Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Bird flu outbreak kills dozens of tigers in Vietnam zoos

Posted on by

The H5N1 virus killed 47 tigers, three lions and a panther at the My Quynh safari park and the Vuon Xoai zoo, according to state media

Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media reported.

The deaths occurred in August and September at the private My Quynh safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near the capital Ho Chi Minh City, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

North Korean defector crashes stolen bus in failed bid to return home

Posted on by

Defectors seeking to cross back into North Korea from the South are rare, though many struggle to adapt to life in their democratic, capitalist neighbour

A North Korean defector living in South Korea has been detained after ramming a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarised border, in a failed attempt to return to his isolated homeland.

The man – who fled to the South in 2011 – ignored warnings from soldiers to stop while attempting on Tuesday to drive through the Tongil Bridge in Paju, just south of the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, according to media reports citing South Korean provincial police.

Continue reading...

Typhoon Krathon: one person killed and two missing in Taiwan

Posted on by

Seventy reported injured as schools, offices and financial markets shut and people urged to stay at home

One person has been killed, two are missing and 70 injured in bad weather from a typhoon approaching Taiwan, which grounded flights and closed all schools, offices and financial markets for Wednesday and Thursday.

Typhoon Krathon reached super typhoon status in recent days but movement stalled overnight and its intensity has weakened as it moves slowly towards Taiwan’s south-west. Authorities warned the threat of strong winds and storm surges remained for coastal and low-lying communities on the densely populated west coast, and the mountainous areas remained at high risk of landslides and torrential rain.

Continue reading...

Buried US second world war bomb explodes at Japanese airport

Posted on by

Unexpected blast at Miyazaki airport makes crater in taxiway and leads to grounding of 80 flights but no injuries

A US bomb from the second world war that had been buried at a Japanese airport has exploded, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said.

Land and transport ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki airport in south-western Japan on Wednesday.

Continue reading...

Former Nintendo factory in Kyoto opens as nostalgia-fuelled gaming museum

Posted on by

Museum features consoles from 1983’s Famicom to 2017’s Switch, as well as honouring Nintendo’s pre-video-game era

Traditionally, visitors to Kyoto in October come for momijigari, the turning of the autumn leaves in the city’s picturesque parks. This autumn, however, there is a new draw: a Nintendo museum.

The new attraction, which opens on Wednesday, is best described as a chapel of video game nostalgia. Upstairs, Nintendo’s many video game consoles, from 1983’s Famicom through 1996’s Nintendo 64 to 2017’s Switch, are displayed reverently alongside their most famous games. On the back wall, visitors can also peer at toys, playing cards and other artefacts from the Japanese company’s pre-video-game history, stretching back to its founding as a hanafuda playing card manufacturer in 1889. Downstairs, there are interactive exhibits with comically gigantic controllers and floor-projected playing cards.

Continue reading...

New Caledonia election postponed for a year by France’s new prime minister

Posted on by

The French Pacific territory has been hit by violent unrest between communities loyal to Paris and pro-independence Indigenous Kanaks

France’s new prime minister, Michel Barnier, has announced that a provincial election scheduled for December in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia has been postponed for a year.

During his inaugural address to parliament on Tuesday, Barnier also said a controversial bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron to amend the constitution to change voting lists in the territory would not be forwarded to a joint meeting of parliament for ratification. The territory’s Indigenous Kanak people fear changes to the voting registry would favour recent arrivals to the Pacific archipelago.

Continue reading...

Many children feared dead after fire on school bus in Thailand

Posted on by

Double-decker coach carrying 38 children and teachers reportedly caught fire after crashing with burst tyre

More than 20 people, including young children, are feared dead after their school coach caught fire during a field trip on the outskirts of the Thai capital, Bangkok.

The double-decker coach, which was carrying 38 students and six teachers, is reported to have caught fire after a burst tyre caused the vehicle to scrape along a metal crash barrier, creating sparks that ignited the petrol tank.

Continue reading...

Seoul crowd crush police sent to jail for deadly failings in Itaewon disaster

Posted on by

South Korean court hands out three jail terms, one of them suspended, to officers for professional negligence after 159 mostly young people died

A South Korean court has given three police officers prison sentences over their handling of a 2022 Halloween crush in a Seoul nightlife district that killed 159 people.

The convictions on Monday are the first over the failure by authorities to prevent or adequately respond to the overcrowding that occurred in the popular Itaewon district. No top-level officials have been charged or held accountable, prompting criticism from bereaved families and opposition politicians.

Continue reading...

British judge Nicholas Phillips steps down from Hong Kong court

Posted on by

Phillips, who the court of final appeal said was stepping down for ‘personal reasons’, is fifth foreign judge to leave city’s judiciary this year

The British judge Nicholas Phillips has stepped down from Hong Kong’s top appeals court, the fifth overseas judge to leave the city’s judiciary this year.

Phillips, 86, is leaving Hong Kong’s court of final appeal (CFA) after 22 years for “personal reasons” after his fourth term ended on Monday and he said he did not wish to extend it, the court said.

Continue reading...

