Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Tensions simmer on Korean peninsula as North fires two ballistic missiles

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Launches come days after Pyongyang said it tested a new ‘high-thrust’ motor as it seeks to advance its nuclear and missile programmes

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles, Seoul’s military said, days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel motor for a new weapons system.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula have risen sharply this year as Pyongyang has carried out an unprecedented blitz of weapons tests, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile ever last month.

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Shanghai schools ordered to hold classes online to stem Covid infections

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City’s kindergartens and childcare centres also to stop in-person lessons as cases rise across China after easing of restrictions

Shanghai’s education bureau has told schools to hold classes online from Monday as rising numbers of Covid infections hit cities across China.

On Saturday the bureau also instructed kindergartens and childcare centres in the city to shut all in-person classes, according to an online statement.

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Malaysia landslide kills at least 21 campers as recovery efforts continue

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Two of the dead found locked in an embrace, officials say, with 12 still missing after the disaster north of the capital Kuala Lumpur

A thunderous crush of soil and debris killed 21 people at a campground in Malaysia and rescuers dug through the mud in the night for another 12 who were feared buried in the landslide.

More than 90 people were sleeping on an organic farm when the dirt tumbled from a road about 30 meters (100 feet) above the site and covered about 1 hectare (3 acres) on Friday. Two of the dead were found locked in an embrace, according to the state fire department chief.

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Japan approves biggest military buildup since second world war amid China fears

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US welcomes doubling of military spending but critics express unease over abandoning seven decades of pacifism

Japan has approved its biggest military buildup since the second world war, warning that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge ever” and outlining plans to develop a counterstrike capability funded by record defence spending.

The plans, announced by the government on Friday, reflect growing alarm over a more assertive Chinese military and a North Korean regime that continues to improve its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.

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Malaysia landslide: at least 12 killed and 22 missing at campsite near Kuala Lumpur

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Fifty-nine people people have been rescued after a landslide hit about 3am north of the capital

A landslide killed at least 12 people while they slept at a Malaysian campsite near Kuala Lumpur early on Friday, officials said, as search teams scoured thick mud and downed trees for more than 20 people still missing.

A child and a woman were found among the dead, authorities said, while one of the eight people taken to hospital was pregnant. Others had injuries ranging from minor cuts to a suspected spinal injury.

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New Zealand set to cancel Jacinda Ardern’s Waitangi Day BBQ amid security concerns

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The annual event likely won’t be going ahead in 2023 amid growing concerns that radical fringe groups are transforming the country’s security environment

Jacinda Ardern’s much-loved Waitangi Day ritual of hosting a barbecue breakfast for the public will likely be off the menu in 2023 due to security concerns, as New Zealand deals with increased threats and harassment of politicians.

Since 2018, Ardern, her family and government ministers have donned aprons and wielded tongs to cook a free barbecue for all who brave the early wake-up for a dawn service on the country’s national founding holiday, at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in Paihia.

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Jacinda Ardern auctions off ‘arrogant prick’ comment to raise money for prostate cancer charity

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New Zealand PM was caught on hot mic earlier this week with a candid comment about Act party leader David Seymour

An official signed copy of the transcript of New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern calling a political opponent an “arrogant prick” will be auctioned off to raise money for a prostate cancer charity.

Bidding on the copy of the parliamentary record, signed by both Ardern and David Seymour, leader of the libertarian right Act party, had reached $50,000 by Friday. The auction, titled “Ardern, Seymour join forces for pricks everywhere”, ends on 22 December.

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King of Thailand’s eldest daughter hospitalised due to heart problem

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Princess Bajrakitiyabha’s condition is now stable to a certain level, the royal palace has said

The eldest child of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has been hospitalised due to a heart problem and her condition has stabilised to a certain level, the royal palace said.

Princess Bajrakitiyabha, 44, was taken ill after losing consciousness early on Wednesday in north-eastern Nakhon Ratchasima province and was treated at a local hospital.

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Chinese doctors and nurses reportedly told to work while infected as Covid surges

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Some Beijing hospitals have as many as 80% of staff infected, according to one doctor, leading to serious staff shortages

Chinese doctors and nurses are being told to keep working even when infected with Covid-19, staff and residents reported, as the virus rips through the population in the wake of eased restrictions.

Some hospitals in Beijing have up to 80% of their staff infected, but many of them are still required to work due to staff shortages, a doctor in a large public hospital in Beijing told Reuters, adding he had spoken to his peers at other big hospitals in the capital.

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China’s return to wildlife farming ‘a risk to global health and biodiversity’

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Post-pandemic relaxation of restrictions could weaken animal protection and pose a hazard to public health, say experts

China appears to be weakening its post-Covid restrictions on the farming of wildlife such as porcupines, civets and bamboo rats, which raises a new risk to public health and biodiversity, warn NGOs and experts.

Before the pandemic, wildlife farming was promoted by government agencies as an easy way for rural Chinese people to get rich. But China issued an outright ban on hunting, trading and transporting wildlife, as well as the consumption as food, after public health experts suggested the virus could have originated from the supply chain.

