Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Asian manufacturing boom offers hope for swifter global recovery from Covid

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Markets respond as manufacturing in China and South Korea grows at fastest pace in a decade

Hopes that the world will bounce back from the ravages of coronavirus in the new year have been buoyed by strong growth in output from Asia’s huge manufacturing centres, led by an accelerating post-pandemic boom in China.

China’s factory activity expanded at the fastest pace in a decade in November, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday, in the latest sign that the world’s second-largest economy is recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

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‘Stealing our culture’: South Koreans upset after China claims kimchi as its own

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Agriculture ministry drawn in to row after state media prompts backlash with claims that China leads global kimchi industry

Social media users in China and South Korea are embroiled in another row, this time over the provenance of kimchi, the fermented cabbage dish that most people recognise as an essential part of the Korean diet.

Not, though, in China, where state media have sparked an online backlash after one of the country’s fermented dishes received certification from the International Organisation for Standardisation [ISO].

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Christchurch inquiry: Islamic group says it ‘asked for help’ before attack

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New Zealand security forces should have focused more on threat of rightwing terrorism, royal commission told

New Zealand’s Islamic community has told the Christchurch massacre inquiry that it knew it was “vulnerable” to a terror attack, and that security forces had wrongly focused on terrorism committed by Muslim extremists.

“We asked for help. We knew we were vulnerable to such an attack. We did not know who, when, what, where or how. But we knew,” the Federation of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand said in a submission made public on Monday.

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Cher greets ‘world’s loneliest elephant’ in Cambodia

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US star joined campaign for Kaavan to be moved from Islamabad zoo accused of substandard care

An elephant described as the “world’s loneliest” has landed in Cambodia after a seven-hour flight from Pakistan, receiving a warm welcome from Cher, who will accompany him to a sanctuary housing potential mates.

The case of Kaavan – an overweight, 36-year-old bull elephant – prompted global uproar from animal rights groups, who petitioned for him to be moved from an Islamabad zoo accused of substandard care and conditions.

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Australian PM demands China apologise for ‘repugnant’ tweet with fake image of soldier

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Scott Morrison says China should be ‘totally ashamed’ of digitally altered image depicting Australian soldier posted by foreign ministry

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has demanded the Chinese government apologise and take down a “repugnant” foreign ministry tweet that depicted an Australian soldier cutting the throat of a civilian in Afghanistan.

As the outrage over the digitally altered image threatened to sink already tense relations between the two countries to a new low, Morrison said on Monday the Chinese government “should be totally ashamed of this post”, which he said diminished Beijing on the world stage.

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Coronavirus live news: Moderna to seek US and EU approval for vaccine; Italy records 672 new Covid-related deaths

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Moderna reports a 100% success rate in preventing severe cases; Italy reports 672 new Covid-related deaths, a rise on Sunday’s figure

Turkey’s daily Covid-19 death toll hit a record high for an eighth consecutive day on Monday, with 188 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

The number of new coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones, over the past 24 hours also reached a record high of 31,219.

The state of Sao Paulo, home to Brazil’s biggest city, has imposed stricter social distancing measures as it wrestles to contain a fresh rise in Covid-19 cases.

Opening hours and capacities for bars, restaurants and shopping malls will be restricted in Brazil’s most populous state which has been the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

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White Island volcano: New Zealand authorities charge 13 parties over disaster

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Ten parties charged under health and safety laws and three charged as directors or individuals over Whakaari explosion which killed 22

New Zealand’s workplace safety watchdog has charged 13 parties as part of its investigation into last December’s White Island/Whakaari volcano eruption. Twenty two people died in the disaster and almost one year on, several survivors are still undergoing treatment for their injuries.

The volcano erupted while 47 people were on the island – including several tour groups and their guides. The victims were from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, China, Britain and Malaysia.

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Exiled bookseller: ‘If they can take Hong Kong back, the next place is Taiwan’

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After fleeing Hong Kong for Taiwan, Lam Wing-kee speaks of the danger the island faces and the ordeal of his detention in China

Lam Wing-kee leans forward in his chair, answering quickly and sharply to issue a warning to the people of his new home, Taiwan. “Be ready now,” he says.

“We should be more alert as citizens, we should get ready,” says the 64-year-old Hongkonger. “If they can take Hong Kong back, the next place, I feel, is Taiwan.”

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Indonesian volcano Mount Ili Lewotolok erupts, closing airport

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No injuries reported but authorities create exclusion zone around the crater

Indonesia’s Mount Ili Lewotolok erupted on Sunday, releasing a column of smoke and ash 2.5 miles (4km) into the sky, triggering a flight warning and the closure of the local airport.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption in a remote part of the south-east Asian archipelago. But authorities raised the volcano’s alert status to its second-highest level as they warned of possible lava flows.

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WTO complaint ‘next step’ in tariff dispute between Australia and China, trade minister says

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Trade conflicts threaten global confidence as world economy struggles to recover from pandemic, Simon Birmingham says

The Australian government is continuing its tough talk against Beijing’s trade impositions with the trade minister, Simon Birmingham, giving the strongest indication yet that Canberra will take its complaints to the World Trade Organization.

China first announced it believed Australian wine was being dumped in China in August and last week the Chinese ministry of commerce announced tariffs on Australian wine products that would double or triple prices making export trade “unviable”.

