Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Chinese military condemns US and Canada over warships in Taiwan Strait

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Countries ‘colluded to provoke and stir up trouble’ in region that China claims as its territory

The Chinese military has condemned the United States and Canada for each sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait last week, saying they were threatening peace and stability in the region.

China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has mounted repeated air force missions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the past year, provoking anger in Taipei.

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Has Interpol become the long arm of oppressive regimes?

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Once used in the hunt for fugitive criminals, the global police agency’s most-wanted ‘red notice’ list now includes political refugees and dissidents

Flicking through the news one day in early 2015, Alexey Kharis, a California-based businessman and father of two, came across a startling announcement: Russia would request a global call for his arrest through the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol.

“Oh, wow,” Kharis thought, shocked. All the 46-year-old knew about Interpol and its pursuit of the world’s most-wanted criminals was from novels and films. He tried to reassure himself that things would be OK and it was just an intimidatory tactic of the Russian authorities. Surely, he reasoned, the world’s largest police organisation had no reason to launch a hunt for him.

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Slaughter in Indonesia: Britain’s secret propaganda war

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Declassified documents reveal how in 1965 a shadowy dirty tricks arm of the Foreign Office incited anti-communist massacres that left hundreds of thousands dead

In early 1965 Ed Wynne, an official from the Foreign Office in London in his late 40s, arrived at the door of a two-storey villa set in the discreet calm of a genteel housing estate in colonial Singapore.

But Wynne was no ordinary official. A specialist from the Foreign Office’s cold war propaganda arm, the Information Research Department (IRD), he had been assigned to lead a small team. A junior official, four local people and two “IRD ladies”, seconded to the unit from London, would join him.

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Revealed: how UK spies incited mass murder of Indonesia’s communists

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Newly declassified papers show shocking role played by Britain in slaughter

A propaganda campaign orchestrated by Britain played a crucial part in one of the most brutal massacres of the postwar 20th century, shocking new evidence reveals.

British officials secretly deployed black propaganda in the 1960s to urge prominent Indonesians to “cut out” the “communist cancer”.

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Covid ‘vaxathon’: over 2.5% of New Zealanders get jabbed in one day

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Celebrities encourage turnout as response surpasses Jacinda Ardern’s call to administer 100,000 shots

New Zealand’s “Super Saturday” of Covid vaccinations has proved a hit, with more than 2.5% of the population responding to the call to get jabbed on a single day.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, set an ambitious goal of administering 100,000 shots on the day, aiming to push vaccination rates towards her 90% goal.

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South-east Asian states to invite non-political figure in Myanmar to summit

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Exclusion of junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ‘necessary decision to uphold Asean’s credibility’

South-east Asian countries will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar to a regional summit this month, delivering an unprecedented snub to the military leader who led a coup against an elected civilian government in February.

The decision taken by foreign ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), at an emergency meeting on Friday night, marks a rare bold step for the consensus-driven bloc, which has traditionally favoured a policy of engagement and non-interference.

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New Zealand’s weird and wonderful vaccine rollout

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The government is using an array of sweeteners, gimmicks and incentives to raise inoculation rates, including turning a 787 Dreamliner into a vaccination clinic

You can do it in the cabin of a Dreamliner plane. You can do it at a race track. You can even do it in a fast food drive-through queue.

New Zealand’s government is employing a host of increasingly weird and wonderful strategies, gimmicks and sweeteners in a bid to get the last 20% of its eligible population inoculated against Covid-19.

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Microsoft to shut LinkedIn in China amid Beijing tech clampdown

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Company cites ‘challenging operating environment’ in announcing site will be replaced with jobs app without social networking features

Microsoft says it will shut down LinkedIn in China, citing a “challenging operating environment” as Beijing tightens control over tech firms.

The US-based company will replace the career-oriented social network in China with an application dedicated to applying for jobs but without the networking features, according to the senior vice-president of engineering, Mohak Shroff.

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In Samoa we are born into land, climate change threatens to take it away from us

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Everyone in the Pacific has stories of times the climate crisis hit our lives. For me, it is the birth of my daughter between cyclones

My daughter was born between cyclones.

It was January 2013, and as we drove to the hospital, we passed the wreckage left by Cyclone Evan which had devastated my home island weeks earlier. Evan had been the worst tropical cyclone to hit Samoa in over two decades. There were huge holes in the road. Debris where homes once stood.

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Why are there fears China and Taiwan could go to war? – video

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A dramatic rise in the number of aerial sorties over the sea separating the Chinese mainland from Taiwan has served as a reminder that the strait has the potential to be one of the most dangerous places on Earth. A reported 149 incursions in four days by People’s Liberation Army planes into Taiwan's air defence zone have left the de-facto independent island on high alert as it warned that China could be capable of invading by 2025. As global leaders keep a close eye on the worsening relations in the region, Guardian correspondent Helen Davidson explains why and how tensions could escalate into war

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Man given death sentence for ex-wife’s livestream murder that shocked China

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Brutal death of social media star Lhamo has shone spotlight on domestic violence in the country

A Chinese man has been sentenced to death after a court found him guilty of killing his ex-wife while she was livestreaming on social media last year.