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Vietnam carries out ‘substantial’ expansion in South China Sea, US thinktank finds

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Dredging and landfill work creates 170 hectares of new land in Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others

Vietnam has conducted a major expansion of dredging and landfill work at several of its South China Sea outposts in the second half of this year, signalling an intent to significantly fortify its claims in the disputed waterway.

Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has said on Wednesday the work in the Spratly Islands, which are also claimed by China and others, had created roughly 170 hectares (420 acres) of new land and brought the total area Vietnam had reclaimed in the past decade to 220 hectares.

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Fiji election: opposition leader disputes results as vote count continues

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Sitiveni Rabuka calls for calm, while his claims of irregularities are rebuffed by election supervisors

Fiji’s opposition leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, has alleged irregularities in voting data while calling for calm, as counting continued in the country’s national election.

Provisional results had the opposition People’s Alliance party hovering in the mid to low 40s and incumbent prime minister Frank Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party in the mid-20s four hours after polls closed. The results were taken offline for a number of hours and, when they returned, the results had flipped.

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Chinese diplomats at centre of Manchester consulate row return home

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Consular staff wanted for questioning by police over beating up of activists recalled to Beijing

China’s consul general in Manchester and five other diplomats have returned home and will escape questioning by police for their role in the beating up of a pro-Hong Kong democracy demonstrator outside the consulate in the city on 16 October.

The Chinese, citing diplomatic immunity, decided to recall the diplomats after the UK Foreign Office gave the embassy a week to make the diplomats available for questioning by British police.

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‘Road sleeping’ deaths soar in Tokyo as socialising returns to pre-Covid levels

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Authorities concerned that death toll from people being hit by cars while sleeping on roads will increase further as end-of-year party season begins

The end of Covid-19 restrictions on Japan’s nighttime economy has brought more people out on to the streets of Tokyo – but it could also be contributing to a spate of deaths among people who are struck by cars as they sleep on the road.

The number of deaths among people who sleep where they drop on the capital’s roads has nearly doubled from last year, from seven to 13, according to police.

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China says spread of Covid ‘impossible’ to track as infections soar in Beijing

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Health officials cease recording asymptomatic cases as shortages of medical supplies and testing kits reported in wake of sudden end to strict Covid policy

The spread of Covid-19 in China is now “impossible” to track, the country’s health authorities have said, announcing they have stopped recording asymptomatic cases in their daily tallies.

The admission comes amid soaring presentations to hospitals and clinics as Covid-19 spreads rapidly through the population in the wake of the sudden removal of strict pandemic measures. Authorities have urged people not to seek emergency healthcare unless necessary, and announced the rollout of second boosters to elderly and vulnerable people.

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Japan chooses ‘war’ as kanji of the year amid Ukraine conflict and Abe assassination

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The character, chosen by public vote, reflected feelings about the state of the world and anxiety over living cost pressures

People in Japan have chosen the kanji character for “war” as the symbol that sums up 2022 – a year marked by conflict in Ukraine and the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The character, chosen in a public vote, reflected Japanese sentiment about the state of the world, as well as heightened anxiety over the weak yen and high cost of living, according to the annual contest’s organisers, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation.

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New Zealand’s emergency housing system breaches human rights, inquiry finds

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Motels used to temporarily house homeless people were found to often be unclean and unsafe

New Zealand’s emergency housing system that temporarily places homeless people in motel units is breaching human rights, with residents reporting filthy and unsafe environments, an inquiry has found.

The report released on Wednesday by the Human Rights Commission included what it called, “distressing” testimonies from those living in emergency housing. It said that while the intent to house people was good, the system was in some cases exacerbating problems and trauma.

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Mother charged in New Zealand ‘suitcase murders’ of two children pleads not guilty

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The 42-year-old accused of the murder is the children’s mother, and was extradited from South Korea in November

A woman charged with the murder of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in New Zealand has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The 42-year-old woman accused of their murder is the children’s mother, and was extradited from South Korea on murder charges in late November.

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Chinese and Indian troops in fresh skirmish at Himalayan border

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Region on high alert after dozens reported injured in first clash in disputed area for more than two years

Chinese and Indian troops have clashed in a disputed Himalayan border region for the first time in more than two years, with reports of dozens injured.

At least 20 Indian soldiers were injured in the incident on 9 December in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian army said on Tuesday. The clash was the most serious since June 2020, when at least 24 soldiers died in violent hand-to-hand combat, and comes after months of major acts of disengagement by both militaries in the long-running dispute.

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Mother fears for Chinese Covid protester held for nine days

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Yang Zijing, 25, apparently detained in Guangzhou after taking part in rallies against harsh restrictions

A young protester has been held in police detention in southern China for nine days after taking part in rallies against Covid restrictions, her mother has said, expressing fear and anguish over her daughter’s safety.

China last week effectively ended its harsh zero-Covid policy, after years of economic damage and simmering public discontent that erupted in nationwide protests on a scale unseen in decades.

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