Asia
Nepal signs hydro energy export deal with India
KATHMANDU, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Nepal signed a deal with India on Thursday for the Himalayan republic to export 10,000 megawatts of hydroelectricity over the next decade to its energy-hungry neighbour. More than four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity in 2000, according to the International Energy Agency, but a dam building spree in the years since has helped connect nearly all of its 30 million people to the grid. It […]
Tesla to recall 1.6 mn cars in China to fix steering software: regulator
BEIJING, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Tesla is recalling more than 1.6 million electric vehicles in China, the country’s market regulator said Friday, owing to software issues that could pose safety risks while driving. The recall — sparked by the discovery of problems with assisted driving functions and door-locking systems — will be conducted through remote ‘over-the-air’ (OTA) updates to the cars’ software. China is a vital component in US-based Tesla’s global layout, both as […]
India navy says responding to Arabian Sea vessel hijack
NEW DELHI, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – India’s navy said Friday it was responding to the apparent hijacking of a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea, the latest incident of attacks on commercial shipping in the region. Last month the force deployed several warships into the sea to “maintain a deterrent presence” after a string of recent shipping attacks, including a drone attack near India’s coast blamed on Iran by the United States. It comes […]
Japan quake death toll rises to 94 with 222 missing
By Harumi Ozawa and Natsuko Fukue in Tokyo ANAMIZU, Japan, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Hampered by bad weather and damaged roads, Japanese rescuers searched Friday for 222 people still missing four days after a devastating earthquake as the death toll approached 100. Two elderly women were pulled from the rubble on Thursday, but hopes of finding other survivors after the 7.5 magnitude quake on New Year’s Day were fading with rain, snow and falling […]
China calls for ‘restraint’ from all parties after N. Korea shelling
BEIJING, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – China called Friday for “restraint” from all sides after Seoul said North Korea had fired an artillery barrage near two South Korean islands. “Under the current situation, we hope that all relevant parties maintain calm and restraint, refrain from taking actions that aggravate tensions, avoid further escalation of the situation, and create conditions for the resumption of meaningful dialogue,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters. Hours after the […]
URGENT: South Korea stages live fire drills on border island: Yonhap
SEOUL, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – South Korean marines on the border island of Yeonpyeong conducted live-fire artillery drills Friday, the Yonhap news agency reported, hours after North Korea staged an artillery barrage in the area. The troops held “live-fire artillery drills with K9 self-propelled howitzers,” Yonhap said, the first such drills in the area since both countries dropped a military accord in November. This is a developing story…
N. Korea fires artillery shells near S. Korean islands: Seoul
SEOUL, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea fired an artillery barrage near two South Korean islands on Friday, Seoul’s defence ministry said, warning the actions threatened peace and that it would respond. Residents of both islands were ordered to evacuate and ferries were suspended as South Korea planned a naval drill in response, in one of the most serious military escalations on the peninsula since the North fired shells at one of the same […]
4 dead, 22 injured in Indonesia train collision
BANDUNG, Indonesia, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – Four people were killed and at least 22 injured when two trains carrying hundreds of passengers collided in Indonesia on Friday, officials said. The front carriages of both trains were a mangled wreck while others further back had derailed and overturned on a stretch of tracks cutting through rice fields in West Java province. No fatalities have been reported among the nearly 500 passengers on board, with all […]
N Korea’s Kim calls for expanded missile launcher production
SEOUL, Jan 5, 2024 (AFP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanded production of missile launchers in preparation for a “military showdown” with South Korea and the United States, state media said Friday. His comments, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, came shortly after Washington said Russia had used ballistic missiles and launchers provided by North Korea in a recent flurry of attacks on cities in Ukraine. State media images […]
Russia used N.Korean missiles for Ukraine attacks: US
By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine in a major escalation of support for Moscow, the White House said Thursday. Russia is also looking to obtain missiles from its ally Iran as it runs short of arms nearly two years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it said. The Pyongyang-supplied missiles with ranges […]
Russia used N.Korean missiles for Ukraine attacks: US
By Danny KEMP WASHINGTON, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – North Korea has provided Russia with ballistic missiles and missile launchers that were used in recent attacks on Ukraine in a major escalation of support for Moscow, the White House said Thursday. Russia is also looking to obtain missiles from its ally Iran as it runs short of arms nearly two years into President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, it said. The Pyongyang-supplied missiles with ranges […]
