BEIJING – President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reiterated the long-term and strategic nature of bilateral ties, pledging that China-Russia relations will not be disrupted by external factors or any third party. The two presidents made the statement on Monday during a telephone conversation, their second interaction within a month following a video meeting on Jan 21. Putin provided an update on the latest interactions between Russia and the United States, as well as Russia’s principled stance on the Ukraine crisis. He emphasized Moscow’s commitment to addressing the root causes of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and achieving a…
Author: Asia News Network
TOKYO – North Korea has formed a de facto military alliance with Russia, which continues its aggression against Ukraine, and sent troops to support Moscow in the war. Russia and Ukraine are engaging in warfare using high-technology weapons such as drones, and North Korea’s participation in the war means that Pyongyang has been given a precious opportunity to gain practical combat experience. Pyongyang’s participation in the conflict also signals that the war in Europe is starting to affect the situation in East Asia, making the Japanese government wary of the possibility of the reclusive country beefing up its military capabilities.…
SEOUL – With the possibility of an early presidential election looming over their heads, the rival parties here have locked horns over a thorny issue -– an overhaul of the country’s 25-year-old inheritance tax system. The government and the ruling party are pushing to cut the highest tax rate, currently 50 percent on inheritances exceeding 3 billion won ($2.1 million), to 40 percent while lowering the threshold for the highest rate to 1 billion won. Main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party have expressed disagreement with the conservative bloc’s idea, saying that such changes would primarily benefit the…
JAKARTA – The Journalist Safety Index 2024 by the Safe Journalism Consortium, published on Thursday, revealed that violence against media workers remains rampant in Indonesia despite a slight improvement from a score of 59.8 in 2023 to 60.5 last year, putting the country’s journalists in the “somewhat protected” category. Last year saw at least 167 reported cases of violence against journalists, from physical abuse to censorship and cyberattacks, according to the joint report produced by the Tifa Foundation, the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) and the Indonesian Association for Media Development (PPMN), with the support of pollster Populix and the…
TOKYO – Since Russia and North Korea signed their mutual defense treaty in June last year, the number of missiles fired by the Russian military against Ukraine that are believed to have been made in North Korea has increased sharply. Moscow fired 74 such missiles between July and December, according to an analysis by The Yomiuri Shimbun. The Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership stipulates mutual military support in the event of an emergency, and it appears Russia and North Korea have been strengthening their cooperation in actual combat. The Yomiuri Shimbun analyzed data on Russian missiles and drones compiled and…
HO CHI MINH – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Central Committee Tô Lâm held a high-level meeting with President of the Cambodian People’s Party and President of the Cambodian Senate Hun Sen, and General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith in Hồ Chí Minh City on February 22. Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, Cambodian PM Hun Manet, and Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone were also present at the event. The meeting provided a platform for the leaders to discuss recent global and regional developments, exchange updates on their respective…
JOHANNESBURG – Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya called for enhanced cooperation between Japan and emerging and developing countries from the Global South at a Group of 20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday and Friday. With U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio absent from the meeting, the Japanese government is playing a larger role in preventing Global South countries from leaning toward China and Russia. On Friday morning, Iwaya emphasized that Japan intends to assist the Global South nations, many of which are G20 members, in disaster prevention and development of important mineral resources. “Developed countries and other G20 countries,…
TOKYO – With hiking growing in popularity, maintaining mountain trails has become a more pressing challenge. While some routes have attracted volunteers, there are still many trails that are not well maintained. These trails risk falling into disrepair, which could cause accidents. The Lani Head Trail, a 1.6-kilometer trail leading to the 929-meter-high Mt. Mitake in Ome, Tokyo, has recently become a popular hiking route partly because it is close to Mitake Station on the JR Ome Line. Until five years ago, the trail was overgrown and abandoned. Its revival began in 2019. Wakana Fukushima, a TV personality who serves…
GUANGZHOU – While artificial intelligence has shown immense potential for applications in various fields, it cannot predict winning lottery numbers, according to a statement issued by sports lottery administrative authorities. The statement was issued recently by China Sports Lottery, along with the sports lottery administrative center in Guangdong province, in response to some netizens’ online posts claiming to have won the lottery using numbers recommended by AI technology service providers. Each lottery draw is an independent random event, with the winning numbers being generated completely at random and unable to be predicted by any technological means, the statement said. Following…
SEOUL – The death of former child actor Kim Sae-ron has once again reignited debate over South Korea’s harsh and unforgiving nature toward public figures, particularly celebrities. Experts point to the nation’s deep-seated culture of relative deprivation as a root cause, fueling intense societal pressure on celebrities to maintain an image of perfection and leaving little room for mistakes or redemption. Kim, who rose to fame in the 2010 film “The Man From Nowhere,” saw her career unravel after a drunk driving incident in 2022. Her car accident caused power outages in a Seoul neighborhood, and with a blood alcohol…