Category Archives: Asia Pacific

North Korea says six dead after admitting Covid outbreak for first time

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Regime has said it is imposing ‘maximum emergency measures’ and 187,800 people are being ‘isolated and treated’ after showing signs of fever

North Korea has announced its first Covid-19 death amid an “explosive” outbreak of fever, state media said on Friday, one day after the regime admitted for the first time that it was tackling a coronavirus outbreak.

The official KCNA news agency said six people had died, adding that one of them had tested positive for the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

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New Zealand’s presbyterian church will offer future land sales to Māori iwi first

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The major landowner says it has been on the ‘other side of history’ and wants to honour treaty

New Zealand’s presbyterian church will offer any future land sales to Māori iwi first, as the institution reckons with its role in colonisation and land confiscations in Aotearoa.

The institution is a significant landowner across the country, with more than $1.5bn in land assets and 400 properties. Their decision comes at a time of increasing scrutiny on the church and its role in the colonisation of New Zealand, including as a beneficiary of confiscated or stolen land.

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Chinese-speaking voters critical of Coalition’s ‘militaristic’ stance on China in lead-up to 2022 election, WeChat study shows

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Labor also faces criticism, but Albanese is gaining ground in news coverage on Chinese social media platform, research finds

The Coalition’s muscular position toward China is not going down well with Chinese-speaking voters, while Labor is facing criticism over its more generous approach to humanitarian immigration, an analysis of WeChat audience comments reveals.

The study of more than 3,000 political news stories and associated comments appearing on the Chinese social media platform, WeChat, has been undertaken by researchers at Monash and Deakin Universities over the past 11 months, including during the election campaign.

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Queen’s A Night at the Opera inspires Japanese take on Romeo and Juliet

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A Night at the Kabuki, which shifts the star-crossed lovers to 12th-century Japan, will visit London on an international tour

A Night at the Opera, the classic rock album by Queen, has inspired a Japanese theatre production that will visit London this autumn as part of an international tour.

Created by Hideki Noda, A Night at the Kabuki includes songs from the British band’s 1975 album which is best known for its singles Bohemian Rhapsody and You’re My Best Friend. The master tapes from the studio recording of the album are used in the show, which has a storyline set in 12th-century Japan and is inspired by Romeo and Juliet.

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North Korea admits to Covid outbreak for first time and declares ‘severe national emergency’

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Omicron infections create ‘biggest emergency incident in the country’, according to state media, as Kim Jong-un chairs response meeting

North Korea has declared a “severe national emergency” after confirming its first outbreak of Covid-19, prompting its leader, Kim Jong-un, to vow to quickly eliminate the virus.

State media reported on Thursday that a sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron virus, known as BA.2, had been detected in the capital, Pyongyang.

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Kevin Rudd attacks ‘idiot’ Peter Dutton over ‘hairy-chested’ comments on China

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Former Labor PM says if China wanted a reset with Australia he ‘could not think of a dumber thing to do’ than the Solomon Islands deal

Kevin Rudd has launched a personal attack on Peter Dutton, labelling the defence minister an “idiot” for believing hairy-chested commentary about China would improve Australia’s strategic circumstances.

The former Australian prime minister also took aim at Beijing, saying that if Chinese officials really wanted a reset in the relationship with Australia he “could not think of a dumber thing to do than what they just did in the Solomons”.

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Car crash kills Papua New Guinea’s deputy PM, Sam Basil

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Leader of United Labour party was taken to hospital with three others and died despite efforts to revive him

Papua New Guinea’s deputy prime minister, Sam Basil, has died after a car crash, police have said.

Basil died in hospital while awaiting airlift to Port Moresby late on Wednesday after the crash, which took place in the Wau-Bulolo region, Morobe province.

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Vanuatu police crack down with arrests over ‘slander’ of MPs accused of breaking Covid lockdown

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At least four people have been arrested and face charges of cyber stalking, cyber slander and cyber libel for Facebook comments

A police crackdown in Vanuatu that has seen people arrested for allegedly posting comments on social media speculating politicians were responsible for the country’s current Covid outbreak has raised serious concerns about freedom of speech in the Pacific country.

At least four people on two separate islands have been arrested as part of a major investigation by Vanuatu’s Serious Crime Unit in the last few weeks, including a factory worker, a printer, a business owner, and a Facebook page moderator. They face charges of cyber stalking, cyber slander, and cyber libel and face up to three years in prison and fines of up to three million Vatu (US$25,838).

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Chinese taxi app Didi shelves plans for major overseas expansion

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Exclusive: Prominent tech company cuts half its UK employees amid signs of pressure from Beijing government

Chinese taxi app Didi has told staff it has put plans for major international expansions on hold until at least 2025 and cut half its UK employees amid pressure from Beijing on one of its most prominent tech companies.

Didi Chuxing has been on the back foot since last summer when the Cyberspace Administration of China, a powerful regulator, banned the country’s dominant ride-hailing company from listing its app on mobile app stores in the country.

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Hong Kong: Vatican ‘concerned’ over arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen

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Prominent Catholic cleric, 90, detained with three others linked to disbanded charity for protesters

The Vatican has voiced concern after Hong Kong’s national security police arrested 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of Asia’s most senior and outspoken Catholic clerics.

Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong, was arrested along with the singer and actor Denise Ho, the lawyer Margaret Ng, and the scholar Hui Po-keung.

