Tag Archives: Asia

North Korea Tests Missile Meant To Carry Tactical Nuke

The BBC reports: North Korea says it has successfully tested a new weapon, which it says will significantly enhance its tactical nuclear capabilities. Photos show the country’s leader Kim Jong-un smiling and clapping as he watches the new missile’s launch. Experts believe this is a sign that North Korea is planning to test a compact nuclear weapon soon – in …

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Kazakh President: “Shoot To Kill Without Warning”

Reuters reports: Kazakhstan’s president said Friday he had ordered his troops to “shoot to kill without warning” in an effort to quash anti-government protests that have been raging since the weekend. Chaotic and violent scenes persisted in the resource-rich Central Asian country of 19 million, as the first “peacekeeping” troops from a Russia-led military alliance arrived following the leader’s request …

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Chinese LGBT Rights Group Shutters Under Pressure

The South China Morning Post reports: A Chinese LGBT advocacy group has suspended operations indefinitely and closed its social media accounts amid a nationwide tightening of social controls. LGBT Rights Advocacy China, a non-profit providing legal support for the LGBT community, announced the move early on Friday. Its final message on WeChat, one of the country’s leading social media platforms, …

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“Death To Gays” Boxer Manny Pacquiao Announces Run For President Of Philippines: “I Fight Outside The Ring”

The Associated Press reports: Philippine boxing icon and senator Manny Pacquiao says he will run for president in the 2022 elections. Pacquiao accepted the nomination of his PDP-Laban party at its national convention on Sunday, pledging to honestly serve the Filipino people who he said have been waiting for a change of government. “I am a fighter, and I will …

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North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Off Coast [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: North Korea launched two ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, the country’s first ballistic missile test in six months and a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban North Korea from conducting such tests. Hours after the missiles were launched, South Korea announced that its president, Moon Jae-in, had just …

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Vietnam Jails Man For Five Years For Spreading COVID

Reuters reports: Vietnam jailed a man on Monday for five years for breaking strict COVID-19 quarantine rules and spreading the virus to others, state media reported. Le Van Tri, 28, was convicted of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases” at a one-day trial at the People’s Court of the southern province of Ca Mau, the state-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported. “Tri …

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Most Of New Zealand To Leave COVID Lockdown

ABC News reports: Most of New Zealand will move out of lockdown Tuesday except for the largest city of Auckland, which will remain in the strictest type of lockdown until at least next week, the government announced Monday. The nation has been battling an outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus since last month. All recent cases have been …

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New Zealand Border To Stay Closed For Rest Of 2021

The BBC reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that that the country’s borders will remain closed until at least the end of the year. She said an elimination strategy was the best way to keep Covid-19 out and the economy open. The prime minister also said New Zealand would move to a new individual risk-based model for …

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Chinese Communist Party Marks 100 Years [VIDEO]

Reuters reports: China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday warned that foreign forces attempting to bully the nation will “get their heads bashed”, and hailed a “new world” created by its people as the ruling Communist Party marked the centenary of its founding. In an hour-long address from Tiananmen Square, Xi pledged to build up China’s military, committed to the “reunification” …

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India Reports Record 400K New Cases In One Day

The Washington Post reports: India shattered the record for daily cases in the pandemic, reporting more than 400,000 coronavirus cases on Saturday as a devastating surge of infections worsened. The soaring number of cases prompted the United States to restrict travel from India on Friday. Dozens of countries have begun sending aid to bolster hospitals overwhelmed by patients and short …

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India’s COVID Crisis Deepens As Nations Pledge Aid

The New York Times reports: As a second wave of the pandemic rages in India, which logged more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday, countries around the world are trying to help. But their efforts to send oxygen and other critical aid are unlikely to plug enough holes in India’s sinking health care system …

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Japanese Court Rules Against Same-Sex Marriage Ban

The Associated Press reports: A Japanese court ruled Wednesday the government’s ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, recognizing the rights of same-sex couples for the first time in the only Group of Seven country that doesn’t acknowledge their legal partnership. Even though the court dismissed the plaintiffs’ demand for government compensation, the precedent is a major victory for same-sex people …

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Taiwan’s Reps Brawl With Pig Parts Over US Pork Rule

The Washington Post reports: Taiwan has seen lawmakers throw punches, chairs, eggs and even water balloons during periodic and spectacular bouts of parliamentary violence. But when pigs fly — that’s something unheard of, even by Taiwan’s standards. Members of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) on Friday threw pig hearts, intestines, lungs and other innards, leaving the chamber’s crimson carpet streaked with …

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India Breaks Global Daily Record For COVID Cases

Reuters reports: India added more than 90,000 cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, a global daily record, according to data from the federal health ministry. There were 90,632 new cases in the 24 hours to Sunday, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Famlily Welfare, while the number of deaths rose by 1,065 to 70,626. The …

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Japanese PM Abruptly Resigns For Health Reasons

The BBC reports: Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has announced his resignation for health reasons. He said he did not want his illness to get in the way of decision making, and apologised to the Japanese people for failing to complete his term in office. The 65-year-old has suffered for many years from ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, but he …

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Vietnam Evacuates Tourist Hot Spot Over Three Cases

Reuters reports: Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the central tourism hot spot of Danang after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus at the weekend, the government said on Monday. The evacuation will take at least four days with domestic airlines operating approximately 100 flights daily from Danang to 11 Vietnamese cities, the government said in …

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Taiwan Sees Small Pride Parade Despite COVID [VIDEO]

ABC News reports: The Taiwanese capital held its annual LGBT pride parade on Sunday, making it one of the few places in the world to proceed with such an event in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The parade in Taipei has drawn tens of thousands of people in the past, but participant numbers Sunday were reduced by both virus …

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Hong Kong Criminalizes Mocking The Chinese Anthem

USA Today reports: Hong Kong’s legislature approved a contentious bill Thursday that makes it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem. The legislation was approved after pro-democracy opposition lawmakers tried to disrupt the vote. The bill was passed with 41 lawmakers voting for it and just one voting against. Most of the pro-democracy lawmakers boycotted the vote out of protest. …

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Kim Totally Not Dead, Claims North Korean State Media

Reuters reports: North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said on Saturday leader Kim Jong Un attended the completion of a fertilizer plant in a region north of the capital, Pyongyang, in the first report of his public activity since April 11. Reuters could not independently verify the KCNA report. There has been speculation about his health after he missed the …

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Wuhan Celebrates End Of Lockdown With Light Show

Reuters reports: The Chinese city where the new coronavirus emerged ended its more-than two-month lockdown on Wednesday, even as a small northern city ordered restrictions on residents amid concern about a second wave of infections. China sealed off Wuhan, a central city of 11 million people, on Jan. 23, a drastic step that came to symbolise its aggressive management of …

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