TOKYO, Feb 1 (NNN-NHK) – Japan’s weather agency warned of very strong, blustery winds and snowfall from this evening through tomorrow, in northern regions, owing to seriously unstable atmospheric conditions.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the regions most likely to be hit by the extreme wintry weather are those in the north-east and Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.
The large-scale Chinese deployment came as Beijing increases preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan that have stirred increasing concern among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the U.S., Taiwan’s key ally.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court ruled Wednesday that a 14th century Korean Buddhist statue should be sent back to a Japanese temple from where it was stolen in 2012.
The statue’s return had been put on hold for years after a South Korean temple claimed ownership of it, insisting that it was likely looted by medieval Japanese pirates before it ended up at a temple on Tsushima island, presumably in 1527.
The South Korean temple is likely to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
BANGKOK (AP) — The prospects for peace in Myanmar, much less a return to democracy, seem dimmer than ever two years after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, experts say.
On Wednesday, legions of opponents of military rule heeded a call by protest organizers to stay home in what they call a “silent strike” to show their strength and solidarity.
SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (NNN-Bernama) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged Singapore to examine the reclamations carried out in the Batu Puteh area to ensure they were not affecting the environment and the country’s borders with Malaysia.
“That must be finalised. I have (Singapore) Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s agreement to hear our arguments in the near future,” he told the Malaysian media at the end of his official visit to the republic Monday.
BEIJING, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday it was in touch with Prague over President-elect Petr Pavel's scheduled call with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen.
Pavel is due to speak with Tsai on Monday, Pavel's spokeswoman said, a highly unusual move given the lack of formal ties and a diplomatic coup for Taipei that is likely to anger China.
TOKYO, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture of central Japan was automatically halted Monday after an alert went off, local media reported.
Following an alert warning of a rapid decrease in the number of neutrons within the unit, the No. 4 reactor at the Takahama plant was halted at 3:21 p.m. local time, Kyodo News reported.
There has been no indication of the incident causing environmental contamination, said the report citing the complex's operator.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Hundreds of Indonesian Muslims marched to the heavily guarded Swedish Embassy in the country’s capital on Monday to denounce the recent desecration of Islam’s holy book by far-right activists in Sweden and the Netherlands.
Waving white flags bearing the Islamic declaration of faith, more than 300 demonstrators filled a major thoroughfare in downtown Jakarta and trampled and set on fire portraits of Danish anti-Islam activist Rasmus Paludan along with the flags of Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russia’s embassy in North Korea says the country has eased stringent epidemic controls in capital Pyongyang that were placed during the past five days to slow the spread of respiratory illnesses.
North Korea has not officially acknowledged a lockdown in Pyongyang or a re-emergence of COVID-19 after leader Kim Jong Un declared a widely disputed victory over the coronavirus in August, but the Russian embassy’s Facebook posts have provided rare glimpses into the secretive country’s infectious disease controls.
JAKARTA, Jan 29 (NNN-Bernama) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo is optimistic that ASEAN remains relevant for all the people in the region amid the challenging global circumstances.
He acknowledged that it would be challenging for Indonesia, as chair of ASEAN this year, given the myriad economic, energy, food, and war crises across the world.
“But I’m convinced that ASEAN is important for the people, region as well as the world,” said the leader, who is popularly known as Jokowi, when officiating Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN chairmanship here.
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