Young Taiwan activists have occupied the parliament, scuffled with police, braved water canons, and staged mass sit-in protests in a wave of anti-China sentiment likely to turn the island’s politics on its head in the January 16 presidential election. Grievances range from a government-proposed agreement to open much of Taiwan’s service sector to mainland investment, to Taiwan’s entrance into the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and most recently to President Ma Ying-jeo’s meeting with China’s […]
International
Denmark to send 120 soldiers to fight IS in Iraq’s Anbar Province
In February, Denmark will send 120 soldiers to the west Iraqi province of Anbar to fight Islamic State (IS), along with their peers from other 30-plus countries. At the Hoeveltes Military Base, these soldiers have been getting together for training. And in a few weeks, this class will be fighting in a war zone — Anbar Province, 158 kilometers outside Baghdad and is actually inside IS-controled area. It is not far from the key city […]
Pakistan seeks balance in Saudi Arabia-Iran tensions
Pakistan is trying to seek a balance between Saudi Arabia and Iran as senior Saudi officials paid recent visits to the country for support. Saudi Arabia’s foreign and defense ministers paid successive visits to Pakistan on January 7 and 10 respecitively. One of their important aims was to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation in the field of military security, especially on the issue of an Islamic anti-terrorism coalition. During the meeting, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz […]
No radioactivity from DPRK bomb test detected in China, says Environment Ministry
China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has been conducting emergency radiation monitoring in response to rising concerns over possible radioactive fallout from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear test last Wednesday. So far, at its 36 monitoring spots in the areas alongside the China-DPRK border, with some as close as 75 kilometers to the tremor site, no radioactive pollution has been detected. Hao Guofan, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial radiation environmental monitoring station, […]
Egypt convenes first parliament in 3 years
Egypt’s new parliament convened on Sunday, in its first session in three years, signaling the end of the country’s political roadmap that started in 2013. For the first time since it was dissolved in 2012, and despite the daunting task, the 596 members of parliament were excited about their work. “For 40 years the Egyptian people have only expected limited services from the parliament members. Today they hope that they will have a strong foundation […]
U.S. and South Korea in talks for more strategic assets to Korean peninsula
The United States and its ally South Korea are in talks towards sending further strategic assets to the Korean peninsula, South Korea’s defence ministry said, a day after a U.S. B-52 bomber flew over South Korea in response to North Korea’s nuclear test last week. “The United States and South Korea are continuously and closely having discussions on additional deployment of strategic assets on the Korean peninsula,” Kim Min-seok, spokesman at the South Korean defence […]
Greek conservatives elect new leader to challenge PM Alexis Tsipras
Greek conservatives elected Kyriakos Mitsotakis as their new leader on Sunday (January 10), hoping he can revive their fortunes and challenge leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, still popular despite opting for austerity. The conservative New Democracy party seeks to recover from its heavy election defeat in September, when Greeks re-elected Tsipras’ Syriza party amid capital controls on bank deposits and a harsh third bailout with the country’s foreign lenders. Mitsotakis, a 47-year reformist lawmaker and […]
South Korea to impose limits on access to joint factory park with North
South Korea said on Monday (January 11) that the government would impose tougher entry restrictions to a joint factory park run with North Korea, limiting its workforce staying in the park to “minimum necessary level” from Jan. 12. The spokesman at South Korea’s Unification Ministry told a news briefing that the government was taking stronger measures to protect its citizens after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test last week. “Considering the safety of our […]
Trump wonders if Ted Cruz is eligible to run for president
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, during a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada on Sunday (January 10), raised questions about Ted Cruz’s eligibility to run for president. “Ted Cruz has a real cloud hanging over his head. The question is: Is Ted Cruz, is he a natural born citizen,” Trump told the campaign rally crowd. “I think like 14, 15 months ago he revoked it, but he was citizen of the United States, I believe, and […]
Chilly mass wedding in China
BEIJING, China – Despite the chilly weather, 15 couples participated in a mass wedding in China as part of its ice and snow festival. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing and Uploaded by Vince Alvin Villarin)
International groups join ice sculpture competition in China
BEIJING, China – As part of the annual ice sculpture competition held in China, 30 groups from all over the world participated in showing said one-of-a-kind art. (Eagle News Service Described by Jay Paul Carlos, Video Editing and Uploaded by Vince Alvin Villarin)
South Korea on alert against possible retaliation from the North after launching propaganda barrage at border
South Korean residents living near the inter-Korean border were on alert against North Korea’s possible retaliation after the country resumed loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts towards the North. South Korea unleashed a high-decibel propaganda barrage across its border with North Korea on Friday (January 8) in retaliation for its nuclear test, a step that has angered the isolated North in the past. The broadcasts, in rolling bursts from walls of loudspeakers at 11 locations along the heavily […]