Court martial heard soldier was caught offering to share military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer of an unnamed foreign nation
A military court has convicted a New Zealand soldier of attempted espionage for a foreign power – the first spying conviction in the country’s history.
The soldier was caught offering to pass military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer posing as an agent for the foreign nation, the court martial heard.
Continue reading...Calls for boycott after Swiss watchmaker becomes latest western brand accused of racist imagery
The Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and removed an advert featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted accusations of racism and calls for a boycott on Chinese social media.
Internet users heavily criticised the “slanted eye” gesture made by the Asian male model as racist.
Continue reading...Sarah Shaw was detained by Ice owing to a problem with her ‘combo card’ visa as she tried to re-enter the US from Canada
A New Zealand woman and her six-year-old son, who were held for more than three weeks at a US immigration centre after being detained crossing the Canada-US border, have been released.
In a short update on Saturday, the woman’s friend Victoria Besancon said Sarah Shaw and her son were safely home. The family would be taking some time to settle in before speaking about their experience, she added.
Continue reading...US president says Chinese counterpart told him ‘I am very patient and China is very patient’
The US president, Donald Trump, has said that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office.
Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News on Friday, ahead of talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Prime minister Feletei Teo says Tuvalu may withdraw from crucial meeting after key countries such as Taiwan were barred from attending
Tuvalu’s prime minister Feletei Teo said his country may pull out of the region’s top political meeting next month, after host nation Solomon Islands moved to block all external partners – including China, US and Taiwan – from attending.
The Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting will be held in Honiara in September. On 7 August, Solomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele told parliament that no dialogue partners would be invited to the annual gathering.
Continue reading...Profits rise 56% to £38.2m in 2024 as company overtakes British rival Boohoo and closes in on Asos
Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by about a third to more than £2bn last year, overtaking the British rival Boohoo and closing in on Asos.
The company, which had been considering a £50bn float on the London Stock Exchange but is expected to list in Hong Kong, said profits rose 56% to £38.2m last year on which it paid £9.6m corporation tax, according to accounts filed at Companies House this week.
Continue reading...Since its launch in January, Prabowo Subianto’s signature policy has been marred by mass food poisoning cases affecting over 1,000 people
More than 360 people fell ill in the Indonesian town of Sragen in Central Java after consuming school lunches, according to officials, in the largest food poisoning case to hit President Prabowo Subianto’s flagship free meals programme to date.
Since its launch in January, the free school meals programme has been marred by mass food poisoning cases across the archipelago, affecting more than 1,000 people.
Continue reading...Ruling upheld that there was insufficient evidence of copyright infringement on song that is YouTube’s most viewed video
South Korea’s supreme court has rejected a US composer’s allegation that the producers of the catchy children’s song Baby Shark plagiarised his work, ending a six-year-long legal battle.
The court upheld two lower court verdicts in favour of Pinkfong, the South Korean company behind the tune with the famous “doo doo doo doo doo doo” refrain.
Continue reading...Lai has been detained since December 2020, with western nations and rights groups calling for his release
The closing arguments in the national security trial against jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai were postponed on Thursday after the Asian financial hub issued its highest-level “black” weather warning, stemming from ex-typhoon Podul.
Queues had formed outside the court for the public gallery, but torrential rain saw the closing arguments in the trial, which began in late 2023, delayed. Proceedings are expected to resume on Friday.
Continue reading...USS Higgins and USS Cincinnati sailed near Scarborough Shoal after Chinese tried to drive away Philippine vessel
The US has briefly deployed two warships in a disputed South China Sea shoal where two Chinese ships collided earlier in the week while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine ship in a high-seas accident that raised alarms about maritime safety.
Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the contested waters.
Continue reading...Updated regulations ban the country’s 40 million civil servants from lavish banquets, and restrict them from overseas travel for ‘personal leisure’
Adjacent to a municipal government building in Beijing, a normally bustling restaurant is now eerily quiet, at lunchtime most of its seats are empty.
