Ex-prime minister says he will remain in politics as he seeks to retain his opposition party’s share of parliamentary seats
Former Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama has resigned from the Pacific nation’s parliament, weeks after he was suspended for sedition and insulting the president.
Bainimarama said he was tendering his resignation “with immediate effect”, but had no intention of resigning from politics, in a post on his FijiFirst party’s Facebook page.
Continue reading...After months of extreme heat, Wuhan has registered spring temperatures of 26C, while Beijing and surrounding cities hit 25C
Temperatures in more than a dozen Chinese cities have hit record seasonal highs this week, with central China’s Wuhan and Zhengzhou more than 10C hotter than average for early March, official data showed.
Wuhan, located on the middle reaches of the Yangtze river, registered temperatures of 26C on Monday, 12 degrees higher than the long-term early March average, while Beijing and surrounding cities also saw temperatures reach 25C earlier this week.
Continue reading...New body will replace banking and insurance regulators after concerns over creaking property market
China will set up a new financial watchdog to replace its banking and insurance regulators as part of an overhaul of state institutions after concern about exposure to its creaking property market.
The new body, which does not have an official name yet, would bring oversight of China’s financial system under direct control of the State Council, the top government body. There are also reports that the president, Xi Jinping, who will in all likelihood be granted a third presidential term on Friday, will revive the Central Financial Work Commission, an organisation that would supervise the financial system on behalf of the Chinese Communist party, although this has yet to be announced publicly.
Continue reading...Thai government rejects Peta’s claims, saying the practice of using monkeys to harvest is rarely used in industry
The meal kit provider HelloFresh has said it will no longer sell coconut milk sourced from Thailand, after campaigning by an animal rights group that accused coconut farms in the country of using monkey labour.
The company confirmed to Axios that it does not tolerate “any form of animal abuse in our supply chain” and “out of an abundance of caution” will not be placing orders for coconut milk from Thailand. HelloFresh has not yet responded to the Guardian’s request for comment.
Continue reading...Former Australian PM criticises ‘extent of the bias’ in newspapers’ front-page report warning of armed conflict in Indo-Pacific
The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has accused two of the country’s biggest newspapers of “the most egregious and provocative news presentation” in five decades, after they published front-page stories warning the country faced war with China within three years.
The former Labor leader, who has long argued Australia should not be drawn into a war over the status of democratically governed Taiwan, took aim at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age on Tuesday.
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Continue reading...In a bellicose first press conference, Qin Gang rebuked Washington over its Taiwan policy and the balloon incident, while praising Beijing’s relationship with Russia
The US and China are heading towards inevitable conflict if Washington does not change its approach, China’s new foreign minister has said in a fiery press conference in which he defended his country’s strengthening relationship with Russia.
In his first media appearance as foreign minister, held on Tuesday on the sidelines of the “two sessions” political gathering, Qin Gang outlined China’s foreign policy agenda for the coming years, presenting China and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict.
Continue reading...Officials believe MT Princess Empress, which sank last week, is 400 metres below surface off island of Mindoro
Officials in the Philippines believe they have located a leaking oil tanker that sank last week and has since coated nearby shorelines in thick sludge, threatening areas of rich marine biodiversity.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it “may have detected the possible site where the vessel is actually located”, adding that the site was about 1,200ft (400 metres) below the surface.
Continue reading...Drivers say cost of upgrading colourful vehicles, a crucial part of transport system, completely unaffordable
A week-long strike by drivers of Philippine jeepneys began on Monday, prompting schools and universities across major cities to suspend in-person classes, while businesses have also been urged to work from home.
The local authorities in Manila, Quezon City, Marikina, Muntinlupa and Pasig City in the national capital region told schools to switch to distance learning classes due to disruption caused by the strike. The local government of Quezon City, the most populous city in the Philippines, also called on businesses to work online.
Continue reading...The former actor, drag performer, sex worker and radio host pulled off a surprise victory as a Labour MP and later played a pivotal role in decriminalising prostitution
Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has led tributes to Georgina Beyer, the world’s first openly transgender MP, who has died.
Friends announced “with the heaviest of hearts” on Facebook on Monday that the 65-year-old had died at a Wellington hospice.
Continue reading...Victims groups criticise compensation deal which aims to resolve a disagreement that has long frustrated ties between Seoul and Tokyo
South Korea said that its companies would compensate people forced to work under Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, in a bid to improve poor relations that have impeded trade and cooperation between the two countries for generations.
The disagreements over labour and women forced into Japanese military brothels have bedevilled ties between the two pivotal US allies for years, but South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has made a push to repair the relationship.
