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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A strong earthquake hit southern Japan on Tuesday, though there was no tsunami warning nor immediate reports of damage or injuries. The magnitude 6.0 quake hit at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in waters off the island of Miyako in the southern Okinawan chain, according to the United States Geological Survey. Japan’s Meteorological Agency warned of small changes in sea levels but no tsunami. Miyako, with a population of […]
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo cast his vote on Tuesday (May 9) in Seoul. Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People’s Party was joined by his wife and daughter when he voted at a polling station in Seoul. The vote will end months of leadership vacuum. Park was ousted on charges of bribery and abuse of power in March to become South Korea’s first democratically elected president to be forced […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Koreans went to the polls Tuesday to choose a new president after Park Geun-Hye was ousted and indicted for corruption, this against a backdrop of high tensions with the nuclear-armed North. More than 139,000 voting stations opened at 6 am local time (2100 GMT) across the country under overcast skies, with turnout expected to hit a record high. Voters have been galvanized by anger over the sprawling bribery and abuse-of-power […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday urged French election winner Emmanuel Macron to bridge deep rifts and work together in the face of the “growing threat of terrorism and violent extremism.” “The citizens of France entrusted you to lead the country in a difficult period for Europe and for the entire world community. The growing threat of terrorism and violent extremism is accompanied by an escalation of local conflicts and the […]
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — A South African attempting to climb Mount Everest alone and without a permit has been ordered off the mountain, had his passport confiscated and will be fined $22,000, an official said Monday. Ryan Sean Davy, 43, told officials at base camp that he had climbed alone as far as camp two — 6,400 meters (21,000 feet) — to acclimatize ahead of a summit push before he was caught. Foreigners have to […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea has detained another US citizen for committing “hostile acts,” it said Sunday, its second arrest of an American in a fortnight with tensions high between Pyongyang and Washington. The arrest of Kim Hak-Song means that the North now is holding four US citizens, with the two countries at loggerheads over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile ambitions. Kim was detained on Saturday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. […]
BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP) — Thai police said Saturday they were hunting for suspected human smugglers who deserted 35 Myanmar nationals in southern Thailand, a key stop on a regional trafficking route. The 28 men and 7 women were found in Thailand’s Nakhon Si Thammarat province on Friday without passports or proper visas, provincial police commander Wancha Akepornpich told AFP. They were bound for Malaysia where they had been promised work on rubber and palm plantations. […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese courts have sentenced 19 government officials and one business leader to prison for up to 20 years for their roles in a landslide which killed more than 70 people. The disaster occurred in Shenzhen, a southern boom town bordering Hong Kong, at the end of 2015 when soil illegally piled some 160 meters (500 feet) high at an old quarry site turned to mud during heavy rains. Three local courts […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Friday accused the Central Intelligence Agency of plotting with South Korea to assassinate leader Kim Jong-Un, amid soaring tensions in the flashpoint region. The CIA and Seoul’s Intelligence Services have “hatched a vicious plot” involving unspecified “biochemical substances” to kill the hermit state’s young leader during public ceremonial events in Pyongyang, the Ministry of State Security said. For the CIA “assassination by use of biochemical substances including radioactive […]
by Albee ZHANG Agence France-Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — The first large made-in-China passenger plane successfully completed its maiden test flight Friday, marking a key milestone on the country’s ambitious journey to compete with the world’s leading aircraft makers. The narrow-body C919 jet — white with green and blue stripes — disappeared into the clouds after taking off from Pudong international airport in the commercial hub Shanghai as a crowd of thousands cheered, including top […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) — A giant coal-fired power plant approved by Bangladesh could drastically worsen air pollution for millions and cause the early deaths of 6,000 people over its lifetime, Greenpeace said Friday. Bangladesh is constructing the 1,320-megawatt power plant on the edge of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest, despite warnings the controversial project threatens the fragile ecosystem and human health. The United Nations has already urged Bangladesh to halt construction, warning it […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspected a military unit that was responsible for bombarding a southern island, state media said Friday ahead of a presidential election in the South. Pyongyang fired a barrage of 170 artillery shells onto Yeonpyeong island in November 2010, killing four people including two civilians in the first North Korean attack on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War. Tensions have soared on the Korean […]
