Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Suspect in deaths of Australians at Philippines resort is former pool cleaner allegedly sacked by hotel

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The bodies of Sydney man David Fisk, his partner Lucita Cortez and a relative of Cortez were found tied up in a hotel resort south of Manila

The suspect in the killings of two Australians and their Filipina companion at a hotel in a popular resort city south of Manila was a former pool cleaner who allegedly wanted to retaliate against the hotel for firing him.

The suspect claimed that he randomly barged into the victims’ room last week because its window was open, Philippine officials said on Wednesday.

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Chinese business tycoon convicted of defrauding followers in $1bn scheme

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Guo Wengui, who gained fans for criticizing Communist party in China, found guilty in US of nine criminal counts

Guo Wengui, a self-exiled Chinese business tycoon whose criticism of the Communist party won him legions of online followers and powerful friends in the American conservative movement, was convicted by a US jury on Tuesday of engaging in an enormous multi-year fraud that ripped off some of his most devoted fans.

Once believed to be among the richest people in China, Guo was arrested in New York in March 2023 and accused of operating a racketeering enterprise that stretched from 2018 through 2023.

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Six people found dead in Bangkok luxury hotel in suspected poisoning

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Bodies of three men and three women, two of whom were US citizens, discovered in locked suite at Grand Hyatt Erawan

Six people have been found dead at a luxury hotel in central Bangkok, in what authorities say could be a case of poisoning.

The bodies of three women and three men were found inside a hotel suite on the fifth floor of the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel by a hotel worker late on Tuesday afternoon.

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North Korea diplomat flees to South in highest ranking envoy defection since 2016

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Ri Il-kyu was responsible for political affairs at Pyongyang’s embassy in Cuba, the Chosun Ilbo daily has reported

A senior North Korean diplomat based in Cuba defected to South Korea in November, becoming the highest-ranking North Korean diplomat to escape to the South since 2016.

Without giving any further details, South Korea’s spy agency the National Intelligence Service confirmed an earlier report by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, which said that a counsellor responsible for political affairs at the North Korean embassy in Cuba had defected.

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Parts of Tonga without internet after cables damaged and Starlink ordered to cease operations

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The island networks of Vava’u and Haʻapai were cut more than two weeks ago following damage to the undersea cable

Parts of Tonga have been without internet for more than two weeks after an undersea cable was damaged in an earthquake, leaving a third of the country’s population in the dark and causing chaos for local businesses.

The crisis has been further compounded after the government ordered the Starlink internet satellite company to cease operations in Tonga until it was granted a licence.

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China’s emissions of two potent greenhouse gases rise 78% in decade

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Figure represents 64-66% of global output of tetrafluoromethane and hexafluoroethane, MIT study finds

Emissions of two of the most potent greenhouse gases have substantially increased in China over the last decade, a study has found.

Perfluorocarbons are used in the manufacturing processes for flat-panel TVs and semiconductors, or as by-products from aluminium smelting. They are far more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO2, and can persist in the Earth’s atmosphere for thousands of years, unlike CO2 which can persist for up to 200 years.

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China’s economy growing slower than expected as leaders meet for third plenum

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The world’s second-largest economy is grappling with a real estate debt crisis, weakening consumption, an ageing population and geopolitical tensions

China’s economy slowed more than expected in the June quarter, increasing the likelihood that a gathering of top officials in Beijing this week will unveil efforts to rekindle growth.

The world’s second-largest economy expanded by 4.7% in the April-June period from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. That result was down from 5.3% growth in the March quarter and the 5.1% rate economists had predicted.

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App that tracked fuel tankers in China used to transport cooking oil is disabled

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App reportedly received a surge in queries this week after newspaper exposed food safety scandal

An app that allows users to track trucks across China has been disabled after a scandal in which reporters discovered that tankers used to transport fuel were also being used to transport cooking oil, without proper cleaning in between.

On Thursday, Chinese media reported that the tracking function on Shipping Help, an app used to track cargos, had been disabled. The app displayed a message saying the service was being “upgraded” and was therefore “temporarily unavailable”.

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China posts record trade surplus as foreign importers rush to beat tariffs

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The $99bn figure comes as data shows exports growing at fastest rate in 15 months while imports fell

China posted a record $99bn (£76.4bn) trade surplus last month amid signs of importers bringing forward orders to beat higher tariffs on goods from the world’s second biggest economy.

The latest official figures from Beijing showed exports growing at their fastest rate in 15 months, while the weakness of China’s domestic economy resulted in falling imports.

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Confrontations in South China Sea surge, raising fears a miscalculation could lead to conflict

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Vessels have been rammed, punctured with knives, damaged by water cannon and targeted by military-grade lasers. Now the Philippines’ US ambassador has warned the aggression must be reduced to avoid conflict

Reports of aggressive and dangerous conduct by Chinese vessels in the fiercely contested South China Sea have surged over the past 17 months, as tensions mount in one of Asia’s biggest flashpoints.

