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March
Australian officials warn of bushfire threat as heatwave grips Sydney
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australian officials on Tuesday warned of rising risks of bushfires in the east after about two years of frequent flooding and rain, as a severe heatwave pushed temperatures in several regions, including Sydney, to their highest in two years.
A total of 33 fires are burning across New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state of which Sydney is the capital, with 12 not contained yet. Five public schools have been shut amid a total fire ban across large parts of the state.
Two bushfires have been downgraded from emergency warning levels overnight, but officials said they could flare up again.
"It's going to be another tough day for firefighters and potentially even into tomorrow before we get some reprieve", NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers told ABC television. "It's going to take many days to get control on these fires."
No injuries have been reported from the latest bushfires yet but authorities said some residents had to be evacuated.
Many regions in New South Wales on Monday recorded their hottest day since January 2021 with temperatures hitting more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
Temperatures are forecast to reach mid-to-high 30 degrees Celsius on Tuesday but conditions are expected to ease from Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology said hot and dry conditions along with gusty winds will elevate the fire danger levels.
The state is fighting its worst bushfire conditions since the devastating fires in 2019 and 2020 in Australia's east that killed 33 people, billions of animals and burned an area nearly half the size of Germany.
Since late 2020, Australia's weather has been dominated by La Nina, which brings more rain and floods. But the weather event is "likely near its end" and neutral conditions, which is neither La Nina or its opposite El Nino, were likely to prevail through autumn, the weather bureau said last week.
"People have been really thinking and looking at floods over the last few years, they haven't really been thinking about their fire preparation," NSW Rural Fire Service inspector Ben Shepherd told Sky News. (reuters)
March
North Korea warns U.S. against intercepting its test missiles
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea said any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea for growing tensions, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, warned in a statement that Pyongyang would see it as a "declaration of war" if the U.S. took military action against the North's strategic weapon tests.
She also hinted that the North could fire more missiles into the Pacific Ocean. The United States and its allies have never shot down North Korean ballistic missiles, which are banned by the United Nations Security Council, but the question drew new scrutiny since the North suggested it will fire more missiles over Japan.
"The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the U.S. or Japan," Kim said.
Analysts have said that if North Korea follows through on its threat to turn the Pacific Ocean into a "firing range", it would allow the isolated and nuclear-armed state to make technical advances in addition to signalling its military resolve.
In a separate statement, the chief of the Foreign News Section at North Korea's Foreign Ministry accused the U.S. of "aggravating" the situation by conducting a joint air drill with a B-52 bomber on Monday and planning U.S.-South Korea field exercises.
In response, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, said Pyongyang's "reckless nuclear and missile development" is to blame for the deteriorating situation.
The United states deployed the B-52 bomber for a joint drill with South Korean fighter jets, in what South Korea's defence ministry said was a show of force against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
The two countries will conduct more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises known as the "Freedom Shield" drills starting next week.
On Tuesday, U.S. and South Korean warplanes practised quickly taking off in a drill designed in response to North Korean threats to destroy airfields, Yonhap news agency reported.
North Korea's army said its enemy launched 30 rounds of artillery near the border on Tuesday and it demanded an immediate halt to what it called "provocative actions".
South Korea denied doing so and said the claim was groundless.
Around 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, leaving the countries technically at war. (Reuters)
March
Forced labour victims protest in wheelchairs, reject S.Korea deal on Japan
Written by Nur Yasmin
Two elderly South Korean victims of wartime forced labour took to the streets in wheelchairs on Tuesday, saying they rejected a compensation deal announced this week, potentially complicating Seoul's efforts to end a diplomatic spat with Japan.
Under President Yoon Suk Yeol's plan, South Korea would compensate former forced labourers through an existing public foundation funded by South Korean private-sector companies, rather than seeking payments from Japan. The two victims, whose consent is required for the deal to proceed, rebuffed the proposal saying Tokyo should pay compensation and apologise.
Their opposition could mean that a proposal hailed as "groundbreaking" by U.S. President Joe Biden may not be a done deal, prolonging a dispute that has undercut U.S.-led efforts to present a unified front against China and North Korea.
The two women, Yang Geum-deok and Kim Sung-joo, both now aged 95, worked at a Mitsubishi Heavy (7011.T) aircraft factory in Nagoya, Japan when they were teens during World War II.
