Asia

Thai junta says police helped Yingluck escape

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thailand’s deputy junta leader has accused three police officers of helping sneak ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra out of the country last month, a vanishing act that stunned the kingdom. Yingluck, whose government was toppled by the military in 2014, has not been seen since August 25, when she failed to turn up for a court verdict in her criminal negligence trial. Thailand’s junta says it was unaware she was planning to […]

Bangladesh says Rohingya influx grinds to a halt

by Sam Jahan in Cox’s Bazar and Shafiqul Alam in Dhaka</strong> Agence France Presse COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — The flood of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh has come to a virtual halt, Dhaka officials said Saturday, almost a month after violence erupted in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and sent nearly 430,000 people fleeing across the border. Officials gave no reason for the dramatically reduced numbers. But Rohingya Muslim leaders said it could be because villages located near […]

Iran tests new medium-range missile, defying US warnings

  by Eric Randolph Agence France Presse TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said on Saturday that it had successfully tested a new medium-range missile in defiance of warnings from Washington that such activities were grounds for abandoning their landmark nuclear deal. State television carried footage of the launch of the Khoramshahr missile, which was first displayed at a high-profile military parade in Tehran on Friday. It also carried in-flight video from the nose cone of […]

China experts say 3.4-quake hits N.Korea in ‘suspected explosion’

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s seismic service CENC on Saturday detected a zero-depth, 3.4-magnitude earthquake in North Korea, calling it a “suspected explosion”. The epicenter is roughly the same as that of a previous shallow earthquake on September 3, which turned out to be caused by a North Korean nuclear test, the official Xinhua news agency said. The earthquake comes after days of increasingly bellicose rhetoric between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader […]

China confirms it will limit oil exports to North Korea

  BEIJING, China (AFP) — China will limit exports of refined petroleum products to North Korea starting October 1, its commerce ministry said, confirming Beijing’s participation in new UN sanctions intended to rein in its rogue neighbor. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang last week in response to its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. Washington had initially sought a full oil embargo, but softened its stance […]

Kim says Trump ‘deranged’ as Pyongyang hints at Pacific H-bomb

by Kelly Macnamara Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – US President Donald Trump is “mentally deranged” and will “pay dearly” for his threat to destroy North Korea, Kim Jong-Un said Friday, as his foreign minister hinted the regime may explode a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean. In a rare personal attack published hours after Washington announced tougher sanctions, the North Korean leader took aim at Trump over his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly in […]

Tens of thousands mark 3 years since rebel takeover of Yemen capital

SANAA, Yemen (AFP) – Tens of thousands of supporters of Yemen’s Huthi rebels and their allies gathered in Sanaa on Thursday to mark three years since the rebel takeover of the capital. The Huthis and forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh captured Sanaa on September 21, 2014, plunging Yemen into chaos and prompting a Saudi-led military intervention against them the next year. On Thursday, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition flew overhead as the crowds — Huthi and Saleh supporters — massed in the […]

Second Indian journalist killed in one month

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — A reporter covering political unrest in India’s northeast was beaten to death during violent clashes, officials said Thursday, two weeks after the high-profile murder of another prominent journalist. Shantanu Bhowmick was set upon with sticks as he reported on violence Wednesday between warring political factions and police outside Agartala, the capital of remote Tripura state. State police superintendent Abhijit Saptarshi said more than a dozen officers were also injured in […]

Rohingya crisis sparks fear among Bangladeshi Buddhists

by Claire Cozens Agence France-Presse RAMU, Bangladesh (AFP) – As thousands of Rohingya flee ethnic violence in Myanmar, Bangladesh’s small Buddhist community fears the crisis could spark a violent backlash from their Muslim neighbours. Many Bangladeshis are angry over the treatment in Buddhist-majority Myanmar of the Rohingya, a persecuted stateless minority who they see as Muslim brethren. The anger is particularly acute in the southern district of Cox’s Bazar near the border with Myanmar, where many people have […]

Myanmar insists to UN that Rakhine improving

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – Myanmar insisted Wednesday to the United Nations that the crisis in violence-torn Rakhine state was easing after heavy international criticism. Myanmar’s second vice president Henry Van Thio addressed the annual UN General Assembly in the place of leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who a day earlier delivered a speech calling for patience. Van Thio’s remarks are even less likely than Suu Kyi’s to mollify global concerns as he questioned […]

N. Korea shrugs off Trump threat as ‘dog’s bark’

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – North Korea’s foreign minister has brushed aside US President Donald Trump’s fiery threat to destroy his nation, comparing it to a “dog’s bark” and suggesting Pyongyang would not be deterred by the rhetoric. Trump used his stormy maiden address at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday to warn the North that Washington would “totally destroy” it if the US or its allies was attacked. The bellicose speech came after months […]

Japan deploys missile defense to northern island: official

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan will Tuesday deploy an additional missile defense system on its northern island of Hokkaido, a defense ministry spokesman told AFP, days after North Korea launched a missile over the island. “We are deploying a PAC-3 system at about noon” to a base of the nation’s Ground Self-Defense Force in the southern tip of Hokkaido, said Kensaku Mizuseki. According to local officials, Japan has already deployed the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missile […]