Asia

Asia stocks subdued before US jobs data

Asian equities were subdued on Friday (February 5) and the dollar wobbled ahead of the closely watched U.S. jobs report, which could provide clues on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook. The markets will look to the U.S. jobs data for direction, with the employment report expected to how employers adding 190,000 jobs in January, the median estimate of 108 economists polled by Reuters. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock average was down 1 percent despite an […]

South Korean foreign minister meets ambassadors to discuss North Korea

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Friday (February 5) held a meeting with the U.S., Japan, EU and Australian ambassadors to South Korea amid the threat of a North Korean satellite launch. U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, Japanese Ambassador to South Korea, Koro Bessho, Ambassador of the European Union to South Korea, Gerhard Sabathil, and Australian Ambassador to South Korea, Bill Paterson, attended the meeting at South Korea’s foreign ministry in Seoul. […]

Turkey’s Erdogan and Peru’s Humala sign bilateral accords

TURKISH President Tayyip Erdogan and Peruvian President Ollanta Humala signed bilateral accords on Tuesday (February 2) to increase bilateral economic and social cooperation. Accompanied by Peruvian Foreign Minister Ana Maria Sanchez and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the two presidents held a private meeting at the Salon de Embajadores (Ambassadors’ Hall) in the presidential palace. The foreign ministers signed bilateral agreements for cooperation among the two countries’ Chambers of Commerce and official news agencies. The agreements […]

Japan PM Abe to ‘strongly demand’ North Korea refrain from suspected missile launch

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday (February 3) he would work with the United States and others to “strongly demand” that North Korea refrain from a planned satellite launch suspected to be a missile test, calling it a provocative move that threatens the nation’s security. “This has been a meaning actually for a ballistic missile test. In addition to the nuclear tests, North Korea testing these ballistic missiles is an obvious violation of […]

South Korea says North will pay a ‘severe price’ for suspected missile launch

  (Reuters) — South Korea said on Wednesday (February 3) North Korea’s announced plan to launch a satellite is really a plan to launch a long-range missile and warned that the North will pay a “severe price” if it goes ahead. North Korea should immediately call off the planned launch, which is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the South’s presidential Blue House said. Seoul’s warning came after the North notified U.N. agencies late […]

WHO warns of possible spread of Zika virus to Africa, Asia

REUTERS — The mosquito-borne Zika virus linked to an outbreak of birth defects in Latin America could spread to Asia and Africa, the World Health Organization told a press briefing at its Geneva-based headquarters on Tuesday. “The complications of this relatively mild illness do have potentially devastating effects, for families to have a child with microcephaly, and to have a tenfold increase in numbers and the potential for spread, not just across Latin America, but […]

China’s nuclear envoy arrives in North Korea

  (Reuters) — China’s nuclear envoy arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday (February 2), the North’s KCNA news agency reported, amid a push by the United States and South Korea for tougher sanctions on the North after its fourth nuclear test. China’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei was expected to hold discussions with the North Koreans on the nuclear issue after his arrival, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported from the North Korean capital. […]

Magnitude 5.7 quake strikes Japan’s northeast, no tsunami warning issued

TOKYO, Feb. 2 (PNA/Xinhua) — The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 shook northeastern Japan on Tuesday afternoon, although no tsunami warning was issued. According to the weather agency, on the Japanese seismic scale that peaks at 7, the temblor measured 4 at 2:32 p.m. in some parts of northern Iwate Prefecture. Local authorities confirmed, however, that no injuries or damage, as yet, have been reported. According to […]

Putin is fanning Syrian civil war, Britain’s Hammond says

Russian President Vladimir Putin is undermining international efforts to end the Syrian civil war by bombing opponents of Islamic State in an attempt to bolster Bashar al-Assad, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said on Monday (February 1) during a visit to the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, about 10 km (six miles) south of the border with Syria. In a clear sign of frustration with the Kremlin, Hammond scolded Putin for paying lip service to […]

China says U.S. seeks “hegemony” after South China Sea sailing

REUTERS– China’s foreign ministry in Beijing accused the United States on Monday (February 1) of seeking maritime hegemony in the name of freedom of navigation after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed island in the South China Sea. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade is shipped every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims. […]

Newly-established theater commands to build joint battle command system

The newly established theater commands of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army undertake the mission of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, safeguard regional stability and world peace, said Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense at a press conference on Monday in Beijing. He told reporters that the five theater commands are: the Eastern Theater Command, the Southern Theater Command, the Western Theater Command, the Northern Theater Command and the Central […]

China condemns U.S. warship in West Philippine Sea

China condemned the latest action of the United States of America when the latter sent another missile destroyer in the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. Said US operation aims to guarantee the freedom of navigation in said territories. The United States sent said ship without asking for the leave of the three claimants of the said three territory – namely China, Taiwan and Vietnam. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video […]