Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Cambodia calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ with Thailand as deadly clashes enter a third day

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Thousands of people have been evacuated from either side of the border, while fighting has left at least 32 people dead

Cambodia wants an “immediate ceasefire” with Thailand, the country’s envoy to the United Nations has said, with Bangkok also signalling an openness to talks after two days of deadly clashes that have left 32 dead and thousands displaced.

“Cambodia asked for an immediate ceasefire – unconditionally – and we also call for the peaceful solution of the dispute,” said UN ambassador Chhea Keo, after a closed meeting of the Council attended by Cambodia and Thailand.

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Thailand-Cambodia border dispute: 130,000 Thai civilians evacuated amid second day of clashes

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Thailand PM warns cross-border clashes ‘could develop into war’ as fighting spreads to 12 locations

Thailand has evacuated more than 130,000 people along the Cambodian border, it said on Friday, as the country’s leader warned cross-border clashes could develop into war.

Clashes that began on Thursday resumed early on Friday, the Thai military reported, as the two countries fought in their bloodiest military clashes in over a decade.

Fighting had taken place in 12 locations along the disputed border, a Thai military official – an expansion of the conflict that erupted a day earlier.

“This present incident of aggression is escalating and could develop to the stage of war,” Thailand’s acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai told reporters in Bangkok. “However, right now we are still at altercation level, battling with heavy weapons. What we have done so far are to protect our land and sovereignty of our nation.”

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‘Japanese First’: breakthrough by rightwing populists sparks fears of anti-foreigner backlash in Japan

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Analysts say the Japanese are suffering a crisis of confidence that is feeding xenophobia amid economic insecurity and a record number of foreign residents

The emergence of a rightwing populist party in Japan’s upper house election on Sunday running on a Trump-style “Japanese First” slogan has raised concerns of a backlash against the growing foreign presence in the country.

The party, Sanseito, has successfully tapped into unease around an expanding immigrant population and a huge influx of tourists after the pandemic. But many see the underlying cause as economic insecurity among a population that both understands the need for overseas labour and visitors, and feels anxiety at the changes they bring and symbolise.

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Australian tourist found dead in Thai hotel room was on phone when he died, police say

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The 21-year-old was discovered by housekeeping staff on holiday island Phuket

An Australian tourist has been found dead in a Thai hotel room, one day before his flight home.

The 21-year-old was discovered by housekeeping staff at a hotel on holiday island Phuket on Wednesday.

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Australia warned it could face legal action over ‘wrongful’ fossil fuel actions after landmark climate ruling from world’s top court

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Vanuatu climate change minister says ICJ opinion gives Pacific island nations ‘much greater leverage’ in dealing with partners such as Australia

Australia could face international legal action over its fossil fuel production and failure to rapidly cut emissions, Vanuatu’s climate minister says, after a potentially watershed declaration by the world’s top court.

An International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion published in The Hague on Wednesday found countries had a legal obligation to take measures to prevent climate change and aim to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels, and that high-emitting countries that failed to act could be liable to pay restitution to low-emitting countries.

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Scott Morrison tells US Australia risks going to sleep on China threat after diplomatic ‘charm and flattery’

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Former prime minister warns US House of Representatives committee Australia must do more to resist the security threat posed by China

The Chinese Communist party hopes Western democracies “go to sleep on the threat” it poses to the international order, former prime minister Scott Morrison has told a congressional committee in the US.

In a forthright appearance before the hawkish US House of Representatives select committee on the strategic competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist party, Morrison said China had changed diplomatic tack after he lost the 2022 election to Anthony Albanese.

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Thailand recalls Cambodia ambassador after landmine injures soldier on border

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Thai foreign ministry says landmines along disputed border newly deployed as it downgrades diplomatic relations

Thailand has recalled its ambassador to Cambodia and will expel Cambodia’s ambassador, the ruling Pheu Thai party said on Wednesday after a landmine incident that injured a Thai soldier along the disputed border between the two countries.

The Thai foreign ministry has lodged a formal protest with Cambodia, saying the landmines found in the area were newly deployed and had not been encountered during previous patrols, the party said on social media.

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Chinese officials warn women comedians that men are no laughing matter

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The warning comes after a string of shows by women comedians joking about men went viral

Chinese provincial officials have warned comedians against stirring up discord between the genders, instructing them to criticise constructively rather than “for the sake of being funny”.

The warning came from authorities in eastern Zhejiang province on WeChat over the weekend after a comedian referred to her allegedly abusive marriage in a performance that went viral on Chinese social media.

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Trump announces Japan trade deal as doubt cast over future of PM Ishiba

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Tokyo’s failure to secure a US deal sooner had caused political unease and economic uncertainty in Japan

Donald Trump has announced a trade deal with Japan, potentially resolving weeks of fraught negotiations between the two allies which had caused economic uncertainty in Tokyo and mounting speculation about the future of the prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba.