The intermediate people’s court of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang ethnic minority autonomous prefecture of Sichuan province said Tang Lu doused 30-year-old Lhamo with petrol and set her alight in September last year.

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Dozens killed as fire engulfs building in southern Taiwan

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Forty-one injured in ‘extremely fierce’ blaze at 13-storey building in city of Kaohsiung

At least 46 people have died and another 41 have been injured in a fire in southern Taiwan that engulfed a building overnight.

The 13-storey building caught fire at about 3am local time (2000 BST) on Thursday, officials in the city of Kaohsiung said. A fire department statement said the blaze was “extremely fierce” and destroyed many floors.

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Defectors tell court they were promised ‘paradise on Earth’ in North Korea

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Five people seeking compensation say they were lured to country and then denied basic human rights

Five people who say they were lured to North Korea decades ago as part of a resettlement programme have told a court in Japan they were promised a “paradise on Earth” but were instead denied basic human rights.

The plaintiffs – four ethnic Korean residents of Japan and a Japanese woman who went to the North with her Korean husband and their daughter – are seeking 100m yen (£644,000) in damages from the regime of Kim Jong-un.

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North Korean leader watches extreme martial arts performance – video

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has watched an extreme martial arts demonstration by soldiers at a military event marking the 76th founding anniversary of its ruling party. In the video aired by the North's state-run television station, KRT, soldiers performed multiple shows of strength: smashing items, breaking free from chains, lying on glass and throwing knives. Kim smiled and clapped as he watched the show at the Defence Development Exhibition 'Self-Defence-2021'. During the exhibition, Kim said his country's weapons development is necessary in the face of the US' hostile policies and a military buildup in South Korea.

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‘We’re ready’: Fiji prepares to welcome tourists almost two years after closing borders

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Fully vaccinated travellers from select countries including New Zealand and Australia will be able to visit from November

Fiji says it is already experiencing a boom in demand after announcing this week that it would open up quarantine-free travel to visitors from select countries, almost two years after closing its borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Our website data is well up – we are seeing a real lift in interest. It is exciting, and we want to encourage people to come and spend Christmas and new year in Fiji,” Tourism Fiji chief executive Brent Hill said.

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New Zealand modelling shows Covid cases could peak at 5,300 a week in Auckland next year

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Plans for how health system would deal with surge revealed as country records 71 new cases

New Zealand is preparing to face up to 5,300 cases of Covid-19 a week in Auckland and the neighbouring region of Northland alone next year, even with a vaccination rate of 90%, according to modelling from the Ministry of Health.

The minister of health, Andrew Little revealed the plan for how the health system could manage a surge in cases after the current vaccination drive, as the country recorded 71 new cases on Thursday.

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‘Last chance’: WHO reveals new team to investigate Covid origins

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A group of 26 experts will also be tasked with examining new pathogens and how to prevent future pandemics

The World Health Organization has unveiled a team of scientists it wants to revive the stalled inquiry into Covid-19’s origins, with one senior official saying it may be the last chance.

The group of 26 experts will be charged with producing a new global framework for studies into the origins of emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential – and their remit includes Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

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Will China’s plan to build more coal plants derail Cop26?

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Analysis: while the short-term consequences are grim, veteran analysts talk of a wobble rather than a fall

China’s decision to build more coal plants is a setback for climate action, but analysts say it could still meet its long-term emission reduction targets and may even have scope to raise its ambition at Cop26 in Glasgow.

In recent days, Beijing has announced a buildup of coal capacity to address the most severe power cuts in a decade, which have caused rolling blackouts in half its provinces.

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Local Covid vaccines fill gap as UN Covax scheme misses target

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India, Egypt and Cuba among first states to develop and make their own vaccines as Covax falls behind

Developing countries are increasingly turning to homegrown Covid vaccinations as the UN-backed Covax programme falls behind.

While western countries roll out booster jabs to their own populations, Covax, which was set up by UN agencies, governments and donors to ensure fair access to Covid-19 vaccines for low- and middle-income countries, has said it will miss its target to distribute 2bn doses globally by the end of this year.

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Back from the brink: how Japan became a surprise Covid success story

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Covid infections fall to lowest levels in more than a year, but experts warn winter could spark a fresh wave

Just days after the Tokyo Olympics drew to a close, Japan appeared to be hurtling towards a coronavirus disaster. On 13 August, the host city reported a record 5,773 new Covid-19 cases, driven by the Delta variant. Nationwide the total exceeded 25,000.

Soaring infections added to resentment felt by a public that had opposed the Olympics, only to be told they could not watch events in person due to the pandemic. Hospitals were under unprecedented strain, the shortage of beds forcing thousands who had tested positive to recuperate – and in some cases die – at home.

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