SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) – The United States and South Korea are discussing “corresponding measures” to reward North Korea’s steps towards denuclearisation, South Korea’s foreign minister said, as President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un prepare for a possible second summit. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told a news conference on Wednesday (Jan 16) in Seoul that the allies were reviewing… Read more »
Japan’s last remaining home-grown sumo champion has announced his retirement after a string of tournament losses. Kisenosato Yutaka said he had been struggling with injuries but had wanted to continue wrestling to repay fans for their support. In 2017, he became the first Japan-born wrestler in almost two decades to reach the rank of grand champion, known in Japanese as… Read more »
Hong Kong (CNN)Students and faculty at the University of California (UC) have been warned not to use messaging apps and social media while visiting China, for fear their communications could be used against them by the country’s law enforcement agencies.The guidance from one of the biggest school networks in the US is the latest concern to be raised over Western… Read more »
Beijing (CNN)Relations between Beijing and Ottawa are at crisis point after a Canadian man was sentenced to death by a Chinese court, a former Canadian ambassador to China told CNN.Canada’s foreign ministry issued a travel warning late Monday to its citizens in China over “the risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” It came in the wake of the death sentence… Read more »
A Myanmar court on Friday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of breaking the Official Secrets Act, saying the defence had not provided sufficient evidence to show they were innocent. Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were convicted by a lower court in September in a landmark case that… Read more »
Beijing (CNN)A Canadian citizen in China has been sentenced to death after a court convicted him of drug smuggling on Monday, a move likely to further inflame tensions between Ottawa and Beijing.The Dalian Intermediate People’s Court in northeastern China said Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was given a death sentence based on the nature and severity of his crime and in accordance… Read more »
Navy divers have located the cockpit voice recorder of a Lion Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea in October, Indonesian officials said Monday, in a possible boost to the accident investigation.ADVERTISING Ridwan Djamaluddin, a deputy maritime minister, told reporters that remains of some of the 189 people who died in the crash were also discovered at the seabed location. “We… Read more »
A Chinese court on Monday sentenced a Canadian man to death for drug smuggling, a ruling sure to aggravate already sour relations between Beijing and Ottawa following the arrest of a senior Chinese executive in Canada.ADVERTISING Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the decision. “It is of extreme concern to us as a government, as it should be to all… Read more »
PUTRAJAYA – Ties between Malaysia and Singapore are still “good”, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on Wednesday (Jan 16), despite ongoing air and maritime disputes between the two countries. “Our relations with Singapore remain good. There are some issues but we are talking to each other, and that is very important,” national news agency Bernama quoted Datuk Saifuddin as… Read more »
Crocodile farmers in Queensland can now legally hunt and gather crocodile eggs in the wild, and hatch them for luxury goods, after quietly introduced changes to conservation laws. Hunters would have to apply for a licence to collect the eggs from nests in the wild, which would then be transported to private farms and hatched for their skins and meat.The… Read more »