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February
Hungary signals fresh delay in Finland, Sweden NATO approval
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff signalled on Saturday a possible further delay in Budapest's ratification of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, saying a vote may take place only in the second half of March.
Sweden and Finland applied last year to join the transatlantic defence pact after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But all 30 NATO members need to back the applications and Sweden has faced objections from Turkey for harbouring what Ankara considers to be members of terrorist groups.
With Hungary's ratification process stranded in parliament since July, Orban aired concerns about Sweden and Finland's NATO membership for the first time on Friday. Among other criticisms, he has accused both countries of spreading "outright lies" about the health of democracy and the rule of law in Hungary.
Nationalist Orban said more talks were needed between parliamentary groups before lawmakers vote on the membership bids, which they will begin debating on Wednesday.
A legislative agenda published on parliament's website this week showed a final vote on the NATO bids could take place in the week of March 6. However, on Saturday Orban's aide Gergely Gulyas said more time could still be needed.
"Parliament will put this on the agenda on Monday and start debating the legislation next week," Gulyas told a news conference.
"Based on Hungarian procedure, adopting legislation takes about four weeks, so it follows that parliament can have a vote on this sometime in the second half of March, on the week of March 21."
Last July, Orban's lawmakers pushed through legislation overhauling a small business tax hike in just two days. (Reuters)
February
Blinken to tout U.S. engagement on trip to former Soviet Central Asia
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will tout the benefits of cooperation for Central Asian nations with deep ties to Washington's adversaries Russia and China during a visit next week, the top State Department official for the region said on Friday.
Blinken will travel to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and meet with counterparts from all five Central Asian countries that used to be ruled from Moscow and have strong trade links with Beijing, ahead of a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi on Wednesday.
In Central Asia, Blinken will "be looking to draw a line under how our engagement is different from the engagement of Moscow and Beijing," said Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
"We have something to offer in terms of engagement economically but we also have something to offer in terms of the values that we bring to the table," Lu told reporters on a phone call previewing the trip.
The United States is engaged in continuous diplomatic activity to rally the world to oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began a year ago.
The conflict has roiled Moscow's relations with Central Asia's five former Soviet republics, who have been emboldened to stand up to Russia by their new-found leverage as it looks to their markets and trade routes in a bid to circumvent Western sanctions.
All three countries Blinken will visit abstained from a U.N. vote on Thursday demanding that Russian forces leave Ukrainian territory, although Blinken said this week India is among countries with historic ties to Moscow that are on a trajectory away from Russia.
Lu said South Asia and India's "long, complex relations with Russia" were not going to end any time soon.
"But we are talking to them about the role that they can play in this conflict," he said, adding those nations had provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the invasion. (Reuters)
February
Pacific islands tap Taiwan ally Nauru for next top diplomat
Written by Nur Yasmin
The top Pacific islands diplomatic post will pass to Taiwan ally Nauru next year, the 18-member regional bloc agreed Friday, as it resolved to face climate change and superpower rivalry as a united "family".
The Pacific Islands Forum, meeting in Fiji, also said it would hold more talks with Japanese scientists and the International Atomic Energy Agency over Japan's plan to release treated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.
Some Pacific islands fear the water release could contaminate fish stocks but Tokyo has said it does not pose a risk, and the meeting agreed that "science and data" should guide political decisions on the issue.
The Cook Islands took over from Fiji as forum chairman, and the meeting agreed that Nauru's former president Baron Waqa would become the bloc's secretary general in 2024.
Nauru has diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, and Waqa has previously clashed with Chinese diplomats.
Asked about China at a press conference, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said restoring economic prosperity was important for island states facing increased debt.
"We will look to all of our development partners that we have to assist us, in what ways they can, to ensure that our Pacific countries get their economic activity restored," he said.
The leaders met in Fiji to formalise the return of Kiribati to the forum, amid tensions between China and the United States in the strategically located region.
China last year tried but failed to strike a trade and security deal with 10 forum members who hold diplomatic ties with Beijing, and says forging security cooperation with the Pacific islands is a priority for its Global Security Initiative.
Four of Taiwan's 14 diplomatic allies are forum members.
The leaders agreed to consider establishing a special envoy's office in the United States, which has pledged to triple aid to the region.
Outgoing forum chairman, Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, told media in a livestreamed press conference: "The solidarity of the forum family has been fully restored." (Reuters)
February
Thirteen Still Missing After Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand
Written by Nur Yasmin
The number of people still unaccounted for in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle that battered New Zealand nearly two weeks ago has dropped to 13, authorities said on Saturday, as heavy rain overnight prompted evacuations on the country's North Island.
Gabrielle struck the island's northernmost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast causing widespread havoc, leaving at least 11 dead and displacing thousands.
The number of people uncontactable exceeded 6,000 following the cyclone as communications were knocked out in many areas, but has receded amid recovery efforts.
"Getting in touch with those remaining 13 remains a priority for police and we are working as fast as we can," New Zealand police said in a statement early on Saturday.
