World

Russia's war causes regional disarray Russian President Vladimir Putin and Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Asean-Russia Summit in Singapore in 2018. Singapore has imposed outright sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. (Photo: Reuters) President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine from Feb 24 is deeply consequential for Southeast Asia, both as a region and Asean as a regional organisation. Even though this region is relatively far away from the cut and thrust of Russia's war in Ukraine, Asean has already encountered new internal divisions stemming from the raging conflict in Europe. As a result, Asean's age-old approach of consensus will likely become more problematic in the search for new and more effective ways of cooperation among like-minded membe...

Protesters from across Sri Lanka descended on the nation’s capital in February, shouting above the street noise and pumping their fists in the air in frustration. The group was made up of fishermen and their supporters, and their rage was sparked by the Indian boats that regularly sail into Sri Lankan waters by the thousands, hauling away valuable sea cucumbers and prawns. Sri Lankan fishermen say they’ve lost business, and some have lost their lives in confrontations with foreign crews. The protesters demanded more action from the government, even as Sri Lanka’s navy has used force to guard its fisheries — destroying Indian fishing gear, charging at the vessels, and in at least one violent episode, firing shots. Five Indian fishermen were reportedly killed last year in encounters with t

Grand Prix to go ahead on Sunday in Jeddah amid heightened security Smoke and flames rise from a Saudi Aramco oil facility in the coastal city of Jeddah, following a Yemeni rebel attack late Friday. The attack took place not far from the Jeddah Corniche Circuit where the Saudi Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on Sunday evening. (AFP Photo) JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia pledged maximum security to reassure rattled Formula One drivers as the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was set to go ahead on Sunday despite an attack on an oil facility nearby by Houthi rebels from Yemen. The drivers expressed their concerns over the attack, which sent black smoke billowing over the area and was part of a wave of drone and missile assaults that triggered retaliatory air strikes on rebel strongholds. The Iran-back...

New Covid cases still top 25,000 Sunday, deaths spike People wearing facemasks due to the Covid-19 outbreak sift through books at the 50th Thailand Book Fair at Bang Sue Grand Station. The fair runs March 26-April 6. (Photo: Nutthawat Wicheanbut) The country registered 25,821 daily Covid-19 cases, 413 fewer than the prior 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Sunday morning. The daily Covid death toll jumped by 17 to 84. Just 56 of the new caseload were imported, with the remaining 25,765 transmitted inside the country. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said in the afternoon that the 84 new fatalities were between the ages of six and 104, all of them Thai nationals. Fatalities jumped from the 69 reported on Saturday, but were still a fraction of the ...

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China continues to battle its worst COVID-19 outbreak, driven by the omicron variant, with health officials on Friday calling the situation “severe and complex.“ The country has counted more than 56,000 cases since March 1, according to national health officials, who gave a press briefing Friday. More than half of those cases have been recorded in northeastern Jilin province and include asymptomatic cases as well. The numbers do not include Hong Kong, which tracks its COVID-19 data separately. China continues striving to “achieve dynamic zero-COVID in the short term, as it is still the most economical and most effective prevention strategy against COVID-19,” said Wu Zunyou, an infectious disease expert at China’s Center for Disease Control. “Only by doing dynamic z

With hopes to tide over development and connectivity problems hindering its goal of becoming a middle income country by 2030, Nepal had signed up for China led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2017. However, an absence of on-ground progress after passage of five years indicates the futility of relying on Chinese promises. The superfluous promises included improving institutional capacity of the Himalayan nation to enable its transition from being a land-locked to ‘land-linked’ one. Falling for the assurances, Nepal even risked its historic relations with India for Chinese assistance in various fields. However, after five years, the promises are falling apart one by one. Moreover, Beijing's sole interest in advancing hefty loans to Nepal is becoming clearer due to ever increasing Chin

Beijing, China:Last week, a 50-page study published by the German Marshall Fund of the US warned that Beijing is using its influence at the UN to compel NGOs to rewrite references to Taiwan and revise historical documents, or risk losing access, Nikkie Asia reported. China claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of almost 24 million people located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades. The resolution, the report pointed out, does not include the words “Republic of China” or “Taiwan.” Nor does it present an institutional position on the status of Taiwan, even though the PRC claims it does, and it just states that the PRC will represent “China” at the UN. As per Nikkie

Sado mines plan upsets Asia unity The Kitazawa Flotation Plant at the ruins of the Aikawa Gold and Silver Mine in Sado on Sado Island. Japan's bid for a World Heritage designation is the latest flashpoint in its relations with South Korea. Kyodo Japan's proposal that its Sado mines be added to the 2023 Unesco World Heritage List is more than just a cultural-driven effort. It is a showcase of the inward-looking politics of Japan's conservative establishment to use particular events from the past to fit a desired narrative for the present, to purify the record of Japan's imperialism. Reigniting the controversy over the several-hundred-year-old gold mines of Sado Island has brought tensions between Japan and South Korea back to the fore. The issue comes at the time when the world needs the...

Two central Alberta village councils hesitated to support a federal NDP backbencher’s efforts to ban what his letter referred to as “hate symbols,” although that hesitation seems to have been for different reasons. Both the Village of Alix and Village of Clive councils read a letter from NDP New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian at their regular meeting Mar. 2 regarding his private member’s bill, C-229 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code (banning symbols of hate), who stated certain symbols shouldn’t be bought and sold because of there threatening nature and he was asking for council’s support for this legislation. “Everyone deserves to live in safety and dignity,” stated Julian’s letter. “Everyone has the right to feel welcomed and respected in their community. “Yet, during the pandemi

North Korea fires new ICBM in largest test since 2017 SEOUL: North Korea fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, Tokyo and Seoul said as they voiced outrage at Pyongyang's most powerful launch since 2017. South Korea's military said it had fired missiles from ground, sea and air in response. Pyongyang has launched nearly a dozen weapon tests this year in an unprecedented spree in defiance of UN sanctions. But long-range and nuclear tests such as the one conducted on Thursday have been paused since leader Kim Jong Un met then-US president Donald Trump for a bout of doomed diplomacy, which collapsed in 2019. Thursday's launch was a "breach of the suspension of intercontinental ballistic missile launches promised by Chairman Kim Jong Un to the international community,...