The recent crackdown on civil servants frequenting restaurants – part of a government austerity drive intended to crack down on corruption – has likely affected business and caused liquor sales to plummet, admits one waitress who works in the opulent establishment.
Continue reading...Kim Keon Hee in custody on three charges while husband Yoon Suk Yeol detained over attempt to impose martial law
South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of the impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, has been arrested on corruption charges, a special prosecutor leading a wide-reaching probe said.
The arrest, which came after a Seoul central district court ruling, creates an unprecedented situation in which both members of a former presidential couple are simultaneously in custody.
Continue reading...Footage shows Chinese coastguard vessel with its entire bow caved in after colliding with warship near contested Scarborough Shoal
The Philippines has released dramatic footage of a Chinese warship colliding with a vessel from its own coastguard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat in the South China Sea.
The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal on Monday as the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) escorted vessels distributing aid to fishers in the area, Philippine authorities said.
Continue reading...Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms
The climate crisis is driving a sharp rise in dengue fever cases across the Pacific islands, experts say, as infections hit their highest level in a decade and several countries declare emergencies.
Pacific Island countries and territories have reported 16,502 confirmed cases and 17 deaths since the start of 2025, according to the Pacific Syndromic Surveillance System (PSSS), which collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other agencies. Infections across the region are at the highest level since 2016, the WHO said. Fiji, Samoa and Tonga are among the worst affected.
Continue reading...Fish once as large as grizzly bears have become far smaller in recent years due to overfishing, dams and climate crisis
The size of megafish in the Mekong River has shrunk alarmingly in recent years owing to overfishing, a study has found. The length of the largest and most endangered freshwater giants, some as big as grizzly bears, decreased by 40% in seven years.
Some fish, like the Mekong giant catfish, have been studied for over a longer period and show a decline in weight of 55% in the past 25 years, dropping from an average of 180kg (397lb) to 80kg.
Continue reading...White House denies suggestions resort in Vietnam presents conflict of interest amid row over compensation rates
Villagers whose farms in Vietnam will be bulldozed to make way for a $1.5bn golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 for a square metre of land by state authorities.
Thousands of villagers will be offered compensation based on land size and location, according to a report by Reuters. The agency spoke to elderly farmers who said they feared they would struggle to find a stable livelihood.
Continue reading...Koryo high pulled out of the popular competition after an outcry over reports that some of its members had bullied a junior player
One of Japan’s most popular sports tournaments is reeling after the sudden withdrawal of a team whose teenage players have been accused of abusing a younger teammate.
Koryo high school, which had been representing Hiroshima prefecture in the summer high school baseball championships, announced on Sunday it would no longer take part.
Continue reading...Liu Jianchao, the envoy in charge of managing ties with foreign political parties, was reportedly detained in late July
Liu Jianchao, a senior Chinese diplomat widely seen as a potential future foreign minister, has been detained by authorities for questioning, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Liu was taken away after returning to Beijing in late July from an overseas work trip, it reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Continue reading...World’s lowest birthrate leaves Seoul 50,000 troops short of maintaining defence readiness, report warns
South Korea’s military has shrunk by 20% in the past six years, largely due to a sharp decrease in the population of men of enlistment age for mandatory service in the country with the world’s lowest birthrate, according to a report.
The sharp decline in the pool of men available for military service is also causing a shortfall in the number of officers and could result in operational difficulties, the defence ministry said in the report.
Continue reading...Seoul dismantled its loudspeakers a week ago, and Pyongyang appears to be following suit as President Lee Jae Myung seeks to improve ties with North
South Korea’s military has said North Korea has started dismantling some propaganda loudspeakers aimed at the South in parts of the border area, following similar moves by Seoul made in a bid to ease tensions.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff didn’t disclose the sites where the North Koreans were removing speakers and said further confirmation was needed as to whether the dismantling was taking place across all areas, adding it would continue monitoring related activities.
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