Category Archives: Asia Pacific

Papua New Guinea riots: at least nine dead in Port Moresby as more police sent to capital

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Prime minister James Marape has called on police officers who are protesting over pay cut to report for duty

At least nine people have been killed in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, amid widespread looting and arson after a day of protests as extra police were sent to quell unrest.

The CEO of Port Moresby general hospital Paki Molumi said on Thursday the death toll in the capital stood at nine. A further seven were killed in the city of Lae, in the country’s north, Australian broadcaster ABC cited police as saying.

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Papua New Guinea capital rocked by violent riots as police strike over pay

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Governor blames looting on ‘opportunists’ as officers are redeployed to Port Moresby from regional areas

People have been killed and shops and businesses set on fire in the capital of Papua New Guinea after police went on strike over pay, according to the local governor.

Property in Port Moresby had been looted by “opportunists” after events “spiralled out of control”, the governor of the National Capital District, Powes Parkop, said in a radio broadcast.

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Giganto, largest ever primate, died out due to diet change, say scientists

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Giant primate ate bark and twigs after climate change turned sub-tropical environment into savannah

It was the largest primate ever to have roamed the Earth, but just why – and when – our distant cousin “giganto” ended up extinct has been something of a mystery.

Now researchers say the enormous ape was victim of an unfortunate choice of food when its preferred snacks became scarce.

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Ex-Malaysian PM’s lawyer pressures Netflix to take down documentary

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Defence counsel for Najib Razak, jailed over fraud scandal, says Man on the Run is ‘sub judice and contemptuous’

A lawyer acting for the disgraced former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has called for the takedown of a Netflix documentary about a multibillion-dollar fraud scandal that occurred under his administration.

Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the lead defence counsel for Najib, who is serving a 12-year sentence on corruption charges, said Man on the Run was “sub judice and contemptuous”, according to local media reports.

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Chinese satellite launch triggers emergency alert across Taiwan

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Mistranslation of ‘satellite’ to ‘missile’ in message causes alarm and confusion days before presidential election

A Chinese satellite launch has triggered a nationwide emergency alert in Taiwan days before its presidential election, prompting alarm and confusion as the English portion of the message erroneously translated satellite to “missile”.

The bilingual air raid alert blasted over loudspeakers and was sent to every mobile phone in Taiwan shortly after 3pm local time (0700 GMT), warning people to “be aware”. The message said in Chinese that China had launched a satellite at 3.04pm and it had flown over the southern part of Taiwan. The English portion said “[air raid alert] missile flyover Taiwan airspace”.

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South Korea passes bill banning production and sale of dog meat

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Animal welfare campaigners hail decision as ‘historic victory’ after years of pressure at home and abroad

South Korea’s parliament has voted to ban the production and sale of dog meat, in a decision campaigners hailed as a “historic victory” for animal welfare.

The country’s national assembly voted overwhelmingly to ban the breeding, butchery, distribution and sale of dogs for their meat on Tuesday, after years of pressure at home and abroad.

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Hope for rare singing gibbons as pair are released into the wild

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Two Siamang gibbons rescued from the illegal pet trade have been rehabilitated in a new Indonesian centre

The forest chorus of South Sumatra in Indonesia has some of its finest singers back: a pair of rare Siamang gibbons, rescued from the illegal pet trade, have been released into the wild.

Siamang gibbons (Symphalangus syndactylus) are known for their distinctive large throat sacs. But their powerful, haunting voices, used for communication and marking territory, are a blessing and a curse.

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US naval officer sentenced to two years in prison over spying for China

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Wenheng Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty in October to passing sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officer

A US navy petty officer who pleaded guilty to providing sensitive military information to a Chinese intelligence officer was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Monday, the US justice department said.

Wenheng Zhao, 26, and another US sailor, Jinchao Wei, were arrested in August on suspicion of spying for China.

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New Caledonia court bans shark culls amid environmental backlash

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Authorities had begun hunting sharks after a series of attacks in 2023 and say they will appeal the decision

A court in New Caledonia’s capital Noumea has ordered authorities to stop culling sharks, a practice brought in after a series of attacks last year, one of which killed an Australian tourist.

The administrative court said that the systematic culls were “disproportionate in regard to the aim of protecting human life,” in a judgment made public on 28 December.

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‘Chaos’ in New Zealand as sea lion breeding season overlaps with summer holidays

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Animals have been popping up on golf courses and surfing contests in Dunedin as they reestablish a foothold on the south island

A growing population of sea lions in the New Zealand city of Dunedin is provoking “overlapping chaos” as their breeding season coincides with residents enjoying peak summer weather.

Two sea lions gave birth on a golf course, another swam alongside competitors in a surfing contest. Others have been spotted crossing roads as Dunedin’s sea lion “silly season”, which runs from mid-December to mid-January, is in full swing.

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Japan prosecutors make first arrest in financial scandal engulfing ruling party

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Tokyo district public prosecutors’ office says it has arrested Yoshitaka Ikeda, a former vice-education minister

Prosecutors in Japan have made their first arrest in a financial scandal that has engulfed the country’s ruling party and sparked speculation about the future of the prime minister, Fumio Kishida.