In Hawke's Bay, one of the areas worst hit by Gabrielle, heavy rains overnight brought a renewed flood risk to the region where an evacuation order was in place, Hawke's Bay Emergency Management Group said.
Homes in the Esk Valley locality had "been unoccupied since the cyclone, but an additional 26 households evacuated yesterday", the agency said.
About 680 kilometres (422 miles) north, at the town of Mangawhai in Northland, more than 200 people sheltered in camps on Friday night as rain caused landslips that blocked road exits, Radio New Zealand reported.
The wild weather also triggered flash floods and evacuation warnings in and around Auckland, the nation's largest city with a population of around 1.6 million.
New Zealand weather forecaster MetService said some of the heaviest rain was recorded in Auckland, with 155mm (6.1 inches) recorded there in the past 24 hours.
The forecaster had a heavy rain warning in place on Saturday for large swaths of the North Island's east coast, including Hawke's Bay.
"Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. Surface flooding and slips are also possible and driving conditions may be hazardous," it said.
It said it was also "closely monitoring" a tropical low near Fiji that could turn into a tropical cyclone next week. (Reuters)
February
Marcos seeks unity as Philippines marks 'people power' anniversary
Written by Nur Yasmin
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for reconciliation and unity on Saturday as the Southeast Asian nation marked the 37th anniversary of the "people power" revolution that toppled his dictator father.
Marcos, who was 28 years old when a helicopter whisked his family from the presidential palace in 1986, said he was one with the nation "in remembering those times of tribulation and how we came out of them united and stronger as a nation."
Marcos, 65, clinched a landslide victory in last year's presidential election on a simple message of unity. Despite its fall from grace, his family returned from exile in the 1990s and has remained a powerful force in local politics.
"I once again offer my hand of reconciliation to those with different political persuasions to come together as one in forging a better society - one that will pursue progress and peace and a better life for all Filipinos," he said in a social media post.
Marcos sent a wreath of flowers to the People Power Monument along a major highway in the capital Manila, where millions of protesters had gathered demanding the ouster of his father amid allegations of plunder and human rights violations. The elder Marcos died in 1989.
The family has denied siphoning off billions of dollars of state wealth during the dictatorship, and has waged a decades-long campaign to resurrect its reputation.
The younger Marcos's "presidency is an insult to the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom and democracy", human rights advocacy group Karapatan said in a statement.
The family of late former President Corazon Aquino, who assumed power after the elder Marcos's ouster, issued a statement saying the spirit of the 1986 uprising "guards and protects our democracy, confronting those who attempt to deceive us and undermine our rights and liberties". (reuters)
February
Nepal's ruling coalition in turmoil as deputy PM and 3 other ministers quit
Written by Nur Yasmin
Nepal's ruling coalition was in turmoil on Saturday after the prime minister said he planned to support a presidential candidate from an opposition party, a decision that prompted the deputy prime minister and three other ministers to resign.
Political analysts said the moves did not suggest the fledgling government of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist rebel who goes by his nom de guerre Prachanda, was in immediate trouble as it still enjoys majority support in parliament. But they said the turmoil could lead a new coalition being formed.
Prachanda said on Friday he would support Ram Chandra Paudel from the opposition Nepali Congress party in next month's presidential election, instead of the candidate of his coalition partner, the Communist Unified Marxist Leninist (UML) party. He did not give a reason for his decision, though the Nepali Congress party is a former ally of Prachanda's Maoist Centre party.
On Saturday, Rajendra Lingden, the deputy prime minister who was also minister for energy, water resources and irrigation, resigned in protest, along with the ministers for urban development and legal matters, while a junior minister assisting Lingden also quit.
"The coalition under which we joined the government is no more intact," Lingden told Reuters, adding it would not be "proper for them to continue in the government."
Prachanda's office confirmed the four ministers had resigned but did not say whether the resignations had been accepted.
Nepal is set to elect its third president on March 9, a ceremonial position which assumed a key role during past political crises.
Nestled between China and India, Nepal has seen 11 governments since it abolished its 239-year monarchy in 2008 and became a republic.
Political instability has scared investors and held back growth of its $40 billion economy. (Reuters)
February
Japan's consumer inflation hits 41-year high, keeps BOJ under pressure
Written by Nur Yasmin
Japan's core consumer inflation hit a fresh 41-year high in January as companies passed on higher costs to households, data showed on Friday, keeping the central bank under pressure to phase out its massive stimulus programme.
The data underscores the dilemma policymakers face as soaring prices of fuel and daily necessities hit households, many of whom have yet to see wages rise enough to make up for the higher cost of living.
The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food but includes energy costs, was 4.2% higher in January than a year earlier, matching a median market forecast and accelerating from a 4.0% annual gain seen in December.
January's rise was the fastest since September 1981, when fuel costs spiked due to a Middle East oil crisis and hit Japan's import-reliant economy.
Core consumer inflation has now exceeded the Bank of Japan's 2% target for nine straight months, mostly reflecting persistent rises in fuel and raw material costs, the data showed.
"Inflation will probably peak in January but may not fall back below the BOJ's 2% target for some time," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.
