SEOUL – A video showing a Korean child being pushed by a passerby at a convenience store in Japan has sparked anger online after it spread widely on social media. The footage, posted on Instagram by the child’s mother, shows a woman forcefully shoving the girl with a bag as she walks past inside the store. The child, who had been browsing snacks with her father, appears startled and immediately runs toward her mother. “While I was filming in a convenience store after finishing our schedule, the woman first bumped into me and passed by,” the girl’s mother, surnamed Choi,…
Author: Asia News Network
KARACHI/BAJAUR – Operation Ghazab lil-Haq was launched in late February following unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border. According to Pakistan TV, the strikes “targeted facilities used by the Afghan Taliban and affiliated terrorist groups to support attacks against Pakistani civilians”. “Pakistan armed forces have successfully targeted military installations, including terrorist hideouts of Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij,” Pakistan TV quoted the security sources as saying. Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The outlet said that the armed forces destroyed “technical support infrastructure and an equipment storage…
JAKARTA/SINGAPORE – At stalls in Jakarta’s Tanah Abang Market, stacks of imported dates and pistachios from Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt typically lure crowds of customers. But traders at the market, South-east Asia’s largest wholesale hub, warn that supplies of these Ramadan bestsellers are thinning and prices are rising as the escalation of the Middle East conflict has tightened the supply of goods that traditionally arrive through Gulf trade routes. “The prices of certain dates have risen significantly… Bam dates, Golden Valley dates and pistachios. These have seen a sharp increase in just the past few weeks,” a…
MANILA – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which the Philippines currently chairs, will expedite the enforcement of an energy-sharing mechanism which will allow member states to support each other’s oil and gas needs during supply disruptions. This measure, through which Asean countries can provide petroleum supplies to neighbors facing shortages of at least 10 percent of their requirement, comes as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate further. In a press briefing following the 32nd Asean Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Retreat in Taguig City on Friday, Trade Undersecretary Allan Gepty said the AEMs agreed to hasten the…
SEOUL – Nearly 100 children in South Korea died from abuse over the past five years, most at the hands of their own parents, according to police data covering tens of thousands of reported cases nationwide. A total of 63,575 child abuse cases were recorded during the five-year period, resulting in 96 deaths, according to data from the National Police Agency released Thursday by Rep. Chung Choon-saeng of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party. In 2025 alone, 14,211 cases were recorded, up from 11,572 in 2021, the data showed. Most abuse occurred inside the home and was committed by the victim’s…
NEW DELHI – With crude oil supply through the key Strait of Hormuz route “effectively choked” due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a global energy crisis looming, India on Thursday confirmed receiving requests from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives for the supply of diesel. Addressing a weekly press conference in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi is reviewing the diesel supply request from Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. Jaiswal further stated that India has been a major exporter of refined petroleum products to its neighbours. New Delhi has been supplying diesel to…
MANILA – A coalition of health and child rights advocates backed Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa’s call to raise the age restriction for vape and tobacco products to 25. “We strongly support increasing the legal age restriction for vape and tobacco products from 18 to 25,” the Philippine Tobacco Control Coalition said in a statement. The group cited scientific evidence showing that the brain of a young person “continues to develop until the mid-20s.” READ: Smoking, vaping: Crisis worsening among PH youth “Nicotine exposure during this period can lead to lasting impairments in impulse control, learning, and mood regulation,” it said.…
SINGAPORE – A string of force majeure notices issued by liquefied natural gas (LNG) suppliers is bringing closer the day when Singapore will have to take measures to stabilise supply of the fuel that powers nearly half of the country’s electricity generation. The latest notices informing customers in Asia of unforeseeable circumstances that prevent the supplier from fulfilling its contract come from global energy firms such as Shell, one of Singapore’s licensed importers of LNG, according to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters. Industry sources told The Straits Times that the sudden development may take time for firms to recalibrate, such…
SEOUL – With BTS’ full-group comeback less than two weeks away, Chinese fan communities have recently announced large-scale promotional campaigns that will dominate some of Seoul’s most visible digital billboards. Jungkook’s official Chinese fan club said it will broadcast a congratulatory video for the singer’s comeback on the 60-meter landmark megascreen at the Koreana Hotel in central Seoul from March 20 to 22. Chinese fan club Baidu V Bar has planned an even larger campaign for V, securing the massive LUUX digital billboard on the exterior of the Dong-A Media Center in Gwanghwamun, where the video will run 70 times…
PETALING JAYA – Air travellers could soon be paying a bit more for their flight tickets on local airlines. Owing to the recent developments in the Middle East, local carriers have also adjusted their fuel surcharges to cushion the impact of rising fuel costs. The move comes as several airlines across the wider Asia-Pacific region have also reportedly started to increase fares as jet fuel costs rise. A Malaysia Airlines memo dated March 9 stated that the increase in fuel surcharge costs would be done in phases. Phase 1, effective yesterday, is applicable to all points of sale except for…