Tag: Asia & Pacific

Ex-Samsung Exec Charged With Stealing Trade Secrets to Create Copycat Chip Factory in China

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors have arrested and indicted a former executive of Samsung Electronics suspected of stealing trade secrets while attempting to establish a copycat computer chip plant in China. The Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said Monday that the unnamed 65-year-old unlawfully obtained Samsung’s factory blueprints and clean-room designs from 2018 and…


India, Pakistan Brace for Severe Cyclone, Deploy Rescuers to Coastal Regions

BENGALURU, India—India and Pakistan braced for the first severe cyclone this year expected to hit their coastal regions later this week, as authorities on Monday halted fishing activities, deployed rescue personnel, and announced evacuation plans for those at risk. From the Arabian Sea, Cyclone Biparjoy is aiming at Pakistan’s southern Sindh Province and the coastline…


Pakistan Receives First Discounted Russian Oil Amid Economic Crisis

Cash-strapped Pakistan has received its first cargo of discounted Russian crude oil, Pakistan’s leader said on June 11, as Pakistan seeks to forge ties with heavily sanctioned Russia amid its declining foreign reserves. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the first shipment of Russian crude oil was set to be unloaded at Karachi port on…


Pakistan Police Urged to End ‘Oppressive’ Expulsion of Afghan Refugees

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Sunday urged Pakistan’s police to cease their “oppressive actions” against Afghan refugees after reports of the expulsion of Afghans from Pakistan. It came after the Afghan Embassy said on June 8 that Pakistani police had detained 250 Afghan nationals despite having travel documents. Some of them were…


Philippines’ Mayon Volcano Spews Lava Down Its Slopes in Gentle Eruption Putting Thousands on Alert

LEGAZPI, Philippines—The Philippines’ most active volcano was gently spewing lava down its slopes Monday, alerting tens of thousands of people they may have to quickly flee a violent and life-threatening explosion. More than 12,600 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since…


Strong Earthquake Rattles Northern Japan; No Damage Reported

TOKYO—A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. No tsunami warning was issued. There were no reports of problems at the nuclear plants in the area, or of disruptions to power supply or bullet trains running in northern Japan. The…


Honduras Opens Embassy in China After Breaking Off Ties With Taiwan

BEIJING—Honduras opened an embassy in Beijing on Sunday, Chinese state media reported, months after the Central American nation broke off relations with Taiwan to establish diplomatic ties with China. China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Honduran counterpart Enrique Reina took part in the inauguration of the embassy on Sunday morning, China’s official CCTV said….


Taiwan Activates Air Defence as China Aircraft Enter Zone

TAIPEI—Taiwan activated its defense systems on Thursday after reporting 37 Chinese military aircraft flying into the island’s air defense zone, some of which then flew into the western Pacific, in Beijing’s latest mass air incursion. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has over the past three years regularly flown its air…


Heavy Rains in Northwest Pakistan Leave 25 Dead, 145 Injured

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—Heavy rains swept through Pakistan’s northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 25 people dead and 145 injured, authorities said. Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting trees and knocking down electrical transmission towers….


Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Dismissal of China Military Threat ‘Dangerously Naive’: Retired Colonel

Robert F. Kennedy’s view that China doesn’t pose a military threat to the United States is misguided and doesn’t align with reality, according to analysts. In a Twitter Spaces conversation earlier this week with the platform’s owner Elon Musk, the Democrat presidential candidate called for the United States to engage with China in talks and…