Since February 2023, the Philippines has accused China of unsafe behaviour on at least 12 occasions, often within the water of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to Philippine government data compiled by the thinktank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), which tracks incidents as part of its regional Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment.

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Family wants answers after ‘horrific’ deaths of Australian couple and relative in Philippine hotel

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Sydney man David Fisk, his Philippine-born partner Lucita Cortez and her relative discovered with hands and feet tied at Lake Hotel in Tagaytay

The family of two Australians found dead at a luxury hotel in the Philippines alongside a Filipina relative say they are praying “for answers and the truth in this horrific matter”.

The bodies were discovered with their hands and feet tied in a room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay, a resort city south of the nation’s capital.

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Chinese warships spotted off Alaska coast, US Coast Guard says

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Four Chinese vessels were ‘transiting in international waters but still inside the US exclusive economic zone’

Multiple Chinese military warships were spotted off the coast of Alaska over the weekend, the US Coast Guard announced.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Coast Guard said that it detected three vessels approximately 124 miles (200km) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, as well as another vessel approximately 84 miles (135km) north of the Amukta Pass, a strait between the Bering Sea and the north Pacific Ocean.

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Outrage in China over use of unwashed fuel tankers to transport cooking oil

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Food safety scandal exposed by state-run newspaper has implicated several major Chinese firms

A food safety scandal has caused mounting public outrage in China days before a high-level Chinese Communist party meeting at which leaders will try to boost confidence in the economy.

Last week the state-run newspaper Beijing News published an in-depth exposé on the “open secret” of fuel tankers being used to transport cooking oil, without the tankers being washed or disinfected in between.

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China a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia’s war in Ukraine, says Nato

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Communique highlights concerns over Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and space capabilities

Nato leaders have labelled China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and called its deepening ties with Moscow a cause of “deep concern”, in what has been seen as the most serious rebuke against Beijing from the alliance.

The final communique, approved by the 32 Nato members at the summit in Washington, also highlights concerns about Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.

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Fiji wrestles with need for outside help on security, at risk to its own sovereignty

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Pacific country must ‘maintain independence’ in security partnerships, military commander warns, amid spread of deals struck with other countries

Leading military, police and political figures in Fiji have raised concerns about striking deals with other countries such as China to boost security and policing, saying it could pose a risk to sovereignty.

Analysis by the Guardian found that Fiji has at least 12 significant agreements with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Most of the pacts and initiatives are with Australia, followed by New Zealand, the US and China. Fiji has struck or renewed policing and defence deals with Australia, New Zealand and the US in the past five years. Earlier this year, it opted to stick with a controversial China policing deal after a review.

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Man in China caught smuggling 100 live snakes in his trousers

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Traveller stopped by customs as he sought to slip out of Hong Kong into the border city of Shenzhen

A man has been caught trying to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China by cramming them into his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority.

The unnamed traveller was stopped by customs officers as he sought to slip out of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and into the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Samsung Electronics workers to extend strike indefinitely

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Campaign for better pay and benefits stepped up, says union representing about 30,000 staff in South Korea

Thousands of workers in South Korea have pledged to extend indefinitely the first strike at Samsung Electronics, ramping up a campaign for better pay and benefits at one of the world’s largest smartphone and AI chip makers.

A union representing about 30,000 staff – about a quarter of its employees in South Korea – said members were extending industrial action that was originally meant to last only three days, after management failed to give any indication that it would hold talks with them.

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Japan adds ‘most severe’ category to its heatstroke index amid deadly summer

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Hospitals are stretched to their limits during unseasonably early heatwave, as medical authorities liken public health risk to a ‘natural disaster’

Medical experts in Japan are to add a “most severe” category to the current heatstroke index, amid warnings that the extreme heat is straining medical services and causing damage to public health comparable to that in a “natural disaster”.

The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine said it would add a fourth category to the three-level classification later this year in an attempt to reduce deaths from heatstroke.

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New Zealand’s sea temperatures hit record highs, outstripping global averages

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Experts say the new figures dispel the notion that the country is protected from extreme temperatures and raise fears for local marine life

New Zealand’s sea temperatures have hit record highs, outstripping global averages threefold in one region, and prompting alarm over the health of the country’s marine life and ecosystems.

New data from Stats NZ shows since 1982, oceanic sea-surface temperatures have increased on average between 0.16 – 0.26C a decade, and between 0.19–0.34C a decade, in coastal waters.

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Mapped: the vast network of security deals spanning the Pacific, and what it means

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Guardian analysis shows web of agreements between Pacific countries and Australia, US and China, as experts raise concerns over rising militarisation

As competition for influence in the Pacific region intensifies, analysis by the Guardian has mapped a vast network of security, policing and defence agreements between the island countries and foreign partners – leading to concerns about militarisation of the region.

The Guardian examined agreements and partnerships covering security, defence and policing with the 10 largest Pacific countries by population. Australia remains the dominant partner in the region – accounting for more than half the deals identified – followed by New Zealand, the US and China.

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