Asia

North Korean airline starts new route to Dandong, China

PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — North Korea’s national airline, Air Koryo has started flying a new route to Dandong, China. A video given to Reuters by North Korea’s official news agency, KCNA, which Reuters cannot independently verify, showed Air Koryo’s plane landing at Pyongyang’s Sunan Airport on Tuesday (March 28) and flight attendants greeting tourists walking out of the plane. KCNA said flights will operate twice a week – every Tuesday and Friday, between its […]

N. Korea could be in final preparations for nuclear test: report

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Satellite images taken this week suggest North Korea could be in the final stages of preparations for a new nuclear test, United States-based analysts said Tuesday. The images, taken March 25, show up to four vehicles or equipment trailers continuously present at the entrance to the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, with communications cables likely laid on the ground. “This equipment would likely be used to initiate the test, collect data […]

Kremlin critic Navalny gets 15 days in jail after protest

by Maria PANINA and Gabrielle TETRAULT-FARBER Agence France Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to 15 days behind bars and fined Monday after staging the biggest anti-corruption protests in years, an act branded a “provocation” by the Kremlin. The United States and the European Union voiced deep concern after Navalny and more than 1,000 others were detained in the Moscow protest on Sunday, with the State Department calling the […]

Singaporean couple jailed for starving Philippine maid

by Toh Ting Wei Agence France-Presse SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) – A Singapore couple who starved their Philippine maid until she weighed just 29 kilograms (64 pounds) were ordered jailed Monday in a case described as “shocking” by prosecutors who vowed to seek stiffer sentences. Trader Lim Choon Hong, 48, was sentenced to three weeks in jail and fined Sg$10,000 ($7,200), while his wife Chong Sui Foon, also 48, was jailed for three months, the couple’s […]

Troops evict opposition MPs from Maldives parliament

MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Security forces physically ejected protesting MPs from the Maldives parliament Monday in chaotic scenes during a failed opposition attempt to impeach the speaker and destabilise the president ahead of elections next year. Lawmakers shouted and stood on their chairs and one tried to remove the speaker’s seat ahead of the impeachment vote, which came a day after exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed announced a unity pact with the president’s powerful half-brother — […]

Eight killed, 40 injured after avalanche hits ski slopes in Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — An avalanche Monday killed seven Japanese high school students and a teacher on a mountain-climbing outing, and injured 40 more. More than 100 troops were deployed in a major rescue mission after the avalanche hit ski slopes in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo. Television footage showed rescuers climbing the mountainside as ambulances stood by. A total of 52 students and 11 teachers from seven high schools were on a three-day mountaineering […]

China’s drug problem expanding: government

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s drug problem is severe and growing, the government said Monday, with particularly sharp rises in the abuse and production of synthetic drugs which have become a major health concern worldwide. Chinese seizures of methamphetamine, ketamine and other synthetic drugs surged by 106 percent year-on-year in 2016, said Liu Yuejin, vice director of the China National Narcotics Control Commission. At the same time the manufacture of drug precursors increased along with […]

UPDATED: Six high school students feared dead in avalanche at Japan ski resort

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Six high school students were feared dead Monday after they were engulfed by an avalanche while on a mountain-climbing outing, officials and reports said. Local authorities and police confirmed that an avalanche had hit early Monday on the mountain in Tochigi prefecture north of Tokyo. Public broadcaster NHK reported that six high school students were found with no vital signs. NHK also said that three other students were injured, while three […]

South Korea prosecutors to seek arrest of ex-president Park

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Prosecutors in South Korea will seek an arrest warrant for ousted president Park Geun-Hye, they said Monday, days after questioning her over the corruption and abuse of power scandal that brought her down. Park, 65, had her removal from office confirmed by the country’s top court earlier this month, ending her executive immunity. Prosecutors said in a statement they had “concluded that it is in line with the laws and […]

Erdogan urges quick EU decision on membership bid

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday it would be “easier” if the EU blocked Ankara’s bid to join the bloc, suggesting he could even hold a referendum on the matter. It was the latest barb in the bitter dispute between Turkey and Europe after Germany and The Netherlands blocked Turkish ministers from campaigning among expats for a “yes” vote in next month’s referendum on boosting Erdogan’s powers. “What? If a […]

Opposition leader among hundreds arrested at Moscow protest

by Anna MALPAS and Germain MOYON Agence France Presse MOSCOW , Russia (AFP) — Hundreds of people including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were arrested on Sunday as thousands of Russians defied bans to stage protests across the country against corruption. Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations. The report has been […]