Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Previous Sri Lanka government accused of blocking investigation into Easter bombings

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The 2019 attacks killed 269 people, but investigators say search for answers obstructed under ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Accusations are growing that the former Sri Lankan government, led by strongman president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, blocked an investigation into the country’s worst terrorist attack amid claims that they had helped orchestrate the blasts in order to return to power.

In the attacks on Easter Sunday in 2019, six suicide bombers targeted churches and luxury hotels across the country, killing 269 people, including eight British tourists.

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Weather tracker: Nor’easter drenches US south-east coast

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Up to 127mm of rain falls on Florida and gusty winds and flash flooding hit parts of Georgia and South Carolina

Last weekend, a low-pressure system that had developed over the Gulf of Mexico tracked north-east across the Florida peninsula. Lashings of heavy rain and strong winds were brought to Florida during the early hours of Sunday morning, dumping up to 127mm (5in) of rain on the state in its passing.

The low-pressure system, termed a “nor’easter”, continued to track north-east, strengthening and bringing gusty winds and flash flooding to the coastal parts of the south-east US, including Georgia and South Carolina.

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Five new species of soft-furred hedgehogs discovered in south-east Asia

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There are now seven known species of soft-furred hedgehogs, which look like a cross between a mouse and a shrew

Scientists have identified five new species of soft-furred hedgehogs from south-east Asia.

Two of the species discovered are entirely new to science, while three have been elevated from subspecies level by researchers, who carried out DNA analysis as well as detailed physical observations of the mammals.

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Canada intelligence operation put diplomats in legal ‘grey zone’ – report

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Program – under scrutiny after imprisonment of Canadians in China – said to lack safeguards to protect officers overseas

A controversial intelligence-gathering program run by Canada’s foreign affairs ministry operates in a “distinctly grey zone”, puts its officers at risk and breaches global diplomatic conventions, says a damning watchdog report.

Canada’s global security reporting program (GSRP), a critical part of the foreign ministry’s security and intelligence footprint overseas, places officers in countries with “poor human rights records” including Ethiopia, India, Egypt, Turkey, Israel and China.

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End of era as Toshiba delists from Tokyo stock exchange after 74 years

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Electronics firm taken private in £11bn deal by consortium led by Japan Industrial Partners

Toshiba, the Japanese company synonymous with the country’s 20th-century dominance of electronics, has delisted from the Tokyo stock exchange after 74 years.

The manufacturer, associated in the UK with its 1980s “Ello Tosh, gotta Toshiba” advertising campaign, was taken private on Wednesday in an £11bn deal by a consortium of investors led by the private equity investor Japan Industrial Partners (JIP).

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China earthquake: death toll rises to 134 as freezing weather hinders rescue efforts

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Temperatures are as low as -16C in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, where the magnitude-6.2 quake struck on Monday

The death toll from China’s earthquake has risen to 134, with almost 1,000 people injured, as rescuers dig through rubble in below freezing conditions.

The magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, in Jishishan county near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, destroying or damaging more than 150,000 homes, according to state media. The quake, which was followed by several strong aftershocks, caused mud and landslides, and damaged power lines and other local infrastructure “to varying degrees”.

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China rights activist goes on trial for ‘inciting subversion of state power’

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US congressional commission has called for Li Qiaochu’s release, citing reports she needs urgent medical treatment

Li Qiaochu, a human rights activist detained for nearly three years in China, has gone on trial in Shandong province charged with “inciting subversion of state power”.

On the eve of the trial, the chairs of the US congressional commission on China called for Li’s unconditional release, citing reports that the labour rights and feminist activist needed urgent medical treatment.

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Daniel Duggan asks to be released from jail and detained at home as he fights extradition to US

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Australian pilot accused of training Chinese military denies he is a flight risk in letter requesting NSW home detention

An Australian pilot accused of accepting cash to illegally train Chinese military personnel has denied he is a flight risk and described himself as a model prisoner in a formal request to be released into home detention.

Daniel Duggan has written to the acting New South Wales corrections commissioner from Lithgow maximum security prison where he is being held in isolated custody while he fights extradition to the US.

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China earthquake: rescue efforts hampered by cold weather

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Officials say at least 126 killed and more than 500 injured after 6.2-magnitude quake in Gansu and Qinghai provinces

Cold weather is hampering rescue efforts after an earthquake in China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces that killed at least 126 people and injured more than 500.

The strong shallow earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, sending residents fleeing outside into below-freezing temperatures. Thousands of houses have been reported damaged, and state media said public infrastructure had been damaged “to varying degrees”.

