Asia

TikTokers jailed as Iraq targets ‘decadent content’

by Ammar Karim Agence France-Presse Baghdad, Iraq (AFP) — Dancing to Iraqi pop made TikTok personality Om Fahad a hit among tens of thousands of followers, but now she is in prison, caught up in a state campaign targeting “decadent content”. The young Iraqi woman using that pseudonym was sentenced early this month to half a year behind bars for the light-hearted video clips that show her in tight-fitting clothes. A new government campaign aims […]

Philippines’ Marcos summons Chinese envoy over laser incident at sea

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Tuesday 2/14/2023 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos summoned Beijing’s ambassador Tuesday to express “serious concern” after a Chinese security vessel was accused of using a military-grade laser light against a Philippine patrol boat in the disputed South China Sea. The confrontation marks an escalation in the diplomatic row, after the Philippine foreign ministry earlier filed a protest to the Chinese embassy condemning the “aggressive” actions of the Chinese coastguard vessel that […]

China accuses US of sending balloons into its airspace

Beijing, China | AFP | Monday 2/13/2023 by Ludovic EHRET China on Monday accused the United States of flying balloons over its territory, hitting back against Washington’s claims that Beijing has been operating a fleet of surveillance aircraft around the world. Washington strenuously denied Beijing’s charges as “false” and insisted it was China alone that has surreptitiously flown spy balloons, as tensions ramped up between the two superpowers. The downing of an alleged Chinese airship […]

Turkey-Syria quake toll rises above 35,000

    Kahramanmaras, Turkey | AFP | Monday 2/13/2023 by Fulya Ozerkan with Joris Fioriti in Antakya and Maher al-Mounes in Damascus The toll from last week’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria rose above 35,000 on Monday, as rescue teams started to wind down the search for survivors and the aid effort shifted to hundreds of thousands of people made homeless. Eight days after the 7.8-magnitude tremor, Turkish media reported a handful of people were […]

URGENT: Death toll rises above 35,000 in Turkey, Syria quake

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Monday 2/13/2023 The death toll from a catastrophic earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria climbed above 35,000 on Monday, with search and rescue teams starting to wind down their work. Officials and medics said 31,643 people had died in Turkey and 3,581 in Syria from last Monday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor, bringing the confirmed total to 35,224. This is a developing story. © Agence France-Presse

Ten deadliest quakes of the 21st century

  Paris, France | AFP | Monday 2/13/2023 Graphic Content The massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6 is the fifth-deadliest this century. Here is a list of the 10 worst quakes since 2000, ranked by death toll:   – 2004: 230,000 dead, southeast Asia –   On December 26, a massive 9.1-magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that kills more than 230,000 people throughout the region, […]

Chinese crypto scams targeting Filipinos to work for them: official

Manila, Philippines | AFP | by Mikhail FLORES Chinese criminals running cryptocurrency scams in Southeast Asia are targeting Filipinos to work for them because of their English language and computer skills, a Philippine foreign ministry official said Monday. Filipinos were “prized” targets for scam networks operating in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, said Eduardo de Vega, acting undersecretary for migrant workers affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs. De Vega said efforts to repatriate Filipinos sucked […]

Miracle rescues as Turkey-Syria quake deaths pass 28,000

  by Fulya Ozerkan with Omar Haj Kadour from Bab al-Hawa crossing Rescuers pulled a two-month-old baby and an elderly woman from the rubble on Saturday, five days after an earthquake devastated Turkey and Syria leaving more than 28,000 dead. But security concerns led some aid operations to be suspended, and 48 people have been arrested for looting or trying to defraud victims in the aftermath of the quake in Turkey, state media reported. Tens […]

Children rescued as Turkey-Syria quake toll nears 24,000

Kahramanmaras, Turkey | AFP | by Fulya Ozerkan with Remi Banet in Antakya Rescuers pulled out children Friday from the rubble of the Turkey-Syria earthquake as the toll approached 24,000 and a winter freeze compounded the suffering for nearly one million people estimated to be in urgent need of food. The stench of death hung over Turkey’s eastern city of Kahramanmaras — the epicentre of the first 7.8-magnitude tremor that upturned millions of lives in […]

Earthquake in Indonesia’s Papua kills 4

Jayapura, Indonesia | AFP | At least four people were killed Thursday when an earthquake struck the capital of Indonesia‘s breakaway eastern region of Papua and crumpled a waterfront restaurant, officials said. The 5.1-magnitude quake hit around 1.28 pm (0628 GMT) on land just southwest of Jayapura city at a depth of 22 kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. “A cafe collapsed and four people died there. It fell into the sea,” Asep Khalid, head […]

Indonesian domestic worker wins compensation for abuse in Hong Kong

  Hong Kong, China | AFP | by Holmes CHAN with Irwanda SAPUTRA in Padang An Indonesian woman who was beaten and burned by her former Hong Kong employers was awarded more than $110,000 in damages on Friday. The abuse meted out to Kartika Puspitasari, 40, made headlines a decade ago and sparked calls for better protections for the army of women who come to the city to cook, clean and care for its children and […]

Children found alive as Turkey-Syria quake toll tops 22,000

by Fulya Ozerkan with Remi Banet in Antakya Rescuers pulled children alive Friday from the rubble of the Turkey-Syria earthquake as the toll surpassed 22,000 and bitter cold compounded the suffering of the homeless. In the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, one of those hit hardest by the region’s worst earthquake in nearly a century, the stench of death clung to the air. But as crews entered a fifth day of peeling back flattened buildings, Turkish […]