cheers and screams were deafening. “Our time has come,” he told crowds of mostly young supporters in a packed stadium in Bangkok.
Pita’s Move Forward party has built a large and loyal support base among young Thais who are fed up with the political status quo. At rallies, he is met with long lines of students and young people queueing for selfies. On TikTok, fans post images of themselves with a special filter that displays his face smiling and lurking in the background.
Continue reading...The pair agreed to ‘step up’ dialogue to resolve outstanding trade issues and confirmed the review of China’s tariffs on Australian barley was ‘on track’
The Australian trade minister, Don Farrell, has invited the Chinese commerce minister to visit his family’s vineyard in South Australia after the pair met in Beijing on Friday night.
Speaking after the talks with Wang Wentao in Beijing, Farrell said he was “very pleased to confirm that we agreed to step up dialogue under our free trade agreement and other platforms to resolve our outstanding issues”.
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Continue reading...Josep Borrell says relations will worsen if Xi Jinping does not push Putin to withdraw from Ukraine
A Russian defeat in Ukraine will not derail China’s rise, while relations between Beijing and the EU will be “critically affected” if Xi Jinping does not push Vladimir Putin to withdraw his forces, European ministers have been told.
The message comes in a paper drawn up by the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, who is meeting the EU’s 27 foreign ministers on Friday in Stockholm to discuss how the bloc should “recalibrate” its policy towards Beijing.
Continue reading...Yang Maodong called it a ‘score-settling’ punishment for his two decades of rights advocacy
A Chinese court has sentenced a prominent rights activist to eight years in jail on subversion charges in what he said was a “score-settling” punishment for his two decades of rights advocacy.
Yang Maodong, who goes by the pen name Guo Feixiong, was sentenced on Thursday by the Guangzhou intermediate people’s court for “inciting subversion of state power,” his brother Yang Maoquan wrote on social media. Repeated phone calls to the court went unanswered on Friday.
Continue reading...Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS will be out on 9 July, ending feverish speculation that the previously untitled book was a Taylor Swift memoir
The guessing game began this week when a mysteriously untitled book, scheduled for publication in July and known only as “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023”, appeared. It quickly became a bestseller when Taylor Swift fans began feverishly speculating that it was her surprise memoir.
But the mystery has been solved, with publishing house Flatiron Books bringing forward their announcement by a month to reveal the book is actually by another musical powerhouse: the K-pop boyband BTS.
Continue reading...Wong Kei-kwan, known as Zunzi, says it was a ‘mutual decision’ after the Ming Pao newspaper ended his column
A decades-old political cartoon column has been scrapped by a respected Hong Kong newspaper after it faced a barrage of criticism from officials, in a move widely seen as a further blow to the city’s freedoms since the implementation of the controversial national security law.
On Thursday, the Ming Pao newspaper announced it would stop publishing cartoons by Wong Kei-kwan, better known under his nom de plume “Zunzi”, from Sunday.
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