Asia

China’s ‘Singles Day’ shopping bonanza loses its lustre

BEIJING, Nov 11, 2023 (AFP) – China’s annual “Singles Day” sales bonanza wraps up at midnight on Saturday, but consumers this year appear largely unswayed by its flashy deals and discounts as the world’s second-largest economy slows. Conceived by tech giant Alibaba, “Singles Day” — which this year spanned well over a week — was launched in 2009 and has since ballooned into a yearly blockbuster retail period. Sales for last year’s Singles Day reached […]

Japan to spend $13 bn to boost domestic chip production

TOKYO, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – Japan’s government said on Friday that it plans to spend 2 trillion yen ($13 billion) to boost domestic production of strategically important semiconductors and generative AI technology. The planned outlays will include 700 billion yen ($4.6 billion) to support the construction of a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plant in Kumamoto, the firm’s second plant in the southern Japanese region, trade ministry official Motoki Kurita told AFP. TSMC controls […]

Philippines accuses China of ‘dangerous’ actions in South China Sea

  MANILA, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard Friday of “dangerous harassment” of Filipino boats in the disputed South China Sea, including firing a water cannon. The latest incident near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands comes nearly three weeks after two collisions between Chinese and Philippine vessels during a resupply mission to the same tiny garrison. The countries, which have a long history of maritime disputes in […]

Philippines accuses China of ‘dangerous’ actions in South China Sea

The Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard Friday of “dangerous harassment” of Filipino boats in the disputed South China Sea, including firing a water cannon. The latest incident near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands comes nearly three weeks after two collisions between Chinese and Philippine vessels during a resupply mission to the same tiny garrison. The countries, which have a long history of maritime disputes in the hotly contested waters, traded blame for […]

China’s animal lovers fight illegal cat meat trade

By Jing Xuan TENG SUZHOU, China, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – When Han Jiali’s beloved cat Dabai was taken from her Shanghai home last year, she embarked on a hunt for her pet that took her deep into the bowels of China’s underground feline meat trade. Most people in China do not eat cat meat, but an estimated four million furry friends are slaughtered for food each year in an illegal market that includes areas […]

Northern Myanmar fighting displaces almost 50,000 civilians: UN

YANGON, Nov 10, 2023 (AFP) – Almost 50,000 people have been displaced by fighting in northern Myanmar after an alliance of ethnic armed groups launched an offensive against the military two weeks ago, the United Nations said Friday. “As of 9 November, almost 50,000 people in northern Shan were forced into displacement,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in an update. Fighting has raged for two weeks across northern […]

G7 backs ‘humanitarian pauses’ in Gaza, reaffirms Ukraine support

By Bernd FISCHALECK, Leon BRUNEAU TOKYO, Nov 8, 2023 (AFP) – G7 foreign ministers said Wednesday that they supported “humanitarian pauses and corridors” in the Hamas-Israel war but refrained from calling for a ceasefire. The group also said after talks in Japan that their support for Ukraine in its war with Russia “will never waver” while calling on China not to support Moscow in the conflict. “We stress the need for urgent action to address […]

Alert: Another magnitude 6.7 earthquake hits Indonesia’s Banda Sea: USGS

#Earthquake (#gempa) confirmed by seismic data.⚠Preliminary info: M6.7 || 340 km SE of #Ambon (#Indonesia) || 8 min ago (local time 22:02:08). Follow the thread for the updates👇 pic.twitter.com/Zltf3P3HKT — EMSC (@LastQuake) November 8, 2023 Notable quake, preliminary info: M 6.7 – Banda Sea https://t.co/1yL11FQ99p — USGS Earthquakes (@USGS_Quakes) November 8, 2023 JAKARTA, Nov 8, 2023 (AFP) – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Banda Sea on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, hours […]

7.1-magnitude quake hits Indonesia’s Banda Sea

JAKARTA, Nov 8, 2023 (AFP) – A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Indonesia’s Banda Sea on Wednesday, the United States Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage or casualties. No tsunami warning was issued for the quake — initially reported as a magnitude 6.9 — which hit at 11:53 am local time (0453 GMT), according to the USGS. The tremor was felt moderately in the town of Saumlaki in the archipelago’s Tanimbar Islands, according to […]

China, Australia can become ‘trusting’ partners, Xi says

By Oliver HOTHAM with Jing Xuan TENG in Shanghai BEIJING, Nov 6, 2023 (AFP) – Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Monday that their countries could become “trusting partners”, pledging to work with Canberra on everything from regional security to climate change as the two leaders eased years of tensions that cut billions of dollars in trade. Beijing is Canberra’s biggest trading partner, but relations plummeted in 2020 after Australia’s then-conservative […]

China urges Myanmar to ‘cooperate’ on border stability

BEIJING, Nov 6, 2023 (AFP) – A senior Chinese diplomat has urged Myanmar to “cooperate” in maintaining stability on their shared border, Beijing said Monday, after armed groups fighting the junta seized a strategic trading outpost. Assistant Foreign Minister Nong Rong visited Myanmar from Friday to Sunday, Beijing said, holding talks with senior junta officials on clashes the UN said have forced 23,000 people from their homes. “Myanmar is called on to cooperate with China […]

Killing of Philippine radio broadcaster caught on camera

MANILA, Philippines, Nov 5, 2023 (AFP) – A radio broadcaster was fatally shot inside his studio in the Philippines on Sunday, police said, the latest in a long list of journalists killed in the country. Juan Jumalon, 57, was in his home-based studio on the southern island of Mindanao when a gunman shot him in the head, said Captain Deore Ragonio, police chief in Calamba municipality. Jumalon is the fourth journalist to be slain since […]