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Jimmy Lai trial: heavy security presence as landmark national security case begins in Hong Kong

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Media mogul and pro-democracy activist accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and faces life in prison

The media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has gone on trial at a heavily guarded Hong Kong court on national security charges that could lead to life imprisonment.

Lai’s trial, expected to last months, is one of the most high-profile prosecutions in the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on opposition, and has been widely condemned by rights groups and other governments.

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Tracey Emin recovering in Thailand after her ‘intestine nearly exploded’

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British artist, who has undergone multiple surgeries for cancer, says ‘horrible complications’ in her intestine were ‘made a million times worse by flying’

Renowned British artist Tracey Emin is recovering in Thailand after her small intestine “nearly exploded” due to complications after an operation.

Emin, one of Britain’s best-known living artists, has battled cancer and undergone major surgery in recent years. On Sunday she shared on Instagram that she has been “very unwell” and felt she had used “another one of my nine lives”.

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North Korea launches ballistic missiles after US and South Korea bolster nuclear deterrence plans

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Japan’s government has called a meeting of its national security council in response to the launches

North Korea has tested a long-range ballistic missile that is theoretically capable of striking anywhere on the US mainland, Japan officials said, in the regime’s first round of missile tests for about a month.

The missile appeared to have flown about 1,000km (620 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of more than 6,000km before landing in the sea east of the Korean peninsula on Monday.

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David Cameron calls on Hong Kong to release Jimmy Lai

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Foreign secretary’s plea made as publisher faces trial under national security law imposed by China


The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for the release of the British citizen Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy newspaper publisher facing a “politically motivated prosecution” in a high-profile trial in Hong Kong.

In a significant intervention, the former prime minister condemned the charges against Lai, 76, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law that China imposed after the 2019 pro-democracy protests.

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World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kong

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Territory’s global reputation on the line as media mogul and democracy activist finally tried over alleged national security crimes

Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way.

Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison.

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‘Really, really weak’: experts attack claim that Indonesia site is ‘world’s oldest building’

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Sensational report that Indonesia’s Gunung Padang site is 25,000 years old is dismissed by archaeologists around the world

It was one of the most sensational science stories of 2023. Researchers claimed last month that the Gunung Padang site in West Java, Indonesia, is the world’s most ancient pyramid and could be more than 25,000 years old.

Such antiquity would be unprecedented. Stonehenge and the oldest major pyramids of Egypt are only a few thousand years old, while the previous record holder, Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe stone monuments, are thought to be about 11,000 years old.

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Organisers of ultramarathon in which 21 runners died jailed in China

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Seven people sentenced to years in prison over 2021 race in Gansu province hit by extreme weather

Organisers of a 2021 ultramarathon in north-west China during which 21 runners died in extreme weather conditions have been sentenced to years in prison for their roles, state media reported.

Five individuals involved in planning the ill-fated event were given jail terms ranging from three to five and a half years by a court in Baiyin, a city in Gansu, the province where the deaths occurred, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Friday.

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Weather tracker: first snow of winter in Beijing causes widespread disruption

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Transport hit in Chinese capital as cold spell expected to continue across north of country through weekend

Heavy snowfall affected China last weekend in regions north of the Yangtze River, with Beijing experiencing its first snow of the season.

As a consequence of the snow and ice, more than 180 bus routes were suspended across the city on Monday, with several trains and flights delayed or cancelled. Henan province, south of Beijing, had big falls over the weekend, with many areas recording depths of 100mm and even, in some places, up to 150mm.

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Beijing rush-hour metro collision leaves more than 100 people with fractures

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The rear-end collision happened in the Chinese capital, which has been hit by snow storms in recent days

An evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures after a rear-end collision on an above-ground section of tracks, state media said.

The Chinese capital – where such incidents are rare – has been hit by snowstorms in recent days, affecting operating conditions and resulting in transport delays across the city.

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Hong Kong puts arrest bounties on five overseas activists including US citizen

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US and UK criticise move while one of the five decries ‘transnational repression harassment tactics’

Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law.

The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the US and UK governments.

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US Congress passes bill allowing sale of Aukus nuclear submarines to Australia

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Legislation covering a wide range of military issues clears the way for Virginia class vessels to bolster Pacific defence

The US Congress has passed legislation allowing the country to sell Virginia class submarines to Australia under the Aukus security pact.

Sweeping legislation covering a wide range of military priorities including Aukus passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday Washington time, a day after it cleared the Senate.

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