Pompeo a ‘diehard toxin’: North Korea

North Korea’s top diplomat said yesterday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was a “diehard toxin” who only complicates denuclearisation talks and North Korea was ready for both dialogue and standoff.
23 August 2019

S Korea scraps intel-sharing pact with Japan amid row

South Korea yesterday said it will scrap an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, a decision that could further escalate a dispute over history and trade and undercut security cooperation on North Korea.
22 August 2019

Myanmar troops' sexual violence against Rohingyas 'genocidal intent': UN report

Sexual violence committed by Myanmar troops against Rohingya women and girls in 2017 was an indication of the military's genocidal intent to destroy the mainly Muslim ethnic minority, United Nations investigators concluded in a report release.
22 August 2019

Australia’s Cardinal Pell loses child sex abuse appeal

Disgraced Cardinal George Pell lost his appeal against child sex abuse convictions yesterday, prompting relief from victims who fought to
21 August 2019

Australia to join US in Gulf mission

Australia will join the US-led mission to protect shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced yesterday. Morrison said Australia would send a “modest” contribution -- including a frigate, a P8
21 August 2019

China threatens sanctions

China yesterday blasted a huge planned US arms shipment to self-ruled Taiwan and threatened to sanction firms involved in the sale of F-16 fighter jets.
21 August 2019

Emperor ‘prevented from voicing remorse’ after war

Japan’s wartime emperor Hirohito wanted to express his regret and remorse shortly after World War II but the prime minister at the time stopped him, local media reported yesterday, citing newly disclosed documents.
20 August 2019

Afghan wedding suicide blast kills 63, amid hopes for talks

A suicide bomber kills 63 people and wounds 182 in an attack on a packed wedding reception in the Afghan capital, the interior ministry says, as violence shows no sign of easing despite hopes for a deal on a US troop withdrawal.
18 August 2019

Open for business, not for sale

Greenland is not for sale, local authorities said Friday, after a newspaper reported that US President Donald Trump is looking into whether it might be possible for the United States to buy the mineral-rich Arctic island.
17 August 2019

Hong Kong adds another dimension to US-China trade war

The United States and China are embroiled in a trade war for almost two years with reciprocal tariffs and fiery rhetoric coming from both sides.
17 August 2019

FMs of China, Japan, S Korea to hold talks

Top diplomats of South Korea and Japan plan to meet their Chinese counterpart in Beijing next week amid a flare-up in tension over trade and history, Seoul’s foreign ministry said yesterday. Foreign ministers Kang Kyung-wha of South Korea, Taro Kono of Japan and
16 August 2019

Pacific nations chide Australia

Small Pacific islands nations at risk from rising sea levels lambasted Australia yesterday after it blocked moves at a regional forum to set down tough policies to combat climate change.
16 August 2019

Australian tourist shot dead in NZ

New Zealand police launched a manhunt for an armed suspect yesterday after an Australian tourist was found shot dead in a camper van
16 August 2019

17 missing in SW China landslide

More than a dozen workers remained missing yesterday after a landslide in southwest China buried a section of railway that was
16 August 2019

‘Won’t repeat’ Tiananmen

Chinese state media yesterday vowed there “won’t be a repeat” of the Tiananmen Square crackdown if Beijing moves to quash Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.
16 August 2019

N Korea fires missiles

North Korea launched at least two short-range ballistic missiles yesterday, South Korea’s military said, shortly after Pyongyang described South Korea’s president as “impudent” and vowed that inter-Korean talks are over.
16 August 2019

UN Security Council to meet today on India's moves in Kashmir

The UN Security Council is due to meet behind closed-doors at the request of China and Pakistan to discuss India's decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, diplomats say.
16 August 2019

Taiwan sharply boosts defense budget

Taiwan yesterday unveiled its largest defence spending increase in more than a decade amid rising military tensions with its giant
15 August 2019

Japan emperor speaks of ‘deep remorse’ over WWII

Japan’s new emperor spoke of “deep remorse” yesterday over the country’s wartime past in his first speech to commemorate the end of World War II since his enthronement in May.
15 August 2019

Pakistan says 3 soldiers die in Kashmir clash

Pakistan says three of its soldiers are killed in a cross-border exchange of fire in the contested Kashmir region, but India denies that five of its troops are dead too.
15 August 2019