BANGKOK (AP) — The top American diplomat for East Asia and the Pacific criticized China on Thursday for using intimidation tactics against other countries in the region to press its sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea. Speaking to reporters after returning to the United States from meetings with officials in Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei, Daniel Kritenbrink …
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Congressional leaders invite prime minister of Japan to address Congress in April
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have invited the prime minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, to address a joint meeting of Congress on April 11, saying the relationship between the U.S. and Japan has proven to be a force for good and a catalyst for prosperity. Leaders said global threats are endangering the peace and prosperity the U.S. and Japan have …
Read More »Cambodia’s ruling party wins Senate election, paving the way for Hun Sen to act as its president
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The long-ruling Cambodian People’s Party has won an expected landslide victory in the election for the country’s Senate, the National Election Committee has confirmed. The committee on Monday began releasing results by constituency, after earlier announcing that a provisional count showed the Cambodian People’s Party won 55 of the 58 seats that were contested on …
Read More »Seoul gives young doctors 4 days to end walkouts, threatening suspended licenses and prosecutions
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Junior doctors in South Korea have four days to end their walkouts or they will have their medical licenses suspended and face prosecution, the government said Monday. About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about 65%. …
Read More »23 Hindu devotees die in northern India after a farm tractor overturns and falls into a pond
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — A farm tractor pulling a wagon loaded with Hindu devotees overturned and fell into a pond in northern India on Saturday, killing at least 23 people, including eight children, officials said. The wagon was carrying around 40 devotees on their way to take a ritual bath in the Ganges River when it veered off the road …
Read More »A UN agency targets 35% growth in aquaculture production by 2030 to meet demand and fight hunger
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on Thursday set a target to further increase aquaculture production to meet a rising demand for seafood and to fight global hunger and undernourishment. The FAO hopes to see 35% growth in the sector by 2030, according to a report adopted at the end of a three-day Asia and …
Read More »Japan vows support to Ukraine while hosting conference focused on war-torn country’s reconstruction
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged Monday his country’s long-term commitment to Ukraine’s reconstruction, calling it a future investment, while stressing support for the war-torn country about to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion. In his keynote speech at The Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction, Kishida said Japanese public and private …
Read More »Former Bank of China chairman indicted for bribery in nation’s long-running anticorruption drive
BEIJING (AP) — The former chairman of the Bank of China has been indicted on bribery charges, prosecutors said Monday, adding to a long list of business and government officials who have been brought down by Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s yearslong anticorruption drive. Liu Liange is accused of taking advantage of his positions at the Bank of China and previously …
Read More »Indonesia police to charge 2 Chinese nationals in furnace explosion at Chinese-owned nickel plant
PALU, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police on Monday named two Chinese nationals as suspects in the explosion of a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Sulawesi Island that killed 21 workers and injured dozens of others. Four Chinese and nine Indonesian workers died instantly on Dec. 24 when the furnace at PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel, or PT …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim says he has no desire for talks and repeats a threat to destroy South if provoked
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un restated he has no desire for diplomacy with South Korea and that the North would annihilate its rival if provoked, state media said Friday, in the latest of his belligerent statements that are raising tensions in the region. During a visit to North Korea’s Defense Ministry on Thursday, Kim …
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