Living outside Seoul, the ailing women travelled to a demonstration at the parliament, joining hundreds of supporters including opposition lawmakers, who waved red cards and banners, calling Yoon's diplomacy "humiliating" and demanding the deal be withdrawn.
"We can forgive, if Japan tells us one word, we are sorry and we did wrong. But there's no such word," Kim said, with hands shaking by the effects of a stroke.
"The more I think about that, the more I cry," she said, escorted by her son.
On Tuesday, Yoon said the proposal was a result of meeting both countries' common interest.
Relations plunged to their lowest point in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to pay reparations to former forced labourers. Fifteen South Koreans have won such cases, but none has been compensated.
Japan has said the matter was settled under a 1965 treaty and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Monday his government's stance had not changed.
The two victims were part of so-called "Labour Corps" where young Korean girls were drafted to work in Japanese munitions factories during the war.
Kim had her finger chopped while cutting metal plates for fighter jets. During the day, Yang wiped rusted machine parts with thinner and alcohol but had no gloves, so her hands were bleeding at night.
After Japan lost the war in 1945, they returned home but didn't get paid for their 17-month-long labour stint.
Overall there are about 1,815 living victims of forced labour in South Korea, according to government data.
The compensation for each woman was estimated at around 210 million won ($161,465.18), according to the Victims of Japanese Wartime Forced Labor support group.
Like Yang and Kim, some of the 15 plaintiffs say they will reject the government's plan, setting the stage for more legal battles.
"It is so unfair. I don't know where Yoon Suk Yeol is from. Is he truly a South Korean? I won't take that money even if I starve to death," said Yang, chanting "Yoon Suk Yeol Out". (Reuters)
March
Pakistani police serve arrest warrants to former PM Imran Khan
Written by Nur Yasmin
Pakistani police on Sunday served arrest warrants to former prime minister Imran Khan to ensure his appearance in court on charges of misusing his office to sell state gifts, authorities said, after Khan's supporters tried to prevent police entry into his home.
The election commission of Pakistan had in October found the 70-year-old cricket-hero-turned politician guilty of unlawfully selling gifts from foreign dignitaries.
The Federal Investigation Agency then filed charges against him in an anti-graft court, which last week issued the arrest warrants after Khan failed to appear in court despite repeated summons.
Khan has been demanding a snap election since his ouster from office in a parliamentary vote early last year, a demand that was rejected by his successor Shehbaz Sharif, who has said the vote would be held as scheduled later this year.
He led countrywide protest campaigns to press for an early vote last year and was shot at and wounded at one of the rallies.
Referring to his absence from court and the shooting incident, Khan said on Sunday: "They (the police) know there is a threat against my life," adding that the courts did not provide adequate security.
Khan's aide Fawad Chaudhry said he couldn't be arrested because he had secured a protective bail from a high court.
Chaudhry said the government wanted to sow political chaos and avoid an early election by arresting the former premier, who was still popular among the country's youth and urban voters.
Islamabad police said in a statement that when Khan wasn't found at his residence in Lahore, they served the arrest warrants.
Khan is required to appear in court on March 7. If he fails to do so, police will be required to arrest him and present him to court, according to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah. (Reuters)
March
New Zealand's Georgina Beyer, world's first openly transgender MP, dies
Written by Nur Yasmin
New Zealander Georgina Beyer, the world's first openly transgender member of parliament and tireless advocate for LGBTQ rights, has died at the age of 65.
She had long battled kidney disease but statements about her death did not mention the cause.
A former sex worker, actor and drag queen, Beyer was elected to national parliament in 1999 after several years as mayor of Carterton, a rural town on the country's North Island. She served as a Labour MP until 2007.
Made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 for services to the rainbow community, she was known for her work in the legalisation of civil unions and gay marriage as well as the decriminalisation of prostitution.
Speaking before parliament on the issue of prostitution reform in 2003, she said: "I support this bill for all the prostitutes I have ever known who have died before the age of 20 because of the inhumanity and hypocrisy of a society that would not ever give them the chance to redeem whatever circumstances made them arrive in that industry."
Of Maori descent, she ran again for parliament for the former Mana Party in 2014 but was unsuccessful.
Beyer received a kidney transplant in 2017 after four years of end-stage renal failure that required daily dialysis.
She died in hospice care on Monday, according to a Facebook post by Scotty Kennedy, a friend.
