In recent weeks there has been much watch over North Korea. Earlier this week they did a nuclear missal test that failed but still sent shocks around the world, specially countries around the Korean peninsula as well as the United States. This is extremely frightening to countries around the world for such an unstable, communist country to have the such… Read more »
It has been a tumultuous few weeks for east Asia, and especially the countries in and around the Korean peninsula. Although North Korea’s attempted missile test was a failure, it sent shock-waves around the region. In a change of policy from the previous administration, the White House has pursued a more reactive approach towards the rogue nation, sending a carrier… Read more »
(Reuters) China and the European Union should promote a “positive signal” of economic globalization and free and fair trade, Premier Li Keqiang told the EU’s top diplomat Federica Mogherini. Some European officials say that China has launched a charm offensive with the EU since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, in an effort to find allies amid fears Trump could… Read more »
(BCC News) Australia will make it more difficult to gain citizenship in a major overhaul of its migration process. Aspiring citizens will undergo tougher tests on their English language skills and ability to demonstrate “Australian values”, PM Malcolm Turnbull said. Applicants must also have completed four years as a permanent resident – three years longer than at present. The move… Read more »
(France 24) Coral bleached for two consecutive years at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has “zero prospect” of recovery, scientists warned Monday, as they confirmed the site has again been hit by warming sea temperatures. Researchers said last month they were detecting another round of mass bleaching this year after a severe event in 2016, and their fears were confirmed after… Read more »
North Korea denounced Washington’s deployment of a naval strike group to the Korean peninsula Tuesday, warning it was ready for “war” in a further escalation of tensions. The Carl Vinson strike group cancelled a planned trip to Australia this weekend to head to the region, in a show of force as Washington signalled it may act to shut down Pyongyang’s… Read more »
(Reuters) President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday denied being misleading about a U.S. carrier strike group’s push toward the Korean peninsula, saying it never gave an arrival date and that the ships were still on their way. When Trump boasted early last week that he had sent an “armada” as a warning to North Korea, the USS Carl Vinson strike… Read more »
(CNN) Indonesia’s capital is on edge as a vote that has become a test of tolerance in the world’s most populous majority-Muslim nation gets underway. The incumbent governor of Jakarta, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, an ethnic Chinese Christian, is facing a challenge by a Muslim former government minister backed by hard-line religious groups. “(These) election campaigns … have been the… Read more »
(PRI) Scientists say that one of our world’s greatest natural treasures is now truly “terminal.” This news comes after sequential, massive bleaching events — which is what happens when ocean temperatures rise beyond levels that coral reefs can survive. Climate change is the primary culprit, and while it’s long been suspected that reefs would be devastated by ocean warming, scientists were not expecting… Read more »
(BBC) North Korea’s vice-foreign minister told the BBC Pyongyang would continue to test missiles and would launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike if it thought the US was planning an attack. Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China opposed words or actions that could further raise tension. North Korea-US tension is growing. There has been heated rhetoric from both sides in… Read more »