Environment ministry says most of the deaths were in the mountainous central province of Dak Lak
The death toll from major flooding in Vietnam has risen to 90, with 12 more people missing, the environment ministry said on Sunday after days of heavy rain and landslides.
Relentless rain has lashed south-central Vietnam since late October and popular holiday destinations have been hit by several rounds of flooding.
Continue reading...From Scott Morrison’s ‘on-water matters’ to the Albanese government’s MOU with Nauru, successive governments’ attitude to legitimate scrutiny has been one of hostility
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Offshore, secrecy dominates. But it doesn’t stop at the water’s edge.
In February, Australia brokered a new offshore arrangement with Nauru, striking a deal to send members of the so-called NZYQ cohort – non-citizens with criminal histories – to the Pacific island. Australia would give Nauru more than $400m in exchange.
Continue reading...Guo, who pretended to be Filipina to become mayor, found guilty of human trafficking after raid on compound where more than 700 people were forced to run scams
Alice Guo, a Chinese national who became a mayor in the Philippines while masquerading as a Filipina, has been sentenced to life in prison along with seven others on human trafficking charges, state prosecutors have said.
Guo, who served as mayor of a town north of Manila, was found guilty of overseeing a Chinese-operated online gambling centre where hundreds of people were forced to run scams or risk torture.
Continue reading...Prime minister has accused the Samoa Observer of inaccurate reporting during his eight-week medical stay in New Zealand
Samoa’s only daily newspaper has been banned from attending press conferences with the Samoan prime minister, in a move that critics say threatens the democratic integrity of the Pacific nation.
Relations between La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt and the Samoa Observer have deteriorated in recent weeks, with the prime minister accusing the newspaper of inaccurate reporting during his eight-week medical stay in New Zealand.
Continue reading...Australia had been pushing to host climate conference next year with south Pacific nations, which are increasingly threatened by rising seas and climate-fuelled disasters
Papua New Guinea has voiced frustration after Australia ditched a bid to co-host next year’s UN climate talks with its Pacific island neighbours.
“We are all not happy. And disappointed it’s ended up like this,” foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko told Agence France-Presse after Australia ceded hosting rights to Turkey.
Continue reading...After MI5 issues China espionage alert to parliament, Luke Pollard says message should be heeded by all citizens
Ordinary UK citizens need to watch out for online contact with Chinese spies, the defence minister has said, after MI5 issued an espionage alert to parliament.
Luke Pollard said a warning given to parliamentarians on Tuesday that China was attempting to recruit individuals with access to sensitive information should also be heeded by the public at large.
Continue reading...Beijing reimposes 2023 ban, citing Japan PM’s comment that military would respond to Chinese attack on island
China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood again, as the fallout over the Japanese prime minister’s comments about Taiwan continues to escalate in one of worst bilateral disputes in years.
The ban was first reported on Wednesday by the Japanese outlets Kyodo News and NHK, and appeared to be confirmed by China’s foreign ministry, which said there was “no market for Japanese seafood in the current climate”.
Continue reading...UN committee to consider claim by prominent Māori leader Tureiti Moxon that alleges government policies have harmed Indigenous people
The United Nations has agreed to hear an urgent complaint against New Zealand’s coalition government alleging it is responsible for significant and persistent discrimination against Māori.
Prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon, has filed the complaint to the UN’s committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD).
Continue reading...Chinese airlines offer free cancellations and film releases postponed after Japanese PM’s comments on Taiwan
Chinese travellers are estimated to have cancelled hundreds of thousands of tickets to fly to Japan amid reports of suspended visa processing and cultural exchanges as a diplomatic dispute over Japan’s stance on Taiwan continues.
Under pressure from business groups, Japan has sent a senior diplomat to Beijing in an attempt to calm tensions after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said her country could get involved militarily if China attempted to invade Taiwan. Her comments prompted fury from China’s government, which issued warnings against Chinese travellers and students going to Japan.
Continue reading...Communications undersecretary Claire Castro says claims from the president’s sister may be an attempt to distract from investigations into a corruption scandal
Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has denied accusations made by his estranged sister that he is longtime drug addict, whose alleged cocaine dependence has led to governance issues, including corruption, a spokesperson for the president has said.
Communications undersecretary Claire Castro described the comments by the president’s sister, senator Imee Marcos’, as baseless, and suggested they may have been a desperate attempt to distract ongoing investigations into a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that may implicate her allies in the Senate.
