New North Korea nuclear, ICBM testing would trigger instant crisis, South Korea’s president says

A resumption of North Korea's nuclear weapon or long-range missile tests would "instantly" send the peninsula back into crisis, outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in said this week, calling for measures to prevent that from happening. A record month of North Korean missile testing in January highlighted failures of Moon's efforts to engineer a breakthrough as...

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant plans seabed tunnel to release contaminated water into ocean

The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant intends to build an underwater tunnel to release water from the plant into the sea, it said on Tuesday, as part of a project to treat and dispose of contaminated water. A decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the northeastern coast, disabling the plant and...

South Korean schools resume full in-person classes

For the first time since South Korea began battling its coronavirus outbreak in early 2020, all schools across the country resumed full-time in-person classes on Monday (Nov 22). As the first country outside China to face a major outbreak of the virus, South Korea's schools have seen various stages of shutdowns, remote learning, and hybrid arrangements. Widespread...

‘No absolute monarchy’: Thousands of Thais march for royal reforms

Demonstrators walk together holding placards during a protest against the amendment of the lese majeste law, in Bangkok, Thailand Nov 14, 2021.Reuters file Thousands of Thais took to the streets of the capital on Sunday (Nov 14) demanding reforms of the monarchy, defying a court ruling that such demands are a veiled attempt to overthrow the...

Philippine president’s daughter withdraws from mayor re-election

Sara Duterte, Davao City Mayor and daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, delivers a speech during a senatorial campaign caravan for Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP) in Davao City, southern Philippines on May 9, 2019.Reuters The daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday (Nov 9) withdrew her candidacy to run again for mayor of Davao City,...

The Taliban vowed no revenge. One Afghan family tells a different story

A view of ruins of destroyed ancestral home of Nangarhar provincial official Ajmal Omar in Kodi Khel, Nangarhar, Afghanistan, on Sept 23, 2021Reuters When the Taliban won back control of the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar last month, they set out to settle a score with an old foe. As they searched for prominent local politician Ajmal...

Outcome uncertain as Japan’s ruling party heads to vote on next PM

Japan's Minister for Administrative Reform Taro Kono speaks during a joint news conference by the contenders for the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as Japan's former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida listens, at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan on Sept 17, 2021.Reuters file TOKYO - Japan's ruling party votes on Wednesday (Sept...

Filipino beauty queens: A new weapon in war on communism

Actress Arci Munoz is also a member of the Philippine air force reserves.Internet For millions of young girls living in poverty in the Philippines, becoming a beauty queen is the rags-to-riches fantasy of choice when it comes to plotting a way out of the shanties. They dream of becoming the next Catriona Gray or Pia Wurtzbach, much...

Asean envoy must recognise us over junta, Myanmar’s parallel civilian government says

Thousands of people join anti-coup protests across Myanmar.Twitter/AFP The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) must ensure that any plan to appoint a special envoy to mediate in Myanmar's post-coup crisis does not lead to recognition of the junta as a legitimate authority, an official from the country's parallel civilian government and regional rights advocates said...

Backlash to Japan’s Fukushima waste water plan quietens as South Korea, China assess the real cost

The storage tanks for treated water are seen at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, on March 1 2021.Reuters After rebuking Japan last week over its plan to discharge contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean and threatening to petition an international court, South Korea...