SRINAGAR, India : A lack of snowfall has led to empty ski resorts and holiday cancellations in the Indian Himalayas, with scientists linking the “unusual” winter to the El Nino weather phenomenon. The dry spell in Kashmir has pushed skiers to skip the popular resort of Gulmarg, one of theContinue Reading
SINGAPORE: Seven Malaysian and international groups – comprising 31 firms – have submitted their concept proposals for the development of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR) project, marking another twist in Malaysia’s bid to revive the on-off-on initiative. According to a statement on Monday (Jan 15), the proposals wereContinue Reading
The new Maldives president set a deadline on Sunday of Mar 15 for its giant neighbour India to withdraw all its troops from the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago nation. The deadline was set shortly after the Maldives president, Mohamed Muizzu, returned from a state visit to China. New Delhi hasContinue Reading
The features include Thitu island, the biggest and most strategically important in the South China Sea. Known locally as Pag-asa, Thitu lies about 480km west of the Philippine province of Palawan. The military wants to bring a desalination machine for troops living aboard a warship that the Philippines deliberately groundedContinue Reading
There is ongoing construction work and some properties and amenities are still being built, they told CNA.
Lemon Tree Restaurant, which has been selling Western food for almost 20 years in Johor Bahru, is one of those taking a cautious approach.
Founder Jeffery Bong is carefully studying the area to see if there are other food outlets that may compete for his business.
“If we expand our business closer to the RTS early, we can hop onto the initial hype in the area,” he said.
“But we need to think of every aspect of the business. These include rental, renovation, facilities and labour cost.”
Mr Teh Kee Sin, advisor of the SME Association of South Johor, told CNA that such firms have limited resources and will have to weigh the pros and cons of such a potential move.
TAIPEI: Nauru will sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognise China, the government of the small Pacific Islands nation said on Monday (Jan 15), marking Taipei’s first diplomatic ally to switch to Beijing following a presidential election. The Nauru government said that “in the best interests” of the country andContinue Reading
HANOI: The head of Vietnam’s Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, on Monday (Jan 15) attended a session of the National Assembly after concerns were raised over the health of the country’s most powerful leader. It is the first public appearance that Trong, 79, has made since Dec 26. Diplomats had raised concernsContinue Reading
BEIJING: China Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the war in Gaza continues to escalate and China is calling for a larger-scale, more authoritative and effective international peace conference and a concrete timetable to implement a two-state solution. Wang made the comments to reporters after talks with the Egyptian Foreign MinisterContinue Reading
SEOUL: North Korea’s latest test was of a new solid-fuel hypersonic missile with intermediate range, state media reported on Monday (Jan 15). The missile launch on Sunday did not pose a security threat to neighbouring countries, state news agency KCNA said. The launch was aimed at testing the reliability ofContinue Reading
PRESTON, England: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un is continuing to ramp up his focus on nuclear weapons and taking a more aggressive military stance towards his neighbour South Korea.
In his 2023 year-end speech, in which he outlined his plans for 2024, Kim said inter-Korean relations had become “a relationship between two hostile countries and two belligerents at war”. For years Kim’s policy has been to attempt to reunify the two countries, which were separated in 1953 after the end of the Korean War. A tight military border has made it almost impossible for ordinary people to pass in or out of North Korea.
The North Korean leader also announced a plan to launch three new military spy satellites in 2024, highlighting the country’s continued focus on its space and military programmes.
In the first few days of January, state sources released photographs of his visit to a missile launcher factory, and Kim was reported as saying North Korea needed to “prepare for war”.
In statements that showed Kim’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric, he is reported as saying that he “judged the Republic of Korea clan to be our main enemy” and North Korea must keep “continuously stockpiling unparalleled overwhelming power”, due to growing hostilities with South Korea.
Kim’s new year’s plan was followed a few days later by North Korea firing around 200 artillery shells towards Yeonpyeong island in South Korea. Over the days that followed it fired more shells towards South Korea’s west coast.
During her new year’s greetings to South Korea, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is seen as an increasingly powerful figure, issued a statement which appeared to support the pursuit of further nuclear capabilities.
This has prompted renewed discussions among experts over the possibility of North Korea conducting a seventh nuclear test. The last nuclear test that it conducted was in 2017.
In 2022, North Korea revised its constitution to declare itself a nuclear state, and in 2023, North Korea recorded a record number of nuclear weapons tests, causing concern in South Korea and the United States.