Asia

Hopes fade for survivors of Japan quake

By Tomohiro Osaki with Natsuko Fukue in Tokyo WAJIMA, Japan, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Thousands of Japanese rescuers on Thursday battled rubble and blocked roads as hopes faded for dozens listed as missing three days after a devastating earthquake that killed at least 84. Hundreds of people in more than a dozen communities remained cut off in Ishikawa prefecture in central Japan, devastated by the 7.5-magnitude quake on New Year’s Day. Regional governor Hiroshi […]

China slams ‘provocative’ US moves in South China Sea as both sides conduct drills

BEIJING, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – China on Thursday slammed what it called “provocative” moves by the United States and its ally the Philippines in the South China Sea, as both sides held drills in the disputed waters. Warships from China and the US conducted rival exercises in the sea this week amid heightened tensions involving US ally the Philippines. Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command Wednesday said a two-day deployment of its […]

Beijing condemns Myanmar border clashes that caused Chinese casualties

BEIJING, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Beijing on Thursday voiced “strong dissatisfaction” that fighting in neighbouring Myanmar had caused Chinese casualties and said it would take “all necessary measures” to protect its citizens, following reports an artillery shell had exploded across the border. Armed conflict has raged in Myanmar’s northern Shan state since October, when an alliance of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the military junta. Several Chinese media outlets reported on Wednesday […]

Japan Airlines pilots had no ‘visual contact’ before collision

By Hiroshi HIYAMA TOKYO, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Pilots on a Japan Airlines plane that burst into flames just after all 379 passengers and crew escaped had no “visual contact” with the other aircraft in the collision, the airline said Thursday. The three pilots were also unable to see the fire from the cockpit when it first broke out and were informed of it by cabin crew, a JAL spokesman told AFP. The airliner […]

Hundreds cut off after Japan quake that killed 78

NANAO, Japan, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – More than 50 people were reported missing Thursday as Japanese rescuers battled to reach hundreds still cut off from help three days after a devastating earthquake left at least 78 dead. As the frantic search for survivors continues, more than a dozen communities remained isolated by landslides and blocked roads in central Japan, where the 7.5-magnitude quake struck on Monday. The powerful main tremor, followed by hundreds of […]

China holds navy, air patrols in South China Sea

BEIJING, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Chinese and US warships were in the South China Sea on Thursday, conducting rival exercises in the disputed waters amid heightened tensions involving US ally the Philippines. Beijing’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command a day before said a two-day deployment of its navy and air force, scheduled to end today, was carrying out “routine patrols” in the sea. It did not mention where exactly the patrols took […]

Japan Airlines pilots ‘unaware of fire’ at first

By Hiroshi HIYAMA TOKYO, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – Pilots on a Japan Airlines plane engulfed in flames just after all 379 passengers and crew escaped were initially unaware the aircraft was on fire, according to fresh details reported Thursday. The airliner collided with a coast guard plane after landing at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening. All but one of the six people on the smaller aircraft were killed. A ball of flame erupted […]

Black box from US Osprey found off Japan

TOKYO, Jan 4, 2024 (AFP) – The black box from an Osprey military aircraft that crashed off Japan in November with eight people on board has been recovered, the US military said Thursday, five weeks after the accident. “Critical equipment identified by investigation officials has been recovered, including the Voice and Data Recorder, often called the black box,” US Air Force Special Operations Command spokeswoman Rebecca Heyse said. “The equipment will be transported to laboratories […]

Japan quake toll rises to 73 as weather hampers rescuers

By Tomohiro OSAKI ANAMIZU, Japan, Jan 3, 2024 (AFP) – Japanese rescuers struggled with heavy rain, blocked roads and aftershocks on Wednesday following a powerful earthquake that killed at least 73 people and left tens of thousands without power or running water. Throughout the Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu sirens blared as emergency vehicles tried to navigate roads blocked by rocks and fallen trees. The Noto Peninsula was worst hit by the […]

China announces ‘routine’ military patrols in disputed South China Sea

BEIJING, Jan 3, 2024 (AFP) – China on Wednesday announced “routine” military patrols in the South China Sea, following recent clashes between countries in the disputed waterway. The People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command said it had “organised naval and air forces to conduct routine patrols” in the sea from January 3 to 4. The statement did not mention where exactly the patrols would take place or give specific details of their aims. Beijing claims […]

The ‘textbook’ evacuation from Japan jet inferno

By Hiroshi HIYAMA, Etienne BALMER TOKYO, Jan 3, 2024 (AFP) – After landing, smoke filled the cabin and flames licked the windows, but the Japan Airlines crew got all 367 passengers safely off the aircraft in an orderly fashion — and just in time. Babies and children screamed and panic-stricken passengers begged to be let off, footage from the scene on Tuesday at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport showed. “Honestly, I thought we wouldn’t survive. So I […]

Taiwan ‘will resist’ China interference in election: presidential frontrunner

TAIPEI, Jan 3, 2024 (AFP) – The Taiwanese people “will resist” China’s attempts to influence the island’s January 13 election, frontrunner presidential candidate Lai Ching-te told AFP on Wednesday as he hit the campaign trial 10 days before the pivotal poll. Beijing claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory, and rejects the stance of Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party which maintains that Taiwan is “already independent”. Dubbed a “troublemaker” and a “separatist” by Beijing, […]