The Tokyo district public prosecutors’ office said on Sunday it had arrested Yoshitaka Ikeda, a former vice-education minister, who is suspected of failing to report cash he received from fundraising events organised through his faction in Kishida’s Liberal Democratic party [LDP].

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Snookered by China? Masters tournament owner plots Asia expansion

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World Snooker and PDC World Darts owner Matchroom weighs up India and south-east Asia amid feared overreliance on China

The owner of the Masters snooker tournament is plotting an expansion trail across Asia after the pandemic exposed the company’s reliance on China, its chair has revealed.

Steve Dawson, the chief executive of World Snooker Ltd, told the Guardian it was considering staging tournaments in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, after its business was held back by three years of Beijing-imposed Covid lockdowns.

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Taiwan braces for ‘big deal’ presidential election as China’s shadow looms

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Corruption and the cost of living have trumped concerns about a belligerent neighbour in close race for the presidency

Deep in the mountains of Hsinchu county in north Taiwan, a few dozen residents of Smangus are holding their daily morning meeting in a weatherboard hut, overlooking the towering peaks nearby.

The remote Indigenous village, home to about 200 Atayal people, is preparing for Saturday’s presidential election. They take it very seriously, running their own polling station since 2008, and discussing candidates with all the residents.

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Woman in 90s pulled alive from rubble five days after Japan earthquake

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Boy, five, among 126 people dead, after boiling water spilled on him during Monday’s 7.6 magnitude quake

A woman in her 90s has been pulled alive from a collapsed house in western Japan, 124 hours after a major earthquake hit the region, killing at least 126 people, toppling buildings and setting off landslides.

The woman in Suzu city, Ishikawa prefecture, survived for more than five days after the 7.6 magnitude quake on Monday. Nationally broadcast news footage showed helmeted rescue workers covering the view of the area with blue plastic, and the woman was not visible.

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Thermo Fisher stops sale of DNA kits in Tibet after activists raised fears of rights abuses

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Campaigners say testing is among methods used to surveil people in the tightly controlled region

The US biotech company Thermo Fisher has halted sales of its DNA identification kits in Tibet, nearly five years after it made a similar commitment about the sale of its products in the neighbouring western Chinese region of Xinjiang.

It decided to stop sales in Tibet after months of complaints from rights groups and investors that the technology may be used in a way that abuses human rights. The company said that the decision was made in the middle of 2023, but it was only revealed to investors late last month.

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Japan earthquake death toll reaches 100 as more survivors pulled from rubble

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Number of missing lowered to 211 as thousands of troops join rescue effort and experts warn of disease risk at evacuation centres

The death toll from a major earthquake in western Japan reached 100 on Saturday as rescue workers fought aftershocks to carefully pull people from the rubble.

Deaths had reached 98 earlier in the day, but two more were reported in Anamizu, while officials in Ishikawa prefecture – the hardest-hit region – held their daily meeting to discuss strategy and damages.

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Weather tracker: Beijing experiences its coldest December since 1951

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Weather observatory records period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing

Beijing experienced its coldest December since records began in 1951, after a cold wave hit much of China. Temperatures fell below -10C, alongside heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions. Northern and north-eastern parts of the country experienced the coldest temperatures, as icy air moved south from the Arctic, with some areas plunging to -40C.

The Beijing weather observatory recorded a period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing, which is the longest for December since records began 72 years ago. The cold snap forced the closure of many schools and businesses in the Chinese capital, owing to travel disruption and the stress from added heating demands. Temperatures have risen into the new year but Beijing remains cold, with maximum temperatures reaching just above freezing so far.

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Wristwatch reflection led to ‘miracle’ sea rescue 23 hours after man went overboard

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Will Fransen was on a solo fishing trip south of Auckland in New Zealand when he was yanked into the water after hooking a big fish

A New Zealand man who survived more than 23 hours in cold waters and an encounter with a shark has been rescued after fishers spotted the reflection from his watch.

Will Fransen, 61, had set off on a solo fishing trip from Whangamatā on the Coromandel Peninsula, south of Auckland, on 2 January, but was yanked overboard after hooking what he suspected was a marlin.

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Kim Ju-ae likely heir to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, says South’s spy agency

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Intense speculation over future role for Kim Jong-un’s daughter, who is reportedly 10, comes as North Korea fires shells near South Korean islands

The young daughter of Kim Jong-un is seen as her father’s heir apparent, South Korea’s spy agency has said for the first time, after speculation that the North Korean ruler is grooming her to become the fourth member of the dynasty to lead the country since its foundation more than seven decades ago.

There has been intense international speculation about Kim Ju-ae, who is reportedly about 10 years old, since she made her first public appearance in November 2022 when she watched a long-range missile test launch with her father.

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Fears Russia using North Korea-supplied ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine

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Washington and Kyiv claim Moscow turning to other states under sanctions to sustain its war effort

Russia has started using ballistic missiles supplied by North Korea to attack Ukraine, Washington and Kyiv have claimed, in an indication that Moscow plans to further expand its arms deals with regimes under sanctions in order to sustain its war effort.

Washington also alleged Russia was in talks with Iran to buy short-range ballistic missiles. The US intelligence assessment is that Iranian missiles have not yet arrived in Russia, but that the deal will eventually be done.

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