Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Tom Phillips, fugitive father on run with children for nearly four years, shot dead by NZ police in exchange of fire

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Phillips, who has been on the run with his children for four years, was shot by police after officers came under fire while investigating burglary in Piopio, authorities said

A fugitive father who had been hiding in New Zealand’s rugged wilderness with his three children for nearly four years has been shot dead by police investigating an armed burglary, police said on Monday.

The whereabouts of Tom Phillips has attracted headlines around the world since just before Christmas 2021, when he fled into the Waikato wilderness with his children Ember, now 9, Maverick, 10, and Jayda, 12, following a custody dispute with their mother.

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300 South Koreans detained at Hyundai plant in US to be released, says Seoul

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Footage of raid by US immigration officials showed detained workers in handcuffs and with chains around their ankles

South Korea announced on Sunday that the roughly 300 of its nationals detained during an immigration raid in Georgia would be released and flown home, as the sudden detention of workers appeared to strain the longstanding diplomatic and economic relationship between the two nations.

Nearly 500 workers, among them at least 300 South Koreans and at least 23 Mexicans, were arrested at the Hyundai-LG battery plant in the city of Ellabell on Thursday.

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Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba to resign amid fallout from disastrous elections

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Public broadcaster says prime minister has made decision to avoid divide within his Liberal Democratic party

Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, is to resign less than a year after taking office, throwing the country’s politics into turmoil and setting in motion a potentially messy contest to replace him as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP).

The softly spoken centrist has presided over two disastrous elections since being elected to lead the LDP last autumn. In October, the party and its junior coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the lower house and met the same fate in upper house elections this July.

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China’s military follows Australian and Canadian warships in Taiwan Strait accusing them of ‘provocation’

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Strait is considered an international waterway by countries including the US, Canada, Britain and Taiwan

Australian and Canadian warships sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait have been followed and warned by China’s military, with Beijing describing the incident as a provocation.

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said the Australian guided-missile destroyer Brisbane and the Canadian frigate Ville de Quebec were engaged in “trouble-making and provocation”.

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Japan’s second in line to emperor’s throne comes of age amid succession debate

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Teenage Prince Hisahito’s elaborate ceremony overshadowed by questions over royal family’s male-only succession rules

Japan has heralded the coming of age of Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing.

The nephew of Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk and lacquer crown at Saturday’s ceremony in Tokyo, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life.

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Japan’s second in line to emperor’s throne comes of age amid succession debate

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Teenage Prince Hisahito’s elaborate ceremony overshadowed by questions over royal family’s male-only succession rules

Japan has heralded the coming of age of Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing.

The nephew of Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk and lacquer crown at Saturday’s ceremony in Tokyo, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life.

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Samoa’s first female PM fails to win re-election after months of political infighting

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Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, known as the ‘Iron Lady of the Pacific’, likely to be replaced by leader of opposition Fast party

Samoa’s first female leader, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, has failed to win a majority in the Pacific nation’s elections this week, capping months of political infighting.

Official results published by the electoral commission on Friday showed the opposition Fast party won 30 out of the 50 contested seats in parliament.

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US Navy Seals killed North Korean civilians in botched 2019 mission, report says

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New York Times says Trump authorized mission to plant listening device; team killed fishers they encountered

US Navy Seals shot and killed a number of North Korean civilians during a botched covert mission to plant a listening device in the nuclear-armed country during high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in 2019, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Citing unidentified sources, including current and former military officials with knowledge of the still-classified details, the newspaper said Donald Trump approved the operation during his first administration, as he was involved in historic talks with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

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Tycoon who led push to decriminalise cannabis becomes Thai PM

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Anutin Charnvirakul voted in by parliament after promising election in four months, as Thaksin Shinawatra jets out

Anutin Charnvirakul, a staunch royalist, has been appointed by lawmakers as Thailand’s next prime minister after days of heated negotiations and political drama.

The 58-year-old tycoon turned politician is considered a conservative, though he made a name for himself for leading a campaign to decriminalise cannabis. He was voted in after a chaotic scramble by parties to gain enough support to replace the ousted PM, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was removed from office by a court ruling.

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Japanese man becomes oldest person to reach Mount Fuji summit at 102

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Kokichi Akuzawa climbed with 70-year-old daughter to break record for oldest person to make ascent – a second time

Kokichi Akuzawa has become the oldest person to climb to the top of Mount Fuji at the age of 102 – despite almost giving up during his trek.

“I was really tempted to give up halfway through,” Akuzawa said. “Reaching the summit was tough, but my friends encouraged me, and it turned out well. I managed to get through it because so many people supported me.”

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Taiwan accuses China of breaching international law over drilling

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Island’s government demands halt to Chinese oil and gas operations in its exclusive economic zone

Taiwan’s government has accused China of breaching international law by drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and immediately demanded it halt the activity.

The statement from the office of Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, came after revelations first reported by the Guardian that several Chinese oil rigs and associated vessels had been detected inside Taiwan’s EEZ, near the disputed Pratas Islands, which are under Taiwanese control.

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Thursday briefing: China flexes its muscle in the tussle for global dominance

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In today’s newsletter: In hosting anti-western leaders at its largest ever military parade, Beijing sent a defiant message that will be heard loud and clear across the world

Good morning. All eyes have been on China this week as the second biggest global economy flexed its muscles.

