News Asia

  • Australian students join pro-Palestine campus rallies   2 May 2024, 2:01 pm
    Sydney — Pro-Palestinian students at four Australian campuses say they will permanently occupy university land until their demands for divestment are met. The protests have been called by activists in solidarity with their counterparts in the United States. Australian students say they see themselves “part of this global wave” of pro-Palestinian activism. The protests have, so far, been peaceful, although some Jewish students say they feel intimidated by the rallies. T...
  • South Korea raises terror alert following reported North Korea threat 2 May 2024, 1:24 pm
    Seoul, South Korea — South Korea raised its terror alert level for five diplomatic missions Thursday, South Korean media reported, warning North Korea could attempt to attack South Korean diplomats overseas. The reports said South Korea’s National Counter Terrorism Center raised the country’s terror watch level to “alert” status, the second-highest level in the four-tier system, indicating a “high possibility of a terrorist attack.” South Korean...
  • Philippines summons China envoy over water cannon incident2 May 2024, 10:13 am
    Manila, Philippines — Manila summoned a senior Chinese envoy on Thursday to protest a water cannon incident that damaged two Philippine vessels during a patrol in the South China Sea. A coast guard vessel and another government boat were damaged in the April 30 incident near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, according to the Philippines' foreign ministry. Manila and Beijing have a long history of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and the neighbors have been involved in se...
  • South Korea parliament approves new inquiry into deadly 2022 crowd crush2 May 2024, 9:36 am
    SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's National Assembly voted Thursday to approve a bill backed by the ruling and opposition parties to launch a fresh probe into the deadly Halloween crowd crush in the capital Seoul in 2022. An earlier bill, which was backed the opposition-led parliament without the support of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), was vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol in January. The latest bill is a compromise that removes granting full investigative power to the pan...
  • Pro-China former diplomat is new Solomon Islands prime minister2 May 2024, 7:20 am
    TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Jeremiah Manele, a former foreign minister and career diplomat, was elected the Solomon Islands’ new prime minister Thursday, winning 31 out of 49 votes from the newly elected National Parliament. Some analysts say the result means the Solomon Islands under the new government will likely maintain its pro-China foreign policy agenda while adopting a less confrontational approach to handle its relationship with Western democracies, including Australia, the Unit...