"But there are questions as to whether the rise in inflation will be sustainable, as it is still driven largely by food and fuel costs," he said.
Incoming Governor Kazuo Ueda faces a challenge in sustaining the BOJ's yield control policy, which has come under attack by markets betting strong inflation will force the bank to raise interest rates.
Upon approval by parliament, Ueda is expected to succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda when his term ends in April. At Ueda's debut policy meeting on April 28, the BOJ will release for the first time its inflation forecasts extending to fiscal 2025.
Japan's economy averted recession in the fourth quarter of last year but rebounded much less than expected as business investment slumped.
While private consumption is holding up against headwinds from rising living costs, uncertainties over the global economic outlook will weigh on Japan's delayed recovery from the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts say. (Reuters)
February
G20 finance leaders to gauge toll on global economy on Ukraine war's anniversary
Written by Nur Yasmin
Global finance leaders will tally the economic damage from Russia's war in Ukraine on Friday as they meet on the conflict's first anniversary with some voicing concerns that more sanctions on Moscow would disrupt a modest improvement in growth.
The meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on the outskirts of India's Bengaluru tech hub comes amid signs that the global outlook has improved from the group's last meeting in October, when a number of G20 economies were teetering on the brink of recession amid energy and food price spikes caused by the war.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday highlighted the improvement, saying the global economy "is in a better place today than many predicted just a few months ago".
The International Monetary Fund has forecast global GDP growth for 2023 at 2.9%, up from a 2.7% forecast in October, but still well below the 3.4% achieved in 2022.
Yellen attributed the improvement in part to cooperation among G20 central banks and governments over the past year in taking strong action to quell inflation, even at the expense of growth.
Inflation in the United States and other countries has eased alongside lower energy prices, but Yellen added that such efforts needed to continue and more work was needed to mitigate spillovers from the war, such as easing food shortages and holding down energy prices and Russian revenues.
Yellen and fellow G7 ministers on Thursday called for more financial support for Ukraine and vowed to maintain tough sanctions on Russia.
G7 chair Japan's finance minister, Sunichi Suzuki, told reporters that the group would closely monitor the effectiveness of sanctions and "take further actions as needed".
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the pressure on Russia must be kept high to "completely isolate" Russia's economy.
But the enthusiasm for squeezing Russia's economy further is not shared by some members of the broader G20 group, especially India, which does not want additional sanctions against Russia during its G20 presidency this year, according to government sources.
The existing sanctions on Russia, which has historic ties to India, "are having a negative impact on the world," one of the Indian officials said.
New Delhi has maintained a neutral stance on the conflict, vastly increasing its purchases of cheaper Russian oil and pushing against the term "war" in negotiations over G20 communique language. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation".
Yellen said the communique was still under discussion and she hoped to see a strong condemnation of Russia's invasion and the damage it has caused Ukraine and the global economy. (reuters)
February
New Zealand police still seeking 23 people after Cyclone Gabrielle
Written by Nur Yasmin
The number of people still "uncontactable" in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle that lashed New Zealand two weeks ago has dropped to 23, New Zealand police said on Friday.
Police have been working to reach people that friends or family had registered as uncontactable. The number of people uncontactable topped 6,000 following the cyclone as communications were cut off to many areas.
"Getting in touch with those remaining 23 remains a priority for police and we are working as fast as we can, using a number of different methods," the police said in its statement.
Gabrielle hit New Zealand nearly two weeks ago causing widespread havoc across the country's North Island, leaving at least 11 people dead and displacing thousands.
Parts of Hawke's Bay region, on the east coast and one of the worst hit areas, is currently experiencing heavy rains and the emergency management group has ordered the evacuation of people in the vicinity of a river in the region. (Reuters)
February
Russian Soyuz spacecraft starts mission to return crew stranded on ISS
Written by Nur Yasmin
A Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off on Friday on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by a leak in the cooling system of their original return capsule, Russian news agencies reported.
Tass news agency said the unmanned Soyuz MS-23 lifted off from Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan and had been placed in orbit. It was due to dock with the ISS on Saturday at 0101 GMT.
Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin and U.S. astronaut Francisco Rubio had been due to end their mission in March. They were left stuck in space after the cooling system of their Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking two months ago.
Russian space agency Roscosmos said this week the trio would now return to Earth aboard Soyuz MS-23 in September. The damaged MS-22 spacecraft is now scheduled to land without a crew in March.
Both NASA and Roscosmos believe last year's leak on the MS-22 spacecraft was caused by a micrometeoroid - a tiny particle of space rock - hitting the capsule at high velocity.
A similar impact is also believed to have caused a separate leak this month on the cooling system of the Progress MS-21 cargo ship, taken out of orbit last week.
Tass said 430 kilogrammes (about 950 pounds) of cargo was sent aboard the replacement craft, including medical equipment, scientfic instruments, water, food and cleaning supplies. Tass quoted a Russian space official as saying the amount of food sent was three times the amount normally dispatched for such missions.
The leaks have prompted Roscosmos and NASA to rearrange their schedules and postpone planned space walks. (Reuters)