International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong began another volatile weekend on Saturday, with anti-government protests taking place across the city, including one at the international airport for a second day. Increasingly violent protests have plunged Hong Kong into its most serious political crisis for decades, posing a serious challenge to the central government in Beijing.
THAPHYU KONE VILLAGE, Myanmar (Reuters) – Rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble of homes in a village in Myanmar on Saturday where a landslide a day earlier killed at least 32 people, with dozens still missing. Heavy rain caused the landslide in Thaphyu Kone village, in the southern Mon state, sending mud crashing into
Tokyo (AFP) – Japan’s former empress Michiko has been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and will soon undergo surgery, the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) said on Friday. Michiko’s husband Akihito formally stepped down as emperor in April, the first abdication for 200 years in the world’s oldest monarchy. A spokesman for the IHA told AFP
India’s Hindu nationalist government on Tuesday hailed “historic” legislation to bring Kashmir under its direct control but Pakistan and China challenged the divisive move, sending tensions soaring between the nuclear neighbours. New Delhi stripped Kashmir of its seven-decade-long autonomous status via a presidential decree on Monday, hours after imposing a massive security lockdown in the
China warned Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters Tuesday that “those who play with fire will perish by it”, a day after the most widespread unrest of the two-month crisis. In its harshest warning yet Beijing said the immense strength of the central government should not be underestimated as police in the semi-autonomous city announced they had
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Police fired tear gas at protesters in multiple parts of Hong Kong on Monday after a general strike hit transport and the city’s Beijing-backed leader warned its prosperity was at risk. The protests surpassed earlier shows of dissent in scale and intensity, seemingly stoked by Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam’s
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters are close to creating a “very dangerous situation”, the city’s leader warned Monday as train travel and international flights in the global financial hub were thrown into chaos. The efforts to lock down Hong Kong’s transport sector on Monday were part of a rare general strike, which the protesters pushed to
Thai people living in or visiting Hong Kong have been advised, by the Thai Consulate there, to stay away from the protest areas, or to exercise caution if they want to visit the areas, as demonstrations by pro-democracy protesters intensified today, with protesters disrupting the MTR system, blocking main roads and causing the cancellation of
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong was bracing for major disruptions to business on Monday as a general strike threatens to paralyze parts of the Asian financial center, with more than 100 flights already canceled, amid a broader anti-government campaign. The strike comes after another weekend of violent protests, which the government said were pushing
BEIJING (Xinhua) – A ministerial meeting on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations over the past two days in Beijing achieved significant progress in pushing negotiations, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC). Over two-thirds of the negotiations on bilateral market access have been completed, and negotiations on the remaining content are being actively
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong police said on Sunday they arrested more than 20 people after violent clashes with anti-government protesters overnight, as the Chinese-controlled territory braced for more protests and a general strike aimed to bring the city to a halt. On Saturday police fired multiple tear gas rounds in confrontations with black-clad
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian police forcibly detained over 800 people attending a protest in Moscow on Saturday to demand free elections, including prominent activist Lyubov Sobol, after authorities warned the demonstration was illegal. Police removed Sobol, an ally of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny, from a taxi and bundled her into a van minutes before
