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by Miwa Suzuki Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The abdication of Japan’s Emperor Akihito next year will be quite literally the end of an era, the Heisei era of his rule, and behind closed doors, talks on the next era have begun. Japan is the only country in the world still using Chinese-style imperial calendars. It might be 2018 in much of the world, but in Japan it is Heisei 30, or 30 […]
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — North Korea still poses a “serious and imminent threat”, Japan said Tuesday in its first annual defence review since an outbreak of diplomacy on the Korean peninsula. Japan’s 2018 defence white paper also took aim at China’s rise as a military power, saying Beijing was sparking “strong security concerns in the region and international community, including Japan”. Last year’s defence review was published at the height of the tensions with North […]
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — A legal battle between Iran and the United States over renewed sanctions imposed on Tehran opened Monday, with the Islamic state’s lawyers due to argue the measures are hurting Iran’s economy. The hearings commenced shortly after 0800 GMT at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and are scheduled to run for four days. © Agence France-Presse
KOCHI, India (AFP) — The death toll from devastating floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 445 Sunday with the discovery of 28 more bodies as the waters recede and a massive cleanup gathers pace, government officials said. Around a million people are still packed into temporary relief camps and 15 are reported missing even as the government mounts an operation to clean homes and public places that have been filled with […]
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — More than 1,200 people have been killed across South Asia in monsoon storms so far this year, according to figures collected by AFP as India counts the rising toll from floods that have devastated southern Kerala state. The monsoon, which lasts from June to September, causes widespread death and destruction across South Asia each year, with the tourist hotspot of Kerala suffering its worst floods in nearly 100 years. Kerala […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea said Monday it may delay the imminent opening of a liaison office in North Korea, after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang was abruptly cancelled by Donald Trump. Trump on Friday pulled the plug on the visit, blaming a lack of progress in denuclearisation efforts since his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. The sudden cancellation has put the brakes […]
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Dozens have been injured in a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck western Iran near the border with Iraq early Sunday, local media reported. The shallow quake hit 26 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of the city of Javanrud in Kermanshah province, the US Geological Survey said, near the site of a powerful quake last year that killed hundreds. A local medical university said a 70-year-old man had died of a heart […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — A fire early Saturday at a hotel in China has left at least 18 people dead and 19 injured, according to state media. The blaze broke out during the night at the hotel in Harbin, capital of the northeastern Heilongjiang province, the official Xinhua news agency reported. “By the latest count, 18 people have been found dead and 19 have been taken to hospital,” the agency said, citing local authorities. […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Six people have been killed by floodwaters in Taiwan, officials said Saturday, after days of heavy rain forced thousands to evacuate their homes. A tropical depression has been dumping torrential rain in central and southern Taiwan since Thursday, with some districts receiving close to 1,000 millimeters (39 inches) of rainfall. Six have died in the storm so far, according to government figures, including three who were killed by a falling […]
(Eagle News) — These pictures taken by Sarah Ejorcadas show floodwaters engulfing roads as torrential rains pounded Taiwan in recent days. Taiwan experiences around 2,500 millimeters per year of rainfall. Much of the rainfall comes from typhoons.
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A strong typhoon barreled toward Japan’s northern island Friday after churning over parts of western Japan already hit by deadly flooding last month, but while transport links were disrupted, injuries and damages were limited. Typhoon Cimaron made landfall late Thursday and passed over the Japanese archipelago overnight, bringing winds of nearly 200 kilometers per hour (134 mph) and dumping up to 600 millimeters (24 inches) of rain in 48 hours, according […]
by Aidan Jones / with Hla-Hla Htay in Maungdaw Agence France-Presse COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh (AFP) — With a repatriation plan in tatters and funding evaporating for a million refugees with ever-growing needs, Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar to Bangladesh face a grim future one year after the latest eruption of a decades-old conflict. Raids by Rohingya militants on August 25 last year across Myanmar’s Rakhine state spurred an army crackdown which the United Nations has […]
