MANILA, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – Five Myanmar nationals asked the Philippines on Wednesday to investigate alleged war crimes committed by 10 serving or former members of Myanmar’s military against the mainly Chin minority. Filipino lawyers representing the Myanmar nationals told reporters they lodged the “landmark” criminal complaint against junta chief Min Aung Hlaing and nine others at the Department of Justice in Manila. They asked prosecutors to open an investigation into alleged war crimes […]
Asia
Hong Kong’s new national security laws could target “soft resistance”
By Xinqi SU and Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – Hong Kong leader John Lee used his policy address on Wednesday to sound the alarm on the threat of “soft resistance” — a vague term used by Chinese politicians to signal a new chapter in their crackdown against dissent. The phrase has no clear definition nor is it included in the city’s laws, but this week it appeared in a guilty verdict […]
Four South Korean tourists killed in Vietnam floods
HANOI, Oct 24, 2023 (AFP) – Four South Korean tourists were killed Tuesday in Vietnam’s Central Highlands after their car was swept away by rising floodwater following days of heavy rain, state media said. The accident took place around midday in Dalat, a picturesque city popular with holidaymakers, when the tourists’ jeep tried to cross a swollen stream. The water had “suddenly risen high” after three days of continuous rainfall in the mountainous Lam Dong […]
South Korea, US, Japan hold first joint air drills
SEOUL, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – South Korea, the United States and Japan carried out their first joint aerial drills on Sunday, Seoul’s military said. The exercise, which involved a US nuclear-weapons-capable B-52 bomber, comes as Seoul, Washington and Tokyo beef up their defence cooperation against growing missile and nuclear threats from North Korea. The US bomber landed at a South Korean airbase on Tuesday after a flyover at the country’s largest defence exhibition. B-52s, […]
Japan PM promises focus on ‘economy, economy, economy’
TOKYO, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised on Monday tax cuts as part of a new economic programme that he hopes will shore up his sagging popularity. Kishida has seen his ratings plummet to the lowest levels since he took office two years ago, and over the weekend his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost a by-election. In a legislative policy address to parliament, Kishida listed his economic achievements and […]
Manila says Chinese vessels ‘intentionally’ hit Philippine boats
MANILA, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Manila said Monday that Chinese vessels “intentionally hit” Philippine boats at the weekend, escalating a diplomatic row over two collisions in the South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday’s incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions happened during a Philippine resupply mission to troops stationed on a navy […]
Maritime spat escalates: Philippines and China lodge protests after South China Sea collisions
By Pam Castro with Peter Catterall in Beijing MANILA, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Manila summoned Beijing’s ambassador and China lodged a complaint on Monday in a growing spat over two collisions between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday’s incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions […]
China and Philippines point fingers over South China Sea collisions
By Cecil Morella with Sebastien Ricci in Beijing MANILA, Oct 22, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing and Manila traded blame for two collisions Sunday between Chinese vessels and Philippine boats on a resupply mission to Filipino troops on a remote outpost in the disputed South China Sea. The incidents happened near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, a hotly contested region where Beijing deploys ships to assert its claims over almost the entire sea. A […]
Living in extraordinary times! Eagle News International – Oct. 21, 2023
China says nuclear weapons only intended for ‘self-defence’
BEIJING, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing on Friday stressed its nuclear programme was only intended for self-defence, insisting nations had nothing to fear as long as they did not threaten China with attack. Washington said this week that China’s nuclear arsenal was developing much faster than US projections had previously anticipated, and Beijing is likely to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. Asked about the claim, China’s foreign ministry expressed its […]
China tightens export controls on key graphite materials for EV batteries citing ‘national security’
BEIJING, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – China on Friday announced new curbs on exports of certain types of graphite, key to making batteries for electric vehicles, days after the United States slapped fresh restrictions on outflows of high-tech microchips. Washington said this week it would ramp up restrictions on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors crucial for powering artificial intelligence systems — its latest effort to curb Beijing’s access to advanced tech. China has branded Washington’s policy […]
US says China building up nuclear capacity faster than expected
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than US projections had previously anticipated, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday. China possessed “more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 — on track to exceed previous expectations” the Department of Defense said in its annual China Military Power Report, issued annually and mandated by Congress. “We’re not trying to suggest a very large departure from where they […]