"Georgie was surrounded by her nearest and dearest 24/7 over the past week, she accepted what was happening, was cracking jokes and had a twinkle in her eye, right until the final moment," Kennedy wrote.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Beyer made a lasting impression on parliament.
"I certainly think that Georgina blazed a trail that has made it much easier for others to follow." (Reuters)
March
China's state planner underlined a greater role for coal in its power supply on Sunday, saying the fossil fuel would be used to improve the reliability and security of its energy system.
Soaring global energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and domestic supply disruption have prompted Beijing to step up its focus on energy security in recent years.
The world's second-biggest economy relied on coal to generate 56.2% of its electricity last year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, but has significantly boosted its use of natural gas and renewable energy in recent years to lower carbon emissions.
Fluctuating output from renewable plants, however, has led policymakers to lean on reliable and easily dispatchable coal power to shore up the country's baseload supply. Last year, scorching summer temperatures and a drought in China's southwest caused hydropower output to dwindle, leading to power outages.
"We will strengthen the basic supporting role of coal (and) take orderly steps to increase advanced coal production while ensuring safety," said the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in a report to the annual gathering of parliament.
China approved the construction of another 106 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity last year, four times higher than a year earlier and the highest since 2015, driven by energy security considerations, research showed last week.
About 50GW of that went into construction.
"The energy security narrative is still going strong," said Greenpeace China policy advisor Li Shuo.
"This has given impetus to China's coal sector as seen in the rapid approval of coal plants across the country," he said.
The NDRC also stressed the importance of ramping up domestic oil and gas supply.
"We will intensify the exploration and development of petroleum and natural gas at home to discover more untapped reserves and increase production," it said.
Despite a strategy to boost use of natural gas as a bridge fuel to achieve its 2060 carbon neutrality, China is slowing an aggressive campaign started in 2017 to replace coal with gas.
Concerned about supply shortages amid high global prices, the planner pledged to "strictly control the expansion of projects to replace coal with natural gas".
The state planner also reiterated its efforts to further reform the oil and gas sector, with a focus on improving the pricing mechanism for natural gas to better reflect the cost of production and procurement.
China imports about 40% of its gas consumption.
"(We shall) develop sound mechanisms to adjust urban end-user prices of natural gas in step with procurement costs," the report said.
China will also push ahead with construction of a second batch of major wind and solar plants, they added.
The reliance on coal was described as temporary by some to cover supply shortfalls as the country develops renewables.
"New renewables generation has not been able to cover all the demand growth in any specific year, which means some additional coal generation is still needed each year," said David Fishman, senior manager of China-based energy consultancy the Lantau Group.
"In 2023 or 2024 we might see the first year where renewable generation totally covers new demand growth ... after this coal consumption should start to decrease year-on-year," he said.
China has pledged to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon-neutrality by 2060.
Beijing is targeting reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by around 2% in 2023, said the NDRC report. (Reuters)
March
Taiwan warns of China military's 'sudden entry' close to island
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng warned on Monday the island has to be on alert this year for a "sudden entry" by the Chinese military into areas close to its territory amid rising military tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
China has stepped up its military activities around Taiwan in recent years, including almost daily air force incursions into the island's air defence identification zone.
However, Taiwan has not reported any incident of Chinese forces entering its contiguous zone, which is 24 nautical miles (44.4 km) from its coast. But it has shot down a civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast last year.
Answering questions from lawmakers in parliament, Chiu said the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) might find excuses to enter areas close to Taiwan's territorial air and sea space as the island steps up its military exchanges with the United States, to Beijing's ire.
He said the PLA might make a "sudden entry" into Taiwan's contiguous zone and get close to its territorial space, which the island defines as 12 nautical miles from its coast.
"(I) specifically make these comments this year, meaning they are making such preparations," Chiu said. "Looking forward, they would use force if they really have to."
In response, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing that Beijing "will take firm measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Taiwan has vowed to exercise its right to self-defence and counter-attack if Chinese armed forces entered its territory.
China last year staged unprecedented military exercises around Taiwan in reaction to a visit to the island by then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Chiu said China was looking to "make trouble under a certain pretext", adding that might include visits to the island made by senior foreign government officials or Taiwan's frequent military contacts with other countries.
Asked by a lawmaker if the United States was planning to store some of its military equipment in Taiwan, Chiu said such discussions were ongoing but declined to elaborate.
The United States is Taiwan's most important international arms supplier and increasing U.S. support for the democratic island has added to tension in already strained U.S.-Sino relations.