Dozens of world leaders, including from the global south, authoritarian pariah states and the EU, attended China’s largest ever military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

UK news | Deputy PM Angela Rayner has admitted she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat, after coming under intense pressure to be more transparent about her property arrangements.

Russia | Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong-un to visit Russia during a lengthy meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China’s biggest military parade, as Kim promised to do “everything I can to assist” Moscow.

Police | The Metropolitan police have declined to drop their investigation into the comedy writer Graham Linehan for tweets about trans issues, and said that the law used by officers to detain him needs reviewing.

Israel | Israeli drones dropped four grenades near UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon, the agency’s force said on Wednesday, in what it described as “one of the most serious attacks” on its personnel since a November ceasefire.

Portugal | A day of national mourning has been declared in Portugal after at least 15 people were killed when Lisbon’s well-known Gloria funicular railway car derailed and crashed on Wednesday.

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Nuclear triad and ‘robot wolves’: parade shows off array of Chinese weapons

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On display in Beijing were nuclear weapons launched by air, sea and land, laser weapons and four-legged drones

It was hardly a subtle attempt to project power. China showed off air-, sea- and land-launched nuclear weapons in its parade on Wednesday, a triad intended to demonstrate that Beijing’s long-term aspiration is to match US military might.

Also on display were large underwater torpedo-like drones, intended to threaten western warships, as well as anti-drone lasers and four-legged “robot wolves”, all designed to be noticed, regardless of their actual military effectiveness.

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Kim Jong-un promises to do ‘everything to assist’ Moscow after Putin meeting

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North Korean leader invited to visit Russia as Zelenskyy says Putin is displaying ‘impunity’ with new Ukraine strikes

Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong-un to visit Russia during a lengthy meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China’s biggest military parade, as Kim promised to do “everything I can to assist” Moscow.

North Korea has supported Russia in its war against Ukraine with weapons and troops, and the Russian president praised North Korean fighters for acting “courageously and heroically”.

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Xi, Putin and Kim: behind the choreographed image that could symbolise a shift in the global balance of power

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In an unprecedented spectacle the leaders of Russia, China and North Korea led a group of more than 20 world leaders at a victory day parade in Beijing

It is an image that, had it been published just a few years ago, would have been dismissed as a piece of mischievous photo-shopping: the leaders of Russia and China, accompanied by the head of a pariah regime whose mission to arm his country with nuclear weapons had been opposed at the United Nations by his two companions.

But dramatic shifts in the geopolitical landscape – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, crucially, the re-election of Donald Trump – have combined to bring Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un together in what many observers are calling a dramatic redrawing of the global balance of power.

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People banished to Nauru by Australia face hostile reception as $2.5bn cost of deal revealed

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Home affairs department reveals just-signed transfer deal, worth $408m upfront to Nauru, forecast to cost Australia $2.5bn over 30 years

The group of noncitizens set to be banished by Australia to Nauru for 30 years face a potentially hostile reception because they have been described as “violent” and “appalling” by the Australian government.

The forcible transfer of the so-called NZYQ group – and potentially thousands more under legislation currently before parliament – to the tiny island is being quietly resented by Nauruans, sources on the island have told Guardian Australia.

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Xi Jinping says world faces ‘peace or war’, as Putin and Kim join him for military parade

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Trump criticises victory day event as China caps off week of diplomatic grandstanding seen as rebuke to the west

Xi Jinping said the world was facing a choice between peace or war as he held China’s largest-ever military parade, joined by Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un in a show of defiance to the west.

Putin and Kim, the authoritarian leaders of Russia and North Korea, were among dozens of world leaders who attended the parade, a massive display of military hardware and personnel, orchestrated to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

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Putin hails ties with China as Kim Jong-un arrives in Beijing on eve of parade

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Russian president says relations at ‘unprecedentedly high level’ as dozens of leaders gather for Victory Day events

Vladimir Putin has hailed Russia’s “unprecedentedly” high level of ties with China, as dozens of leaders including the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, arrived in Beijing on the eve of a massive military parade intended to showcase a Chinese-led global order.

Putin called China’s leader, Xi Jinping, a “dear friend” after the two held talks at the Great Hall of the People and then at Xi’s personal residence. “Our close communication reflects the strategic nature of Russia-China relations, which are at an unprecedentedly high level,” Putin told Xi, according to a video on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. “We were always together then, and we remain together now.”

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China drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone

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Exclusive: Experts say the move could be part of Beijing’s ‘greyzone’ grab for disputed territory

China is drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a move that analysts believe is likely part of Beijing’s unilateral grab for disputed territory that could also aid a future invasion of Taiwan.

During July and August at least 12 oil and gas vessels and permanent structures were detected inside Taiwan’s EEZ – including one within 50km of the restricted-waters border of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands – as well as several steel supports for fixed offshore drilling platforms, called jackets. Their presence inside Taiwan’s EEZ have not been previously reported.

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Kim Jong-un arrives for Beijing military parade on special armoured train

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Slow but specialised form of transport has been used by the reclusive country’s leaders for decades

North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has arrived in Beijing on his signature green train to attend a military parade in China celebrating the formal surrender of Japan in the second world war.

Kim left Pyongyang for China on Monday.

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