China shut schools and cancelled dozens of flights as Typhoon Megi made landfall in the southern province of Fujian on Wednesday (September 28) with winds of close to 120 km per hour (75 mph), state media reported. Megi, which has killed four people and injured more than 523 in Taiwan since roaring in from the Pacific, made landfall at 4:40 a.m. local time (2040 GMT Tuesday, September 27). Chinese authorities issued their third-highest severe weather […]
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South Korean court to rule on Lotte chairman arrest warrant
A South Korean court will rule on the prosecutors’ arrest warrant request for the chairman of the Lotte Group after holding a hearing on Wednesday (September 28), following a criminal probe into the sprawling retail-to-chemicals conglomerate. “I will sincerely answer the court’s questions. I am sorry for causing concerns,” Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin told reporters before attending the closed hearing at Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday morning. South Korean prosecutors made the request on […]
Death toll in migrant ship wreck rises to 202
BURG RASHID, Egypt (Reuters) — Thirty-three bodies were recovered on Tuesday (September 27) as a wreck of a boat that sank off Egypt last week with hundreds of migrants aboard was lifted from the depths, raising the confirmed death toll to 202, a local official said. The boat capsized off the Mediterranean coast on Sept. 21. Rescue workers and fishermen said they had rescued at least 169 people, but uncertainty remains over how many might […]
Pulling a rip cord over North Korea
Just weeks after carrying out its fifth nuclear test, North Korea puts on an unprecedented civilian and military air force display at the country’s first ever public aviation show. https://youtu.be/2FYogoYLvS8
Taiwan shuts down as Typhoon Megi strikes
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan went into shutdown Tuesday as the island faces its third typhoon in two weeks, with thousands evacuated, schools and offices closed across the island and hundreds of flights disrupted. Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall in eastern Taiwan later Tuesday but is already bringing widespread violent winds and torrential rain as it nears the island. More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and around 2,000 are […]
Hyundai car workers start first full strike in 12 years
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Tens of thousands of unionised workers at South Korea’s Hyundai Motor staged their first full strike on Monday for more than a decade after negotiations over a wage increase stalled. Nearly 50,000 workers at Hyundai Motor’s three plants across the country — including the main one in the southern city of Ulsan — walked off the job throughout Monday, said a spokesman for its labour union. The day-long stoppage is […]
Taiwan evacuates tourists ahead of third storm in two weeks
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan evacuated thousands of tourists from outlying islands Monday and set up nearly 100 shelters across the island as it braced for its third typhoon in two weeks. The east coast is still reeling from damage caused by Super Typhoon Meranti earlier this month — the strongest storm for 21 years to hit Taiwan — followed by Typhoon Malakas. The same part of the island is in the firing line again […]
UN rights expert plans to probe Philippine killings
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — A United Nations rights rapporteur told AFP Monday she intended to visit the Philippines to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on crime, but was seeking security guarantees for people she planned to speak with. Duterte last week said he would allow UN and EU experts to look into the thousands of killings since he took office on June 30, however he also challenged them to face him in public debates. […]
Philippines tells world not to interfere in Duterte drugs war
(Reuters) By David Brunnstrom | UNITED NATIONS Philippines Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told the United Nations on Saturday his country’s new president, Rodrigo Duterte, had an “unprecedented” mandate and the world should not interfere in his crackdown on crime. Addressing the annual U.N. General Assembly, Yasay said the Duterte government was “determined to free the Philippines from corrupt and other stagnating practices, including the manufacture, distribution and use of illicit drugs. “Our actions, however, […]
French fighter jet deal: an Indian saga
New Delhi, India (AFP) by Alexandre MARCHAND The less-than-supersonic sale of French Rafale fighter jets to India has highlighted the obstacles facing foreign arms firms seeking to do business with the world’s biggest weapons importer. India has signed a series of key defence deals under Prime Minister Narendra Modi as part of a $100 billion upgrade of its Soviet-era military hardware, making it an attractive proposition for arms exporters. But a series of corruption scandals […]
S. Korea rules out flood aid to N. Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea Friday ruled out giving aid to flood-hit North Korea, saying leader Kim Jong-Un would claim credit for any assistance following what Pyongyang calls the “worst disaster” since World War II. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) appealed Wednesday for $15.5 million in emergency funding to help North Koreans. It warned of a “secondary disaster” in the impoverished country unless urgent assistance is provided. […]
Syria meeting breaks up without plan to restore truce
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — A high-level international meeting on the crisis in Syria broke up Thursday without agreement on a way to revive a collapsed US and Russian-brokered truce. US Secretary of State John Kerry said his Russian counterpart had not been able to promise to ground Syria’s bombers and to halt the bombardment of its cities. “The question now is whether there remains any real chance of moving forward, because it is […]