Chiu said the PLA sends about 10 planes or ships to areas near Taiwan a day. Some cross the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which has traditionally served as an unofficial buffer, on an almost daily basis, he said.
Chiu said since China has abandoned a tacit agreement on military movements in the Strait, Taiwan has made preparations to "fire the first shot" if Chinese entities, including drones or balloons, enter its territorial space.
China claims self-governed Taiwan as its own and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control, if needed. Taiwan strongly rejects China's sovereignty claims and says only its people can decide their future. (Reuters)
March
US flies B-52 in joint drill with S.Korea - S.Korea defence ministry
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United states deployed a B-52 bomber for a joint drill with its ally South Korea on Monday, in a show of force against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's defence ministry said.
B-52 bombers are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
The air drill came ahead of combined large-scale exercises including amphibious landings starting later this month.
North Korea has traditionally called for those joint exercises to be called off, branding them as a prelude to invasion.
They have in the past drawn sharp reactions from Pyongyang including missile tests and nuclear threats, and North Korea's foreign ministry on Sunday demanded an immediate halt to U.S. - South Korea combined military drills, saying they were raising tensions.
With denuclearisation talks stalled, North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches last year. As South Korea has lifted anti-COVID measures, the allies are returning to large-scale drills.
South Korea and the United States will achieve "peace through strength" by stepping up joint drills, the ministry in Seoul said in a statement. (Reuters)
March
Philippines' lower house opens door to amending charter
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Philippines inched closer to rewriting its constitution, a step that supporters said is aimed at easing investment restrictions, amid fears the move could pave the way for removal of public office term limits, including for the president.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez said on Monday the lower house, voting 301-6, approved a resolution calling for a constitutional convention, whose members will be elected by the public, that will draft the changes to the 1987 charter.
Romualdez, a cousin of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said in a statement that changes to the constitution would be limited to "restrictive" provisions that make it difficult for foreign businesses to invest in the Philippines.
He did not specify which provisions but foreign chambers of commerce have been pushing for changes to lift current limits to foreign investment, including the so-called 60-40 rule, which caps foreign ownership of local firms at 40 percent.
"We need additional investments that would create more jobs and income opportunities for people," Romualdez said.
But opposition lawmakers have questioned the need for the amendments and raised suspicions over the motivations behind them.
Edcel Lagman, one of the six who voted against the move, feared the entire charter, including provisions on term limits, would be opened up to revisions "which could be the furtive agenda" for calling for charter change.
The 1987 constitution limits Marcos to a single six-year term. The restriction was born of the country's experience of martial law under his namesake father, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country for more than two decades.
Marcos said last month changing the constitution was not on his list of priorities. He said the country could entice investments without revising the charter. (Reuters)
March
First Taiwan presidential contender to visit U.S. next month
Written by Nur Yasmin
The head of a small Taiwanese political party will next month become the first contender for 2024's presidential election to visit the United States, to brief officials on his policies should he win office, though that may be a long shot.
Taiwanese presidential candidates traditionally go to the United States before elections given Washington's oversized role in backing Taiwan internationally and ensuring its security in the face of China's military threats to the island Beijing views as "sacred" Chinese territory.
The Taiwan People's Party (TPP), only founded in 2019, said on Monday its Chairman Ko Wen-je would make a 21-day trip to the United States beginning on April 8 in his capacity as the party's presidential nominee, though he has yet to formally be declared its candidate.
Ko, who served two terms as Taipei mayor until stepping down last year because of term limits, will meet State Department officials - the party declined to say who - and speak at universities included Harvard.
"We want to use this opportunity to exchange views with the U.S. side, about Chairman Ko's views on diplomacy or relations with China going forward," party Secretary General Tom Chou told reporters in Taipei.
The party has positioned itself as seeking a middle way between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which strongly supports Taiwan's sovereignty, and the main opposition party the Kuomintang, or KMT, which traditionally favours close ties with China.
Ko sought engagement with China while he was mayor, though last year he criticised China's military pressure during a virtual meeting with Shanghai officials.
Ko is a long shot contender for the presidency given the party's recent founding and minimal representation in parliament, with only five out of 113 lawmakers.
Neither the DPP nor KMT have announced their presidential candidates yet, though the DPP is widely expected to select Vice President William Lai, who is also party chairman.
The presidential and parliamentary elections take place next January. (Reuters)