US, Japan allege North Korea sending arms to Russia

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SEOUL – Rumors, allegations and accusations that North Korea is supplying arms to Russian forces for use in the Ukraine war are gathering pace and resonance. On December 22, the White House accused North Korea of sending arms to Russian private military contractor the Wagner Group. Separately, a Japanese newspaper claimed that a shipment of […]Continue Reading

BOJ fires shot across US Treasury market’s bow

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The Bank of Japan’s surprise policy tweak sent US government bonds down sharply, but US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen probably hasn’t seen anything yet. As the BOJ allows the yen to appreciate at long last, Yellen’s team may soon find itself short of buyers for US Treasuries in Asia and beyond. As Japanese government bond […]Continue Reading

Charles ‘The Serpent’ Sobhraj: Serial killer and conman

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KATHAMANDU: Notorious French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, the titular “Serpent” of the hit Netflix drama series, was responsible for a string of murders throughout Asia. The charismatic conman, 78, was for nearly two decades serving a life sentence for killing two tourists in Kathmandu in the 1970s, before Nepal’s topContinue Reading

Baswedan surge alarms Indonesia’s ruling elite

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JAKARTA – Unproven allegations of corruption and election irregularities leveled against recently-retired Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan suggest a gathering tide of concern in Indonesia’s nationalist camp over recent polls showing the Islamist-backed candidate making substantial gains in the 2024 presidential race. A December 1 survey by Indikator Politik, for example, saw him trailing front-runner Ganjar […]Continue Reading