Continue reading...At the opening of the Communist party’s National People’s Congress, outgoing premier Li Keqiang confirmed a further rise in defence spending as well
China has set a target of 5% GDP growth in 2023, its outgoing premier has said in a speech to the ruling party’s rubber-stamp parliament – a goal that is at the lower end of analysts’ expectations and follows a 2022 figure that came in far below target.
The “work report” speech on Sunday also touched on foreign affairs and re-emphasised the Chinese Communist party’s (CCP’s) aim to annex Taiwan. Budget papers confirmed another consecutive rise in defence spending of 7.2%, slightly up on last year’s rise of 7.1%.
Continue reading...Spokesperson does not specify figure but announces rise is needed to meet complex security challenges
China’s military budget is set to increase again, the spokesperson for its rubber-stamping parliament has said, before a week-long political meeting expected to make big changes to China’s system of governance and increase measures to combat international sanctions.
The spokesperson for the National People’s Congress, China’s legislative body, addressed the media on the eve of its annual meeting to outline the week’s agenda, including changes to the constitution and the legal sector, and endorsing new appointments to senior roles.
Continue reading...Another 60 people injured and hundreds evacuated after fire at Pertamina’s Plumpang depot
At least 17 people including two children have died after a fuel storage depot fire in Jakarta.
Three people are still missing after Friday night’s blaze at state energy firm Pertamina’s Plumpang depot in north Jakarta, with Indonesian officials the next day calling for an audit of “all fuel facilities and infrastructures” in the country.
Continue reading...Three Hong Kong Alliance members, including prominent pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung, face up to six months in jail
Three former members of a Hong Kong group that organised annual vigils to mark China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown have been found guilty of not complying with a national security police request for information.
Chow Hang-tung, 38, a prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was among those convicted by the magistrate court.
Continue reading...Cyclone Kevin passed over the capital Port Vila less than three days after Cyclone Judy cut power in the city
A state of emergency was declared in Vanuatu as category 4 Cyclone Kevin brought gale-force winds and torrential rain to the Pacific nation battling its second major cyclone in a week.
Cyclone Kevin passed over the capital Port Vila late on Friday and was moving across the southern island province of Tafea on Saturday morning, bringing wind gusts in excess of 230km/h, according to the country’s meteorology department.
Continue reading...Deadly storm left wine regions of Hawkes Bay and Gisborne covered in mud just before harvest time
Wine-growing regions in New Zealand’s North Island have been devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle, with some vineyards there facing a long path to recovery after being buried by torrents of silt just before harvest time.
Wine drinkers could face a long wait for their favourite bottle from Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne after last month’s storm, which killed at least 11 people, and left grower Philip Barber sheltering on the roof of his house with his wife and two small children.
Continue reading...Files show actor had relationship with Jho Low, on the run over links to 1MDB scandal, and Kim Kardashian was also interviewed
New details have emerged of the actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s ties to Jho Low, the Malaysian financier turned fugitive currently wanted by international authorities over his links to one of the world’s largest corruption scandals.
On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed previously undisclosed details from FBI documents in which authorities interviewed DiCaprio in 2018 about his relationship with Low, who is accused of involvement in a money-laundering scheme of over $4.5bn being siphoned from the Malaysian state investment fund, also known as 1MDB.
Continue reading...Exclusive: VKG, where workers made jeans for Tesco’s Thai branch between 2017 and 2020, faces charges including fraud
Thai police have brought criminal charges against a clothing factory that was used by Tesco to make F&F clothes, over its treatment of workers.
The Guardian revealed in December that Burmese workers who produced F&F jeans for Tesco in Thailand reported being made to work 99-hour weeks for illegally low pay in terrible conditions.
Continue reading...Authorities scramble to contain leak from sunken tanker that was carrying about 800,000 litres of oil
Authorities in the Philippines are scrambling to contain an oil leak from a sunken tanker that could threaten the rich biodiversity of more than 20 marine protected areas.
The MT Princess Empress, which was carrying a cargo of about 800,000 litres of industrial oil, sank on Tuesday off the coast of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro province, after it experienced problems with its engine and began to drift due to rough seas. A passing cargo ship rescued the 20 crew onboard.
Continue reading...Kem Sokha, an opponent of Cambodian dictator Hun Sen, sentenced after treason trial widely seen as politically driven
Prominent Cambodian opposition politician Kem Sokha has been sentenced to 27 years in prison after being found guilty of treason, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.
The former leader of the dissolved opposition party the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was arrested in 2017 and accused of conspiring with the US to oust Cambodia’s authoritarian leader, Hun Sen, who has ruled for almost four decades.
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