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Whiti Hereaka wins New Zealand’s Ockham fiction prize for novel subverting Māori myth

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Kurangaituku, 'an epic poem of a novel’, won the Jann Medlicott Acorn prize at a ceremony that delivered ‘loads of surprises’

A novel subverting a Māori myth has taken home New Zealand’s most prestigious writing prize at this year’s Ockham New Zealand book awards.

Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka, which draws on the Māori legend of Hatupatu and the Bird-Woman but tells it from the perspective of the tale’s traditional monster Kurangaituku, has won the $60,000 Jann Medlicott Acorn prize for fiction.

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New Zealand to fully reopen borders for first time since Covid pandemic started

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Prime minister Jacinda Ardern also announces shakeup of immigration to attract skilled workers back to the country

New Zealand will fully reopen to the world two months earlier than originally planned, prime minister Jacinda Ardern has announced as part of a wider shake-up to immigration settings.

The country swiftly closed the border in March 2020 to prevent the arrival of Covid-19. It has just started reopening to some non-New Zealand citizens and residents over the past few months – beginning with Australians and followed by travellers from 60 visa-waiver countries.

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Vanuatu’s push for legal protection from climate change wins crucial support

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1,500 civil society groups from 130 countries back Vanuatu’s move to seek protection from the international court of justice

Vanuatu’s push for the international court of justice to protect vulnerable nations from climate change has received the backing of 1,500 civil society organisations from more than 130 countries, as it heads toward a crucial vote at the UN General Assembly later this year.

In 2021 Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an advisory opinion by the international court of justice on the rights of present and future generations to be protected from climate change.

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China’s zero-Covid policy is not sustainable, WHO director general says

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Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls for shift in approach as scores of Chinese cities remain in strictly enforced lockdown

The head of the World Health Organization has voiced concerns over China’s effort to eliminate the Covid virus, in a rare rebuke to Xi Jinping’s pledge to achieve “dynamic zero-Covid”.

The WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told a media briefing on Tuesday that his organisation does not think China’s Covid policy is “sustainable considering the behaviour of the virus”.

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Philippines election Q&A: why did Marcos Jr win and what can we expect from his presidency?

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After years of rebranding its image, the Marcos family is back in power. Inheriting a challenging economic situation, it remains unclear how Marcos Jr will use his huge mandate

The Marcos family has spent years rebranding its image, falsely portraying the authoritarian rule of Marcos Sr in which billions were plundered as a golden era and downplaying past atrocities. Researchers have described an onslaught of disinformation designed to revise history, enhance the reputation of the Marcoses and undermine their opponents.

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Beijing accuses US of ‘political manipulation’ in latest Taiwan row

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State department fact sheet amended to remove line saying US ‘does not support Taiwan independence’

Beijing has accused Washington of “political manipulation” and attempting to change the status quo after the US state department quietly amended its website to remove a line stating it did not support Taiwanese independence.

In a delicate geopolitical balancing act, the US has long acknowledged, but not supported, China’s claim to Taiwan under its version of the “one China principle”. However, experts say that policy has been eroded as Beijing has become more assertive.

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Philippines election: torture survivors from Marcos era in shock after son’s win

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Factcheckers say Ferdinand Marcos Jr was overwhelming beneficiary of a flood of online disinformation before poll

Survivors of the brutal regime of the late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos have described his son’s apparent landslide presidential election victory as the product of trickery and disinformation, warning it is unlikely the billions stolen by his family will be recovered, and that human rights in the country will be weakened.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr had won more than 30.8m votes in a highly divisive presidential election by Monday, according to an unofficial count. His vote tally is more than double that of his closest challenger, the human rights lawyer and current vice-president, Leni Robredo, who had campaigned based on transparency and good governance.

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Claims of shamans and curses as South Korea’s president shuns official residence

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Yoon Suk-yeol said the Blue House was ‘a symbol of imperial power’ but critics have highlighted costs and safety concerns

For decades, South Korea’s presidents have begun their terms in office by acquainting themselves with the vast premises of the Blue House.

But on Tuesday, Yoon Suk-yeol became the first leader in the country’s modern history to shun the presidential residence, heading instead to a new office inside a former defence ministry building in central Seoul.

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China’s pro-Russia propaganda exposed by online activists

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Mistranslations falsely blame Ukrainians for atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces against civilians

A number of Chinese government-linked media outlets and pro-Russia social media accounts are spreading pro-Kremlin sentiment on the Chinese internet by mistranslating or manipulating international news about the war in Ukraine.

In response, online, anonymous volunteers – such as those under the Twitter account Great Translation Movement – have exposed China’s pro-Russia propaganda by highlighting mistranslations that falsely blame Ukrainian troops for bombings and atrocities perpetrated by Russian forces against civilians.

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South Korea’s new president offers North economic plan in return for denuclearisation

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Elected in a tight contest in March, Yoon Suk-yeol proposes ‘audacious’ plan for Pyongyang at his inauguration in Seoul

South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has offered North Korea “an audacious plan” to transform its creaking economy in return for abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.

Speaking on the first day of his presidency on Tuesday, Yoon said: “While North Korea’s nuclear weapon programmes are a threat not only to our security and that of North-east Asia, the door to dialogue will remain open so that we can peacefully resolve this threat.”

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