Asia

UPDATED: At least two killed in blast in China port city: official

BEIJING, China (AFP) — At least two people were killed and two more seriously injured in a massive blast in China’s eastern port city of Ningbo on Sunday, local official said. The city government said on an official social media account that the explosion had occurred in a “vacant lot” but it did not provide more details. It added that an unidentified number of people were being treated.

China probes new daycare scandal after ‘needle marks’ on toddlers

by Becky Davis Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese police have launched an investigation into alleged child abuse at a Beijing pre-school after parents said toddlers had apparent needle marks and were given mysterious pills, sparking outrage days after another daycare scandal. Security personnel installed a cordon at the gate of the RYB Education New World kindergarten on Friday after dozens of curious onlookers had crowded outside the nursery, which was still operating. A […]

Massive virtual reality theme park offers new growth vision for one of China’s poorest provinces

GUIYANG, China (Reuters) — In the outskirts of Guiyang, the capital of one of China’s poorest provinces, giant robots and futuristic cyberpunk castles rise out of the lush surrounding mountainscape — a vision of what could be driving local economic growth in years to come. This is China’s first virtual reality (VR) theme park that is looking to ride a boom in demand for virtual entertainment and a domestic VR market that is set to […]

US to send F-22 jets to South Korea in show of force for Pyongyang

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The US will send F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets to South Korea for a joint drill, reports said Friday, in a new show of force aimed at Pyongyang. Six fighter jets, normally based in Okinawa, Japan, will be deployed to the South for a five-day joint military exercise, Vigilant Ace, starting December 4, local media reported. A South Korean Air Force spokesman said an “unspecified number” of F-22s would take […]

US ends search for sailors after Philippine Sea air crash

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The US Navy on Friday called off its search for three American sailors missing since their plane crashed in the Philippine Sea. A C-2A “Greyhound” aircraft with 11 people on board went down Wednesday afternoon around 930 kilometers (500 nautical miles) southeast of Okinawa. Eight sailors were rescued shortly after the accident. All eight “are in good condition at this time,” the navy said in a statement. The decision to abandon […]

China hits back at ‘irresponsible remarks’ by Australia in foreign policy white paper

BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Thursday (November 23) hit back at Australia over its criticisms of China in a foreign policy white paper. Australia called on Thursday on the United States to build a strong presence in Asia and bolster ties with “like-minded” partners while warning against China’s rising influence. A more insular United States would be detrimental to the liberal nature of the world’s “rules-based order,” the government […]

South Korea quiet for quake-delayed college entrance exam

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — An annual hush descended upon South Korea Thursday as hundreds of thousands of students sat the crucial national college entrance exam, delayed for a week by a rare earthquake. Educational authorities had to change four exam sites at Pohang, affecting about 2,000 candidates, after a 5.4-magnitude quake shook the southern city a week ago. More than 60 minor aftershocks have hit Pohang throughout the past week, forcing 1,500 residents to […]

Watch: Snake on a train: Indonesian kills serpent with bare hands

    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — An Indonesian man who used his bare hands to kill a snake that was discovered slithering on a busy commuter train has become an Internet hero. The train made an emergency stop after the reptile was spotted lurking on a baggage rack in a carriage headed to Jakarta from Bogor, south of the capital. Smartphone footage, which quickly went viral, showed the bespectacled man casually snatch the snake’s tail […]

North Korea: Terror relisting “disgraceful behavior” by Trump

Reuters — North Korea denounced on Wednesday (November 22) United States President Donald Trump’s decision to relist it as a state sponsor of terrorism, calling it a “serious provocation and violent infringement,” North Korean state media reported. Trump put North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday (November 20), a designation that allows the US to impose more sanctions and risks inflaming tension over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile […]

China’s first cross-ocean biofuel flight lands at Chicago airport

CHICAGO, United States (CCTV) — After flying over 11,000 kilometers, Hainan Airlines Flight 497, which took off from Beijing, landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Tuesday local time. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner of Hainan Airlines flew with biological aviation fuel that is produced from waste cooking oil, signaling the first Sino-U.S. green route demonstration to use aviation biofuel. The use of biofuel can reduce carbon emissions while ensuring flight safety and efficiency, according to […]

Cuba expresses N. Korea support; calls for US ‘dialogue’

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Cuba, one of North Korea’s few allies, called on Wednesday for “peace and stability” in the Korean peninsula and stressed the need for dialogue to reduce tensions between Pyongyang and Washington. Upon receiving his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-Ho in Havana, foreign affairs minister Bruno Rodriguez said Cuba is “in favor of peace and stability,” adding that “only after dialogue and negotiations can a lasting political solution be achieved,” according to Cuban media. […]

Indian Army sets world record of 58 men riding on a motorbike

  BENGALURU, Karnataka, India (Reuters) – The Indian Army set a new world record with 58 men riding on a single motorbike on Sunday (November 19), local media reported. The stunt was performed by ‘Tornadoes,’ a motorcycle display team of army’s logistics arm, Army Service Corps (ASC). Dressed in the colors of the Indian flag, they flanked either sides of the moving a 500 cc Royal Enfield, covering a distance of 1.2 kilometers (0.74 miles) at […]