Japan’s incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba to call snap election – reports

Posted on by

The 67-year-old will seek an early public mandate after seeing off a rightwing challenge to become the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic party

Japan’s incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba is poised to call a snap election for the end of the month, according to media reports, days after he promised to lift his party’s dwindling fortunes and “put a smile” back on the faces of the public.

Ishiba, a moderate who saw off a rightwing challenge on Friday to become the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP), will be approved as prime minister in parliament on Tuesday and appoint his cabinet later the same day.

Continue reading...

New Zealand reclaims world record for largest mass haka

Posted on by

More than 6,000 people perform Māori dance at Eden Park rugby stadium in Auckland, to break France’s record

New Zealand has reclaimed the world record for the largest mass haka after more than 6,000 people performed the Māori dance, dethroning France.

The record was broken in deafening fashion at Eden Park rugby stadium in Auckland, where thousands of men, women and children combined on the pitch to complete the traditional dance involving vigorous movements, stamping feet and rhythmic shouting.

Continue reading...

Promise of ‘glass skin’ drives surge in sales of K-beauty products in UK

Posted on by

South Korean skincare brands expected to follow country’s music, film and TV exports in becoming blockbusters

We’ve had South Korean pop, film, fashion and food, and now the latest trend is K-beauty, with sales of Korean skincare brands taking off in the UK as consumers are seduced by products that promise to conjure a radiant complexion.

Britons are cutting back in other areas, but they are still chasing what the beauty industry describes as the “glass skin” look, with retailers reporting a rise in spending on high-end skincare.

Continue reading...

Who is Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba?

Posted on by

Moderate faces challenges over cost-of-living crisis, public trust and threats to regional stability from China and North Korea

Shigeru Ishiba’s determination to lead Japan has never been in question, and now the veteran MP is poised to achieve that goal at the fifth time of asking after winning the race to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) on Friday.

The 67-year-old will be installed as Japan’s new prime minister on Tuesday by the LDP-controlled parliament.

Continue reading...

Japan’s ruling party picks Shigeru Ishiba to become next PM

Posted on by

Former defence chief elected leader of Liberal Democrats and vows to end ‘widespread distrust’ in party

Shigeru Ishiba, a veteran moderate, will next week be installed as Japan’s prime minister after he was elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party (LDP).

The 67-year-old, a former defence minister, beat his rightwing rival Sanae Takaichi, who was attempting to become the country’s first female prime minister, by 215 votes to 194 in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.

Continue reading...

Kokoda track shut indefinitely after PNG landowners demand payments

Posted on by

Mount Kodu landowners petition prime minister to pay outstanding commitment the government made to them to preserve the track

The historic Kokoda track has been closed indefinitely as local landowners demand outstanding payments from the Papua New Guinea government.

Earlier in the month, Australians walking the 138km Kokoda track had treks cancelled while others were stalled for long periods as protests by landowners closed sections of the trail.

Continue reading...

China’s newest nuclear submarine sank in dock, US officials confirm

Posted on by

Loss of state-of-the-art vessel in May or June is setback to Chinese push for naval parity with US

China’s efforts to achieve maritime military parity with the US have suffered a serious blow after its newest state-of-the-art nuclear submarine sank in a dock, American officials have confirmed.

The incident happened last May or June at the Wuchang shipyard near Wuhan – the same city where the Covid-19 pandemic is believed to have originated – and came to light, thanks to satellite imagery, despite efforts by the country’s communist authorities to stage a cover-up.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong: Stand News journalists given jail terms for ‘sedition’

Posted on by

Chung Pui-kuen sentenced to 21 months while Patrick Lam gets 11-month term but is released on medical grounds

The former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong’s Stand News has been sentenced to jail on sedition charges for the publication of news reports and other articles that prosecutors said tried to promote “illegal ideologies”.

Chung Pui-kuen, 55, the former editor-in-chief and the former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam, 36, were found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials in late August after almost a year of delays. The parent company of the now-defunct Stand News, Best Pencil Ltd, was also convicted.

Continue reading...

China announces new measures to arrest housing slump and boost growth

Posted on by

Benefits to rise for poorest and local authorities to be given powers to intervene in real estate markets

Chinese leaders have vowed to arrest a slump in the housing market and boost growth after conceding that measures by the central bank to stimulate investment this week were likely to prove inadequate.

Promising to deploy “necessary spending” by the state to meet this year’s economic growth target of 5%, China’s politburo said it would increase benefits for the poorest and give local authorities the cash and power to intervene to prevent further falls in house price values.

Continue reading...

Japanese man who spent 46 years on death row cleared of murders

Posted on by

Iwao Hakamada found not guilty of 1966 murder of his boss and his family after a retrial was ordered a decade ago

A Japanese man who spent almost half a century on death row has been found not guilty of multiple murders, in a closely watched trial that has raised questions about Japan’s use of the death penalty.

Iwao Hakamada, 88, was sentenced to hang in 1968 after being found guilty of murdering his boss, his wife and their two teenage children, and setting fire to their home two years earlier.

Continue reading...

China test launches intercontinental ballistic missile for first time in decades

Posted on by

The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched into ‘high seas’ of the Pacific Ocean

China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s.

The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was carrying a dummy warhead, comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of the country’s nuclear arsenal, and prompted statements of concern from several nations.

Continue reading...