Russia said on Sunday (Jan 29) it will not hold annual talks with Japan on renewing a pact that allows Japanese fishermen to operate near disputed islands, saying Japan has taken anti-Russian measures. The islands, off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, are known in Russia as the Kurils andContinue Reading
SEOUL: North Korea on Saturday (Jan 28) denounced US pledges of battle tanks to Ukraine, claiming Washington was “further crossing the red line” to win hegemony by proxy war, state media KCNA reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, made the remarks in a statementContinue Reading
KABUL: The United Nations’ aid chief visited Kabul on Monday (Jan 23) and raised concerns over women’s education and work with the Taliban administration’s acting minister of foreign affairs, an Afghan ministry statement said. The Taliban-run administration last month ordered NGOs not to allow most female employees to work, promptingContinue Reading
MANILA: The United States and the Philippines vowed Friday (Jan 20) to “invigorate” defence cooperation to address shared security concerns including disputes over the South China Sea. Manila hosted a high-level security dialogue with its top defence ally as part of efforts by President Ferdinand Marcos to restore a seven-decadeContinue Reading
SHANGHAI: China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday (Dec 24) expressed “strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition” towards the US National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law by US President Biden the day before. It charged that the US$858 billion military spending measure, which authorised up to US$10 billionContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday (Dec 22) he will seek China’s help in persuading North Korea to sit down for talks after Pyongyang’s slew of missile tests ratcheted up tensions. Blinken, who plans to visit Beijing in early 2023 in the first trip byContinue Reading
WELLINGTON: Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Thursday (Dec 22) it had taken the head of a global drug trafficking syndicate, dubbed “Asia’s El Chapo”, into custody after he was extradited from the Netherlands. The AFP said the arrest is the culmination of a long-running investigation into an organised crimeContinue Reading
The World Health Organization is concerned about a spike in COVID-19 infections in China and is supporting the government to focus its efforts on vaccinating people at the highest risk across the country, the head of the UN agency said on Wednesday (Dec 21). Infections have recently spiked in theContinue Reading
“NO GRIEVANCES” Wang told his counterpart that China and Australia had no fundamental conflicts of interest and they should use the 50th anniversary of ties to reorganise and restart relations, China’s foreign ministry said. “China and Australia have no historical grievances and no fundamental conflicts of interest, and should andContinue Reading
TAIPEI: A British minister will visit Taiwan this week for trade talks and meet President Tsai Ing-wen, his office said on Monday (Nov 7), drawing an angry reaction from Beijing to the latest high-level engagement between a Western government and the island. China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territoryContinue Reading