HANOI, Vietnam (AFP) — Vietnam’s coast guard has seized a Chinese oil tanker which it claims intruded into Vietnamese waters, state media said Monday, the latest episode in a festering territorial dispute in the South China Sea. The Qiong Yangpu was carrying 100,000 litres of oil, the official Vietnam News Agency said, adding that it was captured Thursday and impounded in the northern port of Hai Phong. The three-man crew was handed over to police, […]
Asia
At least 55 killed in flash floods in northern Pakistan
SWAT, Pakistan – Flash floods triggered by heavy rain in Pakistan have killed at least 55 people and rescuers were trying on Monday (April 4) to help thousands of survivors including some cut off by a landslide in a mountain valley, officials said. The weather system that brought the unusually heavy rain was expected to move northeast, towards northern India, although more isolated storms were expected in northern Pakistan, the Meteorological Department said. Yousuf Zia, […]
Asia may face water shortage by 2050
MANILA, Philippines – According to studies conducted by an American research institute, Asia, as a whole, is facing the danger of water shortage by 2050 due to economic activities, overpopulation and climate change. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing by Dexter Magno, Uploaded by MRFaith Bonalos)
US-Philippine war games begin as China warns ‘outsiders’
MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — US and Philippine troops began major exercises on Monday as China’s state media warned “outsiders” against interfering in tense South China Sea territorial disputes. The official Xinhua news agency gave the warning as Manila and Washington launched the 11-day Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) exercises with a low-key opening ceremony in Manila. US Defence Secretary Ash Carter is to fly to the Philippines next week to observe live-firing of artillery and visit US Navy […]
Japan submarine, warships make a port visit to the Phillippines
MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — A Japanese submarine and two escort warships made a port visit to the Philippines on Sunday (April 3) in a show of growing military ties between the two nations. Officials from the Philippine navy welcomed the Japanese training submarine JS Oyashio, along with the destroyer class ships JS Ariake and JS Setogiri. It was the first visit of a Japanese submarine to the Philippines in 15 years. “This is just an […]
Three arrested over deadly flyover collapse in India
KOLKATA, India (AFP) — Indian police have arrested three employees of the construction firm building a flyover which collapsed in the eastern city of Kolkata, as the death toll rose to 26, a senior officer said Saturday. The arrests were made late Friday after police sealed the Kolkata office of IVRCL, the contractor behind the ill-fated construction project in West Bengal state. Five other staff were detained for questioning over the tragedy that unfolded after a […]
North Korean leader watches test of new weapon system
(Reuters) — North Korea’s state media on Saturday (April 2) released still photographs of its leader Kim Jong Un observing a test of what it said was a new type of anti-air guided weapon system. The still photographs, broadcast on the North’s state-run television KRT, showed Kim watching missiles being fired from surface and aerial targets being blown up. KRT, however, did not specify the date or location of the test firing. North Korea […]
Nuclear terror threat ‘constantly evolving,’ world leaders say
Washington, United States (AFP)—-World leaders reaffirmed their commitment to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of extremists on Friday but warned that the threat is “constantly evolving.” “More work remains to be done to prevent non-state actors from obtaining nuclear and other radioactive materials, which could be used for malicious purposes,” the leaders said, in a joint statement at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. United States President Barack Obama invited dozens of world […]
Rescuers battle to reach India collapse survivors
by Sailendra Sil KOLKATA, India (AFP) — Emergency workers battled through the night into Friday to reach dozens of people still believed trapped under a flyover that collapsed in India, killing at least 22 others. Specialist rescue teams were using heavy cutting machinery and drills to reach an unknown number of people buried under the 100-metre (330-feet) section of road in Kolkata. Gruesome pictures showed limbs and bloodied bodies sticking out from underneath huge slabs […]
S. Korea says North fired missile, jammed GPS systems
North Korea fired another short-range missile off its east coast on Friday, South Korean officials said, as regional leaders met in Washington to discuss the threat of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme. It was the latest in a series of North Korean missile launches during what has been an extended period of elevated military tension on the Korean peninsula, triggered by Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test on January 6. The launch came as the South Korean coastguard […]
China manufacturing expands for first time in 9 months, government says
Beijing, China (AFP)—China’s manufacturing activity expanded in March for the first time in nine months, official data showed Friday. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index, which tracks activity in factories and workshops, rebounded to 50.2 last month, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. It was the highest figure in nine months and the first expansion of manufacturing activity since June 2015. The result beat the median expectations of 49.4 in a Bloomberg News survey […]
Rescuers look for survivors under rubble of collapsed bridge
KOLKATA, India – A flyover under construction in the bustling Indian city of Kolkata collapsed on Thursday (March 31) on to vehicles and street vendors below, killing at least 14 people with more than 100 people feared trapped. A 100-meter (110-yard) section of flyover snapped off at one end and came crashing down in a teeming commercial district near Girish Park. A coordinated rescue operation was slow to get under way, with access for heavy […]
