Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Apple’s shock profit warning sends Wall Street shares sliding

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Firms with exposure to China hit over fears the Silicon Valley giant’s slowdown could spread

Apple’s shock downgrade has sent shares in European and US-listed companies with exposure to China – from Burberry and the Gucci owner, Kering, to chipmakers and miners – tumbling over fears the slowdown that has hit the Silicon Valley giant is set to spread.

In New York the Dow Industrial Average fell over 2% in morning trading and all the major markets suffered sharp losses as investors reacted to the Apple news, reports of a slowdown in US factory activity and an ongoing government shutdown over the funding of Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.

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‘What is the sea telling us?’: Māori tribes fearful over whale strandings | Eleanor Ainge Roy

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New Zealand’s whale whisperers worry that manmade changes in the ocean are behind the spike in beachings

Whale whisperer Hori Parata was just seven years old when he attended his first mass stranding, a beaching of porpoises in New Zealand’s Northland, their cries screeching through the air on the deserted stretch of sand.

Seven decades later, Parata, 75, has now overseen more than 500 strandings and is renowned in New Zealand as the leading Māori whale expert, called on by tribes around the country for cultural guidance as marine strandings become increasingly complex and fatal.

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US markets start 2019 with a whimper as Trump blames ‘glitch’ for 2018 losses

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Trump claims ‘We’re the talk of the world’ as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdown

After their worst year in close to a decade US stocks started the new year with a more than 1% decline on Wednesday before inching their way back into the black as Donald Trump blamed a “glitch” for last year’s losses.

Markets wobbled between gains and losses all day on Wednesday as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdown while the US government shutdown dragged on.

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Chinese spacecraft to become first to land on far side of moon

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Chang’e 4 will explore giant crater, possibly offering more clues as to moon’s formation

A Chinese spacecraft could become the first ever to land on the “far side” of the moon tomorrow, in a milestone for human space exploration. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is aiming to land the craft in the unexplored South Pole-Aitken basin, the largest, oldest, deepest, crater on the moon’s surface.

The robotic probe, Chang’e 4, entered an elliptical path around the moon last weekend, drawing as close as 15km (9 miles) from the surface. China’s mission control has not confirmed a time for the touchdown attempt but reports in state-run media suggested it would be early Thursday morning UK time.

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‘It’s a very big torture’: the children growing up in hiding in Dubai | Katie McQue

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With sex outside marriage punishable by jail, migrant workers who become pregnant are often forced to keep their babies locked away

A sweltering, windowless room in an old district of Dubai, no more than 5 metres by 3 metres in size, is home to nine people from the Philippines. Eight are adults, working long hours in low-paid jobs so they can send money home to their families. The ninth is a six-year-old boy.

His name is Jerry and he shares a tiny bed with his mother, Neng. Jerry loves dancing, Peppa Pig and doughnuts. This small dark room is the only home he has known, as he’s spent his life in hiding as a stateless child. Growing up without a birth certificate or any other identification means he has no access to education and has never visited a doctor. Officially, this little boy does not exist.

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Japanese emperor makes last new year appearance before abdication

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More than 90,000 people gather in Tokyo to see Emperor Akihito and family

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Tokyo for Emperor Akihito’s final new year appearance of his reign months before he abdicates.

“I am truly happy to celebrate the new year with all of you under such cloudless skies,” he told the crowd from a balcony at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday.

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Vietnam criticised for ‘totalitarian’ law banning online criticism of government

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Law forces internet providers to censor content deemed ‘toxic’ by the ruling communist government and hand over user data

Vietnam has introduced a new cybersecurity law, which criminalises criticising the government online and forces internet providers to give authorities’ user data when requested, sparking claims of a “totalitarian” crackdown on dissent.

The law, which mirrors China’s draconian internet rules, came into effect on 1 January and forces internet providers to censor content deemed “toxic” by the ruling communist government. Vietnam’s ministry of public security said it will tackle “hostile and reactionary forces”, but human rights groups said it was authorities’ latest method of silencing free speech.

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‘All necessary means’: Xi Jinping reserves right to use force against Taiwan

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Chinese leader calls for reunification and says independence would be a ‘disaster’

Taiwan independence would lead to “disaster”, Chinese president Xi Jinping has said, pledging efforts for peaceful “reunification” with the self-ruled island but warning China would not renounce the use of force.

Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 40th anniversary of a key Taiwan policy statement, Xi said reunification must come under a one-China principle that accepts Taiwan as part of China, anathema to supporters of Taiwan independence.

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Terrawatch: landslide tsunami lessons from Anak Krakatau

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Tsunami warning systems are in place around Indonesia, but they are tailored to earthquake tsunamis

Just over a week ago, the Indonesian volcano Anak Krakatau blew its top, losing about two-thirds of its height.

Most of this 150m cubic metres of rock is thought to have slid into the sea in one go, generating a tsunami that killed more than 400 people. Tsunami warning systems are in place around Indonesia, but they are tailored to earthquake tsunamis, triggering only if an earthquake and large wave are detected.

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