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Suspected militants kill four Christians in remote Indonesian village

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International rights groups called attack ‘a serious escalation’ against Indonesia’s Christian minority

Police in Indonesia were on Saturday hunting suspected militants accused of killing four people said by rights groups to be Christians, beheading one and burning down their homes.

Ten militants linked to a “terrorist” group beheaded one victim and slit the throats of the others on the island of Sulawesi on Friday, national police spokesman Awi Setiyono quoted a witness as saying.

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‘Piles of cash at home’: Hong Kong leader says US sanctions mean she has no bank account

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Carrie Lam says she is paid in cash and calls US sanctions imposed over security crackdown ‘unjustifiable’

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she keeps “piles of cash” at home because she has no bank account after the United States imposed sanctions on her in response to the crackdown on free speech and political freedoms in the city.

Lam was targeted, along with 14 other senior city officials, in the toughest US action on Hong Kong yet since Beijing imposed the new law on the territory in late June.

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Encrypted apps and false names: new Taiwan book club takes no chances

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Amid Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong, publisher says joining clubs to discuss free speech and democracy has again become an act of resistance

In the early 1950s in Taiwan, 19-year-old Tsai Kun-lin was arrested and jailed after joining a book club. The young man spent more than a decade on Green Island, building the prison that held him as a political enemy of the authoritarian rulers who would hold Taiwan under martial law until 1987.

Decades later, a 90-year-old Tsai is living in Taiwan’s thriving democracy, but says a book club has once again become an act of resistance.

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Thai protesters flood street with rubber ducks in ‘coup prevention’ drill

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Thousands block major Bangkok junction in continuing protests against government and monarchy

Thousands of democracy activists blocked a major junction in Bangkok for several hours on Friday to rehearse “coup prevention” strategies in the latest round of Thailand’s anti-government protests.

The country has for months been rocked by youth-led protests demanding a new constitution, reform of the untouchable monarchy and for the prime minister, Prayut Chan-O-Cha, to resign.

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New Zealand once led the world on social housing – it should again | Bryce Edwards

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A return to a programme of mass state house building could fix the significant problem for those at the bottom of the market

Billions of dollars are currently being transferred to wealthy New Zealanders in the government’s attempts to stimulate the economy. The Reserve Bank has essentially committed to printing up to $128bn (US$90bn) of new money, lending much of it as cheap credit to banks, who then lend it to those who can afford to buy more and more houses, and thereby grabbing the capital gains.

The result is rocketing house prices, making accommodation unaffordable, especially for those seeking to buy a first home or rent accommodation. In fact, this week New Zealand was named as the seventh most expensive place in the world to buy a house.

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Taiwan politicians throw pig guts at each other in row over US meat imports

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Opposition party’s ‘disgusting’ offal protest prompts scuffle in Taipei legislative yuan

Parliamentarians in Taiwan have thrown pig guts at each other before coming to blows over plans to allow US meat imports.

Members of the opposition Chinese nationalist party (KMT) brought the offal to the legislative yuan on Friday in the latest of daily protests during parliamentary sittings.

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Will everyone in the world have access to a Covid vaccine? – video explainer

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The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine is showing promise but it is premature to say the end of the pandemic is nigh. Several rich countries have signed a 'frenzy of deals' that could prevent many poor nations from getting access to immunisation until at least 2024. Also, many drug firms are potentially refusing to waive patents and other intellectual property rights in order to secure exclusive rights to any cure.

Michael Safi, the Guardian's international correspondent, explains why 'vaccine nationalisation' could scupper global efforts to kill the virus and examines what is being done to tackle the issue

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Xi Jinping calls to congratulate Joe Biden on election win

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Chinese president told future counterpart he hoped two countries would ‘uphold sprit of non-conflict, focus on cooperation’

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has congratulated Joe Biden on winning the US election, leaving just a handful of world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who have not recognised Biden’s win.

Chinese state media said that in a phone call Xi told Biden he hoped the two countries would “uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, [to] focus on cooperation, manage differences, advance the healthy and stable development of China-US ties, and join hands with other countries and the international community to promote the noble cause of world peace and development”.

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Coronavirus live news: virus spread in France showing signs of slowing; fears Africa may be at back of vaccine queue

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Daily cases continue to fall in France; health campaigners fear Africa will have to wait until mid-2021 for vaccine; weddings banned and cafes closed in Croatia

The head of British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca said further research was needed on its Covid-19 vaccine after questions emerged over the protection it offers, but the additional testing is unlikely to affect regulatory approval in Europe.

AstraZeneca and its partner, the University of Oxford, announced on Monday that it was seeking regulatory approval for the vaccine after it showed an average 70% effectiveness.

Related: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine results face growing scrutiny

Spain’s capital Madrid turned on its Christmas lights on Thursday, spending more than last year to illuminate 30 additional streets and squares despite a sharp economic downturn driven by the coronavirus pandemic.

Banners of LED lights in the red and yellow of the Spanish flag appeared in parts of the city, including stretches of over a kilometre alongside the central boulevard that runs past the world-famous Prado museum.

Así ha encendido Madrid la Navidad

#MD964
DIRECTO https://t.co/Cnw7Ol5lQX@MadridDirecto pic.twitter.com/LkccoTnpkx

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