Continue reading...Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use
The books of two award-winning New Zealand authors have been disqualified from consideration for the country’s top literature prize because artificial intelligence was used in the creation of their cover designs.
Stephanie Johnson’s collection of short stories Obligate Carnivore and Elizabeth Smither’s collection of novellas Angel Train were submitted to the 2026 Ockham book awards’ NZ$65,000 fiction prize in October, but were ruled out of the competition the following month in light of new guidelines around AI use.
Continue reading...Decision announced at Cop30 climate conference signposts risks for Australia’s reliance on fossil fuel exports, analysts say
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The Australian government has been urged to prepare for a shift away from thermal coal exports and accelerate green industries after one of its main international customers signed up to close all coal-fired power plants by 2040.
South Korea, Australia’s third-biggest market for coal burned to generate electricity, announced at the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil that it was joining the “powering past coal alliance”, a group of about 60 nations and 120 sub-national governments, businesses and organisations committed to phasing out the fossil fuel.
Continue reading...Six coloured sand products recalled in New Zealand after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar items
Multiple schools have temporarily closed in New Zealand and hundreds of education facilities are seeking advice from officials after asbestos was detected in several brands of widely used coloured play sand.
Last week, the ministry for business, innovation and employment confirmed a voluntary recall was under way for two brands of coloured sand sold in New Zealand, after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar products.
Continue reading...Activity around Japanese-held islands, also claimed by China, comes after PM Sanae Takaichi said Japan might respond militarily to an invasion of Taiwan
China has sent its coast guard through the waters of the Senkaku islands and military drones past outlying Japanese territory as Beijing ramps up tensions over the Japanese prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan.
On Sunday the Chinese coast guard said its ships made a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters of the Senkaku, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China as the Diaoyu islands.
Continue reading...Bangkok had earlier said it was suspending ceasefire, accusing Cambodia of laying landmines along the border
The US has put pressure on Thailand to recommit to a ceasefire with Cambodia, warning trade talks could be halted as Washington seeks to keep a Donald Trump-brokered truce agreement from falling apart.
Earlier this week, Thailand said that it was suspending the ceasefire deal, accusing Cambodia of laying fresh landmines along the border, including one it said wounded a Thai soldier on patrol, who lost a foot in the explosion.
Continue reading...Sanae Takaichi says the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo
China has advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, escalating a diplomatic feud sparked by comments from Tokyo’s new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan.
Sanae Takaichi told Japan’s parliament on 7 November that the use of force against the self-ruled island claimed by China could warrant a military response from Tokyo. Japan has since said its position on Taiwan – just 100km from the nearest Japanese island – is unchanged.
Continue reading...Videos show schoolgirls fighting off animals, while others show people feeding bears, with some so realistic that users struggled to distinguish between fact and fiction
If a record number of fatal bear attacks wasn’t terrifying enough, experts say a torrent of AI-generated videos in Japan purporting to show people in close encounters with the animals is only adding to public anxiety – and could put people at greater risk.
While headlines about real attacks and disruption appear on a regular basis, monitors of online content are warning social media users not to be taken in by realistic videos on platforms such as TikTok of the animals attacking or interacting with humans.
Continue reading...The truce broke down this week after a Thai soldier lost a leg to a landmine blast, prompting Thailand’s PM to say the peace deal was ‘now over’
One person has been killed by gunfire along the Thai-Cambodia border as conflict heats up between the two nations days after a Trump-backed ceasefire agreement has broken down.
Fighting erupted between Thai and Cambodian troops over five days in July, with 43 people killed and 300,000 displaced in the worst fighting along the border in a decade. Donald Trump oversaw the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the two nations in Malaysia this October, after the US president previously threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two countries unless they stopped fighting.
Continue reading...She Zhijiang’s empire includes gambling complex Shwe Kokko that US has tied to regional scam and trafficking networks
She Zhijiang, an alleged transnational crime kingpin accused by Beijing of having run more than 200 illegal online gambling operations, is being extradited to China from Bangkok on Wednesday, Thai police have said.
The Chinese national is perhaps the most prominent figure among Asia’s alleged cybercrime operators to be arrested, and has been linked to regional scam networks by the US.
Continue reading...The geomagnetic storm, caused by powerful bursts of energy from the sun, also postponed the launch of two Mars-bound Nasa spacecraft in the US
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Skywatchers enjoyed a stunning treat on Wednesday night, with the southern lights visible across large parts of Australia and New Zealand.
The aurora australis that lit up the sky resulted from what has been dubbed a “cannibal” solar storm.
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