Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Solomon Islands-China pact is worst policy failure in Pacific since 1945, Labor says

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Penny Wong accuses Coalition of mishandling situation, raising concerns of a potential Chinese military presence in South Pacific

Labor has lashed the Coalition in the wake of the newly signed security agreement between China and Solomon Islands, branding it “the worst Australian foreign policy blunder in the Pacific” in decades.

The Coalition government sounded the alarm over the deal, arguing the pact has been negotiated in secret and could “undermine stability in our region”. The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, and the minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, said they were “deeply disappointed” by the deal, and would “seek further clarity on the terms of the agreement, and its consequences for the Pacific region”.

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Thai mango sticky rice sales surge after sweet treat’s Coachella cameo

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Government seeks to capitalise on trend after rapper Milli eats dish on stage at US music festival

Bangkok’s famous Mae Varee mango sticky rice shop has barely kept up with demand over recent days. At one point, so many delivery drivers had lined up outside to collect orders that the police arrived, concerned that their bikes were blocking the traffic.

“Yesterday we needed to close the delivery orders from time to time because we couldn’t prepare [the rice] in time,” said Naparom Suntiparadorn, whose family own the shop. On Sunday, delivery orders were six or seven times higher than usual.

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US seeks to seize superyacht in Fiji believed to be owned by Russian oligarch

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The Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is under US and EU sanctions

The United States is seeking to seize a superyacht suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch that is docked in the Pacific island nation of Fiji, a restraining order filed on Tuesday by Fiji’s director of public prosecutions showed.

The luxury vessel the Amadea is widely believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is the subject of economic sanctions by the United States and European Union imposed in response to Russia’s activities in Syria and Ukraine.

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Saline solution: Japan invents ‘electric’ chopsticks that make food seem more salty

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Device uses a weak current to artificially amplify the taste of salt, as part of efforts to reduce sodium levels in popular dishes

Diners in Japan could soon be able to savour the umami of a bowl of ramen or miso soup without having to worry about their salt intake.

In what they claim is a world first, researchers have developed chopsticks that artificially create the taste of salt, as part of efforts to reduce sodium levels in some of the country’s most popular dishes.

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Timor-Leste’s Ramos Horta and ‘Lu Olo’ Guterres face off in presidential election

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Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta the frontrunner in a ballot widely seen as key to the nation’s political stability

Asia’s youngest nation of Timor-Leste will hold the second and final round of its presidential election on Tuesday, with Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta the clear frontrunner in the poll.

Ramos-Horta, who received 46.5% of votes in the first round last month, is up against incumbent president “Lu Olo” Guterres, who got 22.1%, in a ballot widely seen as key to the nation’s political stability.

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Shanghai records first official Covid deaths since lockdown imposed

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Three fatalities were one woman aged 89 and two 91-year-olds, highlighting concerns about low vaccination rates among elderly

Three Covid-19 fatalities have been reported in Shanghai, the first to be officially counted since the beginning of the city’s lockdown.

The three people reported on Monday included two women aged 89 and 91, and a 91-year-old man, who also had underlying health conditions, and were reportedly unvaccinated. Shanghai municipal authorities said the three were admitted to hospital and became critically ill. They died on Sunday “after all efforts were made to rescue them”.

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Kim Jong-un oversees missile test that North Korea claims advances nuclear program

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Leader appears well pleased with latest test of what state media reported was a new type of tactical guided weapon

North Korea has test-fired a new weapons system, under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-un, that it claims will boost the efficiency of its tactical nuclear weapons, state media reported.

The “new-type tactical guided weapon ... is of great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units and enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes,” the official Korean Central News Agency said early on Sunday, without specifying when the test took place. It said the test was successful.

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China tightens controls as Shanghai reports record Covid cases

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Japan urges local government to address business concerns as ongoing restrictions hit commerce

Shanghai reported a record number of symptomatic Covid-19 cases on Saturday and other areas across China tightened controls as the country kept up its “dynamic clearance” approach that aims to stamp out the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

The Zhengzhou airport economic zone, a central Chinese manufacturing area that includes Apple supplier Foxconn, announced a 14-day lockdown on Friday “to be adjusted according to the epidemic situation”.

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North Korea marks founder Kim Il-sung’s birthday with mass parade but no weapons

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Kim Jong-un is expected to display advanced weapons at military parade later this month and escalate missile testing

Thousands of North Koreans marched in a choreographed display of loyalty to the ruling Kim family during a massive civilian parade celebrating the birthday of the country’s founder attended by his grandson and current leader, Kim Jong-un.

State media images showed Kim waving from a balcony overlooking the vast square in Pyongyang named after his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, as huge columns of people carrying red plastic flowers and floats with political slogans marched below.

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Will China’s zero-Covid policy bring the world’s factory grinding to a halt?

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Huawei executive warns of ‘massive losses’ in tech sector as tensions rise over strict lockdowns

A top Huawei executive has broken ranks to warn that China’s stringent zero-Covid policy may trigger “massive losses” for the tech industry, putting the country’s economy as well as the global supply chain at greater risk.

