A dust storm is brewing in Beijing. The sand and dust is coming from the Mongolia in the north and affecting many of China’s northern cities, specifically China’s capital. The small breathable particles was found to be 500 micrograms per cubic metre. The safely recommendation is 20 times less than that amount. This smog problem has been a problem in China… Read more »
(BBC) US and South Korean agents are plotting to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media report. A statement by the ministry of state security said a “terrorist group” backed by the CIA and South Korea’s intelligence agency had entered the country in order to prepare an attack with a bio-chemical substance. It said North Korea would… Read more »
(BBC) A dust storm is choking a large swathe of northern China including the capital, Beijing, in yet another air quality crisis to affect the country. Official air quality readings have soared well above the recommended World Health Organization (WHO) limit. Authorities are advising residents to avoid outdoor activity and for children and elderly people to remain indoors. The dust… Read more »
(France 24) North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Saturday, South Korea’s and US militaries said, defying intense pressure from the United States and the reclusive state’s main ally, China. North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile on Saturday, South Korea’s and U.S. militaries said, defying intense pressure from the United States and the reclusive state’s main ally, China. US and… Read more »
(Reuters) Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said the yen is vulnerable to rising political tensions over North Korea’s missile program and development of nuclear weapons, and warned against extreme instability in the currency. “We should always think about what the yen would be like if something happens in North Korea,” Aso told a forum in Los Angeles on Monday. The… Read more »
For several years now, the Liberal Democratic party of Japan, headed by Shinzo Abe, has attempted to change article 9 of the Japanese constitution. Though the anti-war clause had been reinterpreted to allow collective defense of attacked allies in 2015, a formal change would require amendment of the constitution, a daunting process that requires a majority in the country’s parliament… Read more »
(Reuters) Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he hoped the first-ever change to the country’s 70-year-old pacifist constitution would be enacted by 2020, and that it would enshrine the status of the military. Under the constitution’s Article Nine, Japan forever renounced its right to wage war and banned maintenance of a military, though successive governments have interpreted it… Read more »
(Reuters) China said on Thursday it wants to be good neighbors with North Korea, after the isolated country’s state news agency published a rare criticism of Chinese state media commentaries calling for tougher sanctions over the North’s nuclear program. The United States has urged China, North Korea’s only major ally, to do more to rein in the North’s nuclear and… Read more »
(BBC)US President Donald Trump will host Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday to reaffirm ties after a rocky start earlier this year. Mr Trump had reportedly labelled a February call between the two about a refugee deal as his “worst” that day. The leaders’ first meeting in person is expected to cover topics including security, trade and North Korea…. Read more »
(France24) A controversial missile defense system whose deployment has angered China is now operational in South Korea, the US military said Monday. Washington and Seoul agreed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery deployment in July in the wake of a string of North Korean missile tests. US Forces Korea said THAAD is “operational and has the ability… Read more »