Kim Ki-nam was known as ‘the North Korean Goebbels’ in the South due to his role as head of propaganda department
Kim Ki-nam, the propaganda chief who served all three generations of North Korean leaders and cemented their political legitimacy, has died, official media have said.
Kim Ki-nam died on Tuesday aged 94 from multiple organ failure, official KCNA news agency reported.
Continue reading...Beijing joins France in urging Israel against Rafah offensive in latest effort to make its diplomatic mark
Xi Jinping, sensing a diplomatic opening, is stepping up China’s intervention in the Middle East crisis, issuing a joint statement with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to urge Israel not to go ahead with an offensive in Rafah.
The rare moment of Sino-European synergy is the latest effort by China to make its diplomatic mark in a region in which it has deep economic interests, but more shallow diplomatic moorings.
Continue reading...Foreign ministry says Chinese jet pilot took ‘necessary measures at the scene’ after Australia claimed flares were released in front of helicopter
China’s foreign ministry has accused an Australian navy helicopter of deliberately flying “within close range” of Chinese airspace in a “provocative move” in the latest military altercation between the two nations.
The Australian government said China released flares in front of the helicopter in the Yellow Sea as HMAS Hobart participated in an operation to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea.
Continue reading...Emmanuel Macron and Viktor Orbán among leaders Xi is meeting, with several key issues on the table
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has begun a three-country tour of Europe – his first state visit to the continent in five years – at a time when China-EU ties are under strain from trade disputes and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Continue reading...Chinese premier meets Emmanuel Macron and Ursula von der Leyen for talks, with trade and Ukraine on agenda
The trilateral meeting has kicked off.
Xi Jinping has arrived at the Élysée palace.
Continue reading...Defence minister Richard Marles says protests made to Beijing over ‘unacceptable’ altercation that forced pilot on UN mission to avoid being hit
The federal government has accused a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to an Australian helicopter on a United Nations mission in international waters.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, branded the incident “unacceptable”.
Continue reading...Officials say a landslide hit Luwu regency in South Sulawesi on Friday after torrential rain pounded the area
A flood and a landslide have hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing at least 14 people, according to officials.
The landslide hit Luwu regency in South Sulawesi on Friday just after 1am local time, Abdul Muhari, spokesperson of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), said in a statement.
Continue reading...South Dakota governor says she met North Korean dictator in same book in which she describes killing her dog
The South Dakota governor, Republican vice-presidential hopeful and self-confessed dog-killer Kristi Noem’s bizarre claim in a new book to have met the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has been dismissed by experts as “dubious” and not “conceivable”.
The Dakota Scout first reported Noem’s claim, which is in her forthcoming book, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward.
Continue reading...After a long spell of intense heat and little rain, water levels have fallen to reveal parts of a sunken church, tombstones and foundations at Pantabangan
Ruins of a centuries-old town have emerged at a dam parched by drought in the northern Philippines.
After a prolonged spell of intense heat and little rain, water levels in the dam have fallen to reveal parts of a sunken church, tombstones and the foundations of structures from the 300-year-old town in Nueva Ecija province.
Continue reading...Former NSW premier’s threat to sue comes amid debate about whether New Zealand should join pillar two of Aukus pact
Australia’s former foreign minister and New South Wales premier, Bob Carr, says he intends to sue New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, for allegations made about Carr’s closeness to China as debate about Aukus ramps up.
Peters called Carr “nothing more than a Chinese puppet” on the national broadcaster RNZ on Thursday morning.
Continue reading...Move seen as continuation of Pacific country’s policy of growing closer to Beijing
Solomon Islands lawmakers have elected as their new prime minister Jeremiah Manele, a former foreign minister who has pledged to continue the Pacific country’s policy of embracing China.
Manele said outside parliament on Thursday “the people have spoken” and called for calm.
Continue reading...Freedom to Write index says there are 107 people in prison for published content in China, with many accused of ‘picking quarrels’
The number of writers jailed in China has surpassed 100, with nearly half imprisoned for online expression.