“If Shanghai cannot resume production by May, all of the tech and industrial players who have supply chains in the area will come to a complete halt, especially the automotive industry,” Richard Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei’s consumer and auto division said in a WeChat post. “That will pose severe consequences and massive losses for the whole industry.”

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Shanghai residents forced from homes clash with police over Covid policy

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Scuffles follow complaints of food shortages and over-zealous officials forcing people into quarantine

Videos posted on social media have showed residents of Shanghai scuffling with hazmat-suited police who were ordering them to surrender their homes to Covid-19 patients, providing a rare glimpse into rising discontent in the megacity over China’s inflexible virus response.

Shanghai, a city of 25 million and China’s economic engine room, has become the heart of the country’s biggest outbreak since the peak of the first virus wave in Wuhan over two years ago, rattling the country’s adherence to a strict zero-Covid policy.

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Western Australian Liberal senator Ben Small resigns over dual citizenship

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Small breached section 44 of the Australian constitution by also holding New Zealand citizenship, but still plans to contest the upcoming election

Western Australian Liberal senator Ben Small has been forced to resign due to his New Zealand heritage, the latest victim of the section 44 constitutional requirements, but has pledged to stand again at the looming election.

Small released a statement on Friday saying he had written to the Senate president to advise him he was resigning as a senator for WA.

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Tropical storm Megi: Philippines death toll rises to 123 as landslides bury villages

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Focus now on retrieving bodies, says mayor, after strongest storm to hit archipelago this year devastates communities

The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 123 on Wednesday with scores missing and feared dead, officials said, as rescuers dug up more bodies with bare hands and backhoes in crushed villages.

Most of the deaths from tropical storm Megi – the strongest to hit the archipelago this year – were in the central province of Leyte, where a series of landslides devastated communities.

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Joy as Indonesia passes bill outlawing sexual abuse and forced marriage

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The wide-ranging legislation, which comes amid a rise in such cases, is heralded as a victory ‘for all women’

Indonesia has passed a landmark bill that for the first time outlaws forced marriage and sexual harassment.

To tears and cheers from supporters in the gallery, on Tuesday the House of Representatives passed the long-awaited legislation that criminalises nine forms of sexual violence, including physical and verbal assault, harassment, forced sterilisation and exploitation.

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Shanghai TV channel postpones Covid spin show after backlash

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Residents express dismay online about tribute to city’s handling of outbreak after extended lockdown

A state-owned TV station in Shanghai has postponed a show that highlights the positive sides of the city’s response to an Omicron outbreak after an online backlash.

Shanghai Dragon Television, the city’s main TV channel that also broadcasts via satellite to Chinese-speaking audiences globally, announced the decision on social media late on Tuesday night, hours after it was criticised online. Dragon TV said it welcomed “valuable feedback to our work”.

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US military leader warns Chinese security deal with Solomon Islands sounds ‘too good to be true’

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General David Berger raises concerns about Chinese influence while Australia’s Pacific minister asks Solomon Islands ‘to consider not signing agreement’

A senior US military general has warned during a visit to Australia that China’s offer to deepen security ties with Solomon Islands will come with strings attached, suggesting the Pacific island country may come to regret the planned deal.

“My parents told me if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” the commandant of the United States Marine Corps, general David Berger, said on Wednesday.

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New Zealand allows resident to be extradited to China in landmark ruling

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Decision in case of murder suspect Kyung Yup Kim concludes government can trust Chinese assurances extradited defendants will not face torture

New Zealand’s courts have ruled the government can extradite to China a man suspected of murder – a landmark ruling that, if it proceeds, will be the first time the country has sent a resident to face trial in China.

The courts had previously blocked the extradition of Kyung Yup Kim, a man accused of killing a young woman in Shanghai, citing the risk of torture and not receiving a fair trial.

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iPhone maker Pegatron halts Shanghai production due to Covid lockdown

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Operations stopped in Chinese cities of Shanghai and Kunshan as global supply chains feel pinch of Beijing's zero-Covid measures

Key iPhone maker Pegatron has halted operations at two subsidiaries in the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Kunshan, as global supply chains feel the pinch of Beijing’s strict zero-Covid measures.

The business hub of Shanghai has become the heart of China’s biggest Covid-19 outbreak since the virus surfaced more than two years ago.

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Singapore hardens opinion against death penalty as ‘sense of injustice’ grows

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High-profile death row case prompts some Singaporeans to call for executions to be halted though overall support for capital punishment remains high

The news was delivered in just a few cold sentences. An appeal for clemency for Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a man on death row whose case has prompted a global outcry, had failed.

“Please be informed that the position...remains unchanged” wrote Singapore president’s principal private secretary, in a letter to Nagaenthran’s family: “The sentence of death therefore stands.”

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Reader call-out: how has the changing mood in New Zealand’s housing market affected you?

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House prices are dropping amid rising living costs and higher interest rates – what does that mean for you?

For the first time in more than a decade, New Zealand house prices recorded a quarterly drop. ANZ economists say the mood in the market has shifted – from “fear of missing out” to “I’m not paying that”.

We’re eager to hear from our New Zealand readers on how this might be affecting you.

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