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By Mathias Cena with Cecilia Sanchez in New York TOKYO, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Wrapped in seaweed and stuffed with delicious fillings, “onigiri” rice balls are shaking off their reputation as a cheap and uninspiring snack in Japan — and enticing hungry converts abroad. Mouth-watering pictures on social media, rising demand for affordable lunches, and a surge in tourism to Japan are all drawing people to the humble onigiri. Just ask any of the […]
MANILA, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) – Six soldiers and at least one Islamist militant have been killed in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said Monday, as security forces hunted down fighters believed to have bombed a Catholic mass last December. The clashes took place Sunday in the jungle near the town of Munai on Mindanao island, Philippine army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala told AFP. “This is part of the operation against the Dawlah Islamiyah. […]
BANGKOK, Feb 18, 2024 (AFP) – Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole Sunday, just six months after he was arrested following a dramatic return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile. The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse-of-power charges upon his return in August. But his sentence was cut to one year by King […]
PHNOM PENH, Feb 16, 2024 (AFP) – Two Taiwanese men have been sentenced to two years in jail each after they staged a fake kidnapping from a Cambodian seaside resort and posted video of it online, a court said on Friday. Chen Neng-chuan, 31, and Lu Tsu-hsien, 34, were arrested after they posted a video of themselves being detained and beaten up by security guards at a building in Sihanoukville on Facebook earlier this […]
By Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Feb 17, 2024 (AFP) – Japan’s space agency announced the successful launch of its new flagship rocket on Saturday, making it third time lucky for the H3 after years of delays and two previous failed attempts. The H3 rocket, billed as flexible and cost-effective by space agency JAXA, “was put into orbit,” a JAXA official told AFP. Developed jointly by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the H3 is the successor to […]
By Bhuvan BAGGA NEW DELHI, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Thousands of Indian farmers on tractors are riding towards New Delhi in a revival of past protests that saw highways into the capital blockaded by agricultural machinery for more than a year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was pressed into a rare retreat in 2021 after a successful campaign by farmers demanding it repeal new laws deregulating agricultural markets. Farm union leaders say the […]
BEIJING, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will visit Germany for the Munich Security Conference then travel to Spain and France in the coming days, Beijing’s foreign ministry said Thursday. “From February 16 to 21… Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi will attend the 60th Munich Security Conference where he will deliver a speech,” a spokesperson said in a statement. He will then visit Spain and France, where he will “hold […]
SYDNEY, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Australia on Thursday warned that China’s handing of a suspended death sentence to writer Yang Jun will hinder ties that had been on the mend and fuel public mistrust of Beijing. “Decisions of this nature will have an impact on the relationship,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told lawmakers, addressing the sentence imposed on Chinese-Australian dissident Yang for alleged espionage. “This decision will inevitably reverberate for Australians who feel deeply […]
JAKARTA, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on Thursday looked set to become the new president of the world’s third-largest democracy, likely avoiding a runoff vote against election rivals who have yet to concede. The ex-general declared victory Wednesday evening after preliminary counts from government-approved pollsters — previously shown to be reliable — indicated he would win high office with a majority in his third attempt. The slower, official count by […]
BANGKOK, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – Bangkok city employees have been told to work from home to avoid harmful air pollution, as a layer of noxious haze blanketed the Thai capital on Thursday. City authorities asked for cooperation from employers to help workers in the city of some 11 million people avoid the pollution, which is expected to last into Friday. The air monitoring website IQAir ranked Bangkok among the 10 most polluted cities in […]
BEIJING, Feb 15, 2024 (AFP) – China condemned Taiwanese authorities on Wednesday after two Chinese nationals died in a boat accident while pursued by Taiwan’s coast guard. The Chinese boat was carrying four people when it capsized near the Kinmen Islands, throwing all onboard into the water, Chinese and Taiwanese authorities said. “The malignant incident severely harmed the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan […]
SEOUL, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – The former fiance of South Korean Olympic fencing medallist Nam Hyun-hee was sentenced to 12 years in prison for fraud Wednesday over a scandal that reverberated across the country last year. The former fiance, Jeon Cheong-jo, was arrested last year on charges of stealing over 3 billion won ($2.2 million) from 27 people between April 2022 and last October, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. Jeon on Wednesday […]