“We just completed a massive deal with Japan,” the US president announced in a post online, adding: “Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 billion dollars into the United States.”

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Arrests in China after more than 230 kindergarten children poisoned by lead paint in food

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Principal at school in Gansu province reportedly wanted to attract more enrolments by ‘enhancing’ the colour and look of the food served to children

Chinese authorities have arrested six people and launched disciplinary investigations into almost 30 others after more than 230 kindergarten children were poisoned by food coloured with industrial-grade lead paint

The incident, which occurred in Gansu province earlier this month, is one of China’s worst school food safety incidents and has drawn national attention. An investigative report released by the Gansu provincial party committee on Sunday found a litany of failures in safety and oversight, as well as attempts to cover up the incident, bribe people in charge and modify test results.

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China starts building world’s biggest hydropower dam

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1.2tn yuan project has broken ground in Tibet, premier says, despite fears of downstream nations India and Bangladesh

Construction of the world’s biggest hydropower megadam has begun, China’s premier has said, calling it the “project of the century”.

The huge structure is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, in Tibetan territory.

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Japan’s PM accepts ‘harsh’ election result after losing upper house majority

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Ballot heaps pressure on Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government just as it attempts to negotiate deal to avert Trump tariffs

Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future was unclear on Monday after his coalition lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a rightwing populist party.

While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba’s minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader, who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October and who has never been popular within his own party.

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Typhoon Wipha hits Hong Kong bringing on highest storm alert

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Authorities axe flights and school classes as typhoon closes in, with China’s Hainan and Guangdong provinces also on high alert

Hong Kong issued its highest tropical cyclone warning as Typhoon Wipha battered the city, with authorities cancelling school classes and grounding hundreds of flights.

Wipha was located around 60km south-east of Hong Kong as of 10am on Sunday, according to the city’s weather observatory. Huge waves were spotted off the eastern coast of Hong Kong Island.

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At least 38 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Ha Long Bay in Vietnam

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Rescue workers save 12 people with seven still missing after vessel overturns during sudden thunderstorm

A tourist boat capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon, killing 38 people and leaving seven others missing.

The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members on a sightseeing the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, state media reported.

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Death toll from South Korean rains rises to 17

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Eleven people still unaccounted for after record downpours sweep north across country, triggering landslides

Heavy rain in South Korea has killed at least 17 people with 11 others unaccounted for in the intense downpours.

Close to 170mm (6.7in) of rain hit the resort town of Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, 40 miles east of Seoul, early on Sunday. A landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles.

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Death toll grows from torrential rains in South Korea with thousands unable to return home

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Four people have died and two are missing after four days of heavy rain as authorities warn of landslides and flooding

Torrential rains that lashed South Korea for a fourth day on Saturday kept nearly 3,000 people from returning to their homes, as the death toll reached four people.

Rain is forecast to last until Monday in some areas, as officials urged extreme caution against the risk of landslides and flooding, with warnings issued across most of the country.

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Risk of undersea cable attacks backed by Russia and China likely to rise, report warns

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Spate of incidents in Baltic Sea and around Taiwan are harbinger for further disruptive activity, cybersecurity firm says

The risk of Russia- and China-backed attacks on undersea cables carrying international internet traffic is likely to rise amid a spate of incidents in the Baltic Sea and around Taiwan, according to a report.

Submarine cables account for 99% of the world’s intercontinental data traffic and have been affected by incidents with suspected state support over the past 18 months.

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Restaurant in China criticised for putting baby lion cuddles on menu

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Diners jump at chance to snuggle with cubs but wildlife experts accuse firm of ‘exploiting wild animals for selfies’

A restaurant in northern China has been criticised by animal welfare groups for offering an unusual item on the menu: lion cub cuddles.

According to a screenshot of a menu circulating on social media, Wanhui – a restaurant in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province – has a four-course set afternoon menu costing 1,192 yuan ($166/£124) that includes playtime with the in-house animals.

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Oxford University Press to stop publishing China-sponsored science journal

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Move follows concerns several papers in Forensic Sciences Research did not meet ethical standards on DNA collection

Oxford University Press (OUP) will no longer publish a controversial academic journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Justice after years of concerns that several papers in the publication did not meet ethical standards about DNA collection.

A statement published on the website of Forensic Sciences Research (FSR) states that OUP will stop publishing the quarterly journal after this year.

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Hunter missing in Japan as spate of bear attacks triggers emergency to be declared in northern town

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Search for missing man comes after series of attacks across Japan this month in which at least two people have died

Authorities in Japan are searching for a hunter who went missing on a mountain in Hokkaido near where a brown bear was recently spotted, amid a spate of deadly attacks by the animals that has triggered the declaration of a bear emergency in one town.

The hunter was reported missing by a friend on Mt Esan on Tuesday afternoon in the northern island of Hokkaido after he failed to return home. A rifle believed to belong to the missing man was found on the side of a mountain road, and bloodstains were discovered nearby. A large brown bear was seen near the road on Saturday.

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