Asia

Hong Kong activists regroup; police chief warns safety at risk

(Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activists recaptured parts of a core protest zone from police early on Saturday after hours of turmoil that the city’s police chief warned undermined order and jeopardized public safety. Dozens of people were injured in the skirmishes, including 18 police, which raged through the night as several thousand protesters squared off again police in the densely populated Mong Kok district. At least 33 people were arrested, Hong Kong public broadcaster […]

Hong Kong leader hopes for fresh talks after night of clashes

(Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying sought to defuse tension with pro-democracy protesters on Thursday, saying he hopes the two sides can talk next week, but anger over police violence and continued street scuffles suggest the students are not about to give up. Leung was speaking after more than two weeks of protests that have paralyzed parts of the city and grabbed global headlines amid scenes of violent clashes and tear gas rising between […]

Car bomb kills 25 in Baghdad’s Shi’ite area

(Reuters) — A suicide car bombing on Tuesday (October 14) killed a parliament member and 24 others in a Shi’ite neighborhood in Baghdad, according to police and medical officials, as Islamic State attacked towns in western Anbar province. The third straight day of bombings in Shi’ite parts of Baghdad and an offensive in Anbar province that saw strategic towns threatened by Islamic State pointed to the dire security situation in Iraq. The blast in Baghdad, claimed by Islamic State, occurred late afternoon as cars […]

Hong Kong tension rises with police beating of protester

(Reuters) – Hong Kong authorities said on Wednesday police involved in the beating of a pro-democracy protester would be removed from their positions after footage of the overnight incident went viral, sparking outrage from some lawmakers and the public. Police said they arrested 45 protesters in the early hours, using pepper spray on those who resisted, as they cleared a main road in the Chinese-controlled city that had been barricaded by pro-democracy demonstrators with concrete […]

Hong Kong police use sledgehammers, chainsaws to clear protest barriers, open road

BY JAMES POMFRET AND DONNY KWOK (Reuters) – Hundreds of Hong Kong police used sledgehammers and chainsaws on Tuesday to tear down barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters near government offices and the financial center, reopening a major road for the first time in two weeks. But late in the evening demonstrators retaliated by swarming into a tunnel on a major four-lane thoroughfare, bringing traffic to a halt and chanting for universal suffrage. Riot police tried to push […]

North Korea leader Kim re-appears, with walking stick: state media

BY TONY MUNROE AND JACK KIM (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, shown using a cane for support, re-appeared in state media on Tuesday after a lengthy public absence that had fueled speculation over his health and grip on power in the secretive, nuclear-capable country. Several pictures on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim smiling and gesturing on a visit to a housing development, although there was no indication which day the […]

Protestors’ triumphs merely highlight the travails of Hong Kong’s democracy

Author: Joseph Cheng, City University of Hong Kong (Courtesy East Asia Forum) — Just before midnight on 2 October, CY Leung, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, agreed to negotiations with student protest leaders on the issue of political reform. The protesters, as well as the people of Hong Kong, can be very proud of what they have achieved so far. They have occupied not only the Admiralty area, but also several districts and ensured that […]

Hong Kong police begin removing protesters’ barricades in some Central areas

Police in Hong Kong removed baricades erected by pro-democracy protesters but said protesters continue to remain in the streets.    (Reuters) — Hong Kong police on Monday (October 13) removed some barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters in the Chinese-controlled city, but said protesters could remain on the streets they have occupied for the past two weeks. At the main protest site, near government offices in the downtown district of Admiralty, scores of student protesters faced off with […]

Chinese fisherman killed in South Korean coastguard raid

(Reuters) – A Chinese fisherman was killed on Friday in a South Korean coastguard operation to apprehend his vessel which was operating illegally off South Korea’s west coast, the South Korean coastguard said. Coastguard officers fired eight bullets when they raided the boat in the Yellow Sea. While the coastguard said no bullet wound or bleeding was immediately found on the crew member, a hospital official said the crew member appeared to have been killed […]