The grim milestone is revealed in the 2023 Freedom to Write index, a report compiled by Pen America, published on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Ships evacuating 12,000 islanders over fears that side of Mount Ruang might slide into sea and cause tsunami
Eruptions at a remote Indonesian volcano have forced more than half a dozen airports to close with ash spreading as far as Malaysia, according to officials, while authorities rushed to evacuate thousands due to tsunami fears.
Mount Ruang erupted three times on Tuesday, spewing lava and ash more than 5km (three miles) into the sky and forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for 12,000 people.
Continue reading...Zhang Yongzhen stages sit-in protest, as government attempts to avoid scrutiny over handling of outbreak
The first Chinese scientist to publish a genomic sequence of the Covid-19 virus, in defiance of government orders, has been staging a sit-in protest after claiming he was locked out of his laboratory.
Zhang Yongzhen, a virologist, said in an online post on Monday that he and his team had been given a sudden eviction notice from their lab, and guards had barred him from entering it over the weekend. The post, published on Weibo, was later deleted, Associated Press (AP) reported.
Continue reading...Six people have been killed and more than 200 injured in attacks by bears over the past year
Japan is to trial an AI bear-warning system after a record number of attacks on humans over the past year as the animals struggle to find their staple foods.
A pilot system in Toyama prefecture, central Japan, will monitor live feeds from government, municipal and private security cameras to identify bears on the move in areas close to people, and send instant warnings to relevant local authorities, police and hunters. AI will also be used to monitor bears movement patterns and try to predict their future whereabouts.
Continue reading...Leader says ‘it’s not been easy’ as he stands aside five years after controversially realigning the country with China
The Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, has announced he will not stand as a candidate when lawmakers vote this week for a new leader, and his political party would instead back former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele.
The two major opposition parties in the Solomon Islands struck a coalition deal on Saturday as they vie with Sogavare’s party to form a government after an election delivered no clear winner.
Continue reading...Deal to use mapping data from web search giant Baidu is a big step towards launching driver assistance tech in world’s biggest car market
Elon Musk’s visit to China has reportedly reaped immediate rewards with a deal for Tesla to use mapping data provided by web search company Baidu, a big step in introducing driver assistance technology in the world’s largest car market.
Musk made an unannounced visit to China over the weekend. The billionaire posted a picture of his meeting with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, on X, the social network he took over in 2022.
Continue reading...Government tells operators they must join cooperatives by Tuesday and gradually replace their vehicles with greener options
A three-day strike by drivers of jeepneys in the Philippines began on Monday as transport groups warned that thousands could be pushed off the roads by government modernisation plans.
The jeepney is the backbone of the Philippines’ transport system. The customised, privately-owned buses, which look like a cross between a Jeep and a van and are decorated in flamboyant colours, ply routes in neighbourhood streets and city centres, offering rides for as little as 13 pesos (23 US cents). They have featured in pop songs and films – Pope Francis even travelled through Manila in a jeepney-inspired popemobile.
Continue reading...Tesla boss reportedly meets Premier Li Qiang in visit aimed at sealing rollout of Autopilot software and transferring data overseas
The Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, arrived on an unannounced visit to Beijing on Sunday where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of full self-driving software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Chinese state media reported that he held talks with the country’s premier, Li Qiang, during which Li told Musk that Tesla’s development in China could be seen as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation.
Continue reading...Girl of between 12 and 16 was making her first appearance at Evo Japan as contests previously finished past her bedtime
A girl scored a win at one of Japan’s top fighting video game contests, in a competitive puzzle game released before she was born.
The girl, known as “Money Idol-chan” after the game she competed in, has grown up playing competitive video games. Since 2022, her parents have run Anegasaki Shooting Star, a tiny arcade on the east side of Tokyo Bay. Her name has not been released and her age has been given only as between 12 and 16.
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