Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6893)
September
Cleanup day comes to Philippine capital's polluted bay
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hundreds of volunteers joined a mass cleanup drive along the coast of the polluted Manila Bay in the Philippine capital to mark International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday.
Volunteers and government workers, including hundreds of coast guard personnel, collected sachets, rubber slippers and other non-biodegradable waste that have been washed in the Manila Bay, a 60 km (37 mile) semi-enclosed estuary facing the South China Sea.
Hundreds of volunteers joined a mass cleanup drive along the coast of the polluted Manila Bay in the Philippine capital to mark International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday.
Volunteers and government workers, including hundreds of coast guard personnel, collected sachets, rubber slippers and other non-biodegradable waste that have been washed in the Manila Bay, a 60 km (37 mile) semi-enclosed estuary facing the South China Sea.
"This initiative will help make our coastal area in Manila Bay better so that our tourists and visitors will see the beauty of the bay," college student Kendrick Lopez, 18, told Reuters during the cleanup drive.
Waters along the Manila Bay, famous for its idyllic sunsets, are heavily polluted by oil, grease and trash from nearby residential areas and ports.
The Philippines is rich in marine resources, with nearly 36,300 km (22,555 miles) of coastline in the archipelago of more than 7,600 islands.
But it is the world's top polluter when it comes to releasing plastic waste into the ocean, accounting for roughly a third the total, according to an April 2022 report by the University of Oxford's Our World in Data, a scientific online publication.
"We need to do these (cleanup drives) for our environment and to discourage people from throwing trash on the seaside," Janet Panganiban, a 36-year-old volunteer, told Reuters.
Critics say laws regulating solid waste are inadequate and poorly enforced, leaving governments and communities struggling to address the pollution crisis.
The International Coastal Cleanup Day is held every third Saturday of September to raise awareness of the growing garbage problems affecting coastlines around the world. (Reuters)
September
Sudan generals agree in principle to civilians naming prime minister, head of state
Written by Nur Yasmin
Sudan's military leaders agreed on the appointment of a prime minister and head of state by civilian political forces, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said in a statement on Friday, following a meeting with head of state General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The generals reaffirmed statements from this summer that the military "would exit the political scene and focus fully on its duties as laid out in the constitution and the law," following the appointment of a civilian government, the statement said.
Sudan's military took power in an October coup that ended a power-sharing agreement with civilian pro-democracy parties, plunging the country into political and economic turmoil.
Mediation efforts led by the United Nations, African Union, and foreign powers have not come to fruition. Civilian groups have demanded the complete and immediate exit of the military from politics.
Sources told Reuters that earlier this week Burhan had met with ambassadors from the United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss political solutions to the crisis.
A draft constitution circulated by the Sudanese Bar Association in recent weeks has received praise from some political groups, as well as General Dagalo, leader of the controversial Rapid Support Forces, in a statement this week.
Sudan's pro-democracy movement, led by neighbourhood resistance committees, has held demonstrations weekly since the coup, with the latest scheduled for Saturday in the city of Bahri. (Reuters)
September
Biden talks energy, Russia with S.Africa's non-aligned Ramaphosa
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday discussed relations with Russia in a White House meeting with South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, who has resisted joining Washington's campaign against Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
Biden, who has led an international coalition to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the near-seven month war in Ukraine, wants South Africa's help in efforts that include forcing Moscow to sell its oil at below-market rates.
After a jovial greeting before the press, the two leaders spoke privately in the Oval Office for more than an hour on topics that included trade, climate and energy, the White House said.
They committed to addressing several of "the world’s most urgent challenges over which we both share concern, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its negative consequences for food security in Africa," the White House said.
Biden also announced $45 million in funding for an $8.5 multinational venture aimed at accelerating the phasing out of coal-fired power generation in South Africa.
The additional U.S. funding for the Just Energy Transition Partnership comes at time when declining natural gas and oil exports from Russia and Ukraine have boosted South African coal and set back decarbonization goals for one of the world's most carbon-intensive economies.
In recent weeks, Biden and his aides have been ramping up engagements with African countries as they cast a wary eye on investments and diplomacy by rivals Russia and China on the continent.
Ramaphosa has resisted calls to directly criticize Russia, instead opposing the use of force generally. In March, he blamed NATO's eastward expansion for instability and said the conflict should be solved through United Nations mediation rather than Western-led sanctions that hurt "bystander countries."
South Africa was one of 17 African countries to abstain from the U.N. vote condemning Russia's assault.
"Our position on this is respected, it is known and recognized," Ramaphosa told reporters after the meeting. "Clearly the conflict has to be resolved. Our view is that it can best be resolved through dialogue and negotiations."
Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has governed South Africa since white minority rule ended in 1994, had strong ties to the former Soviet Union, which trained and supported anti-apartheid activists.
However, South Africa still enjoys a high level of diplomatic clout among Russia's rivals in the West relative to its economic size since its peaceful transition to democracy.
Last month, during a visit to South Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would not dictate Africa's choices, after pledging to "do things differently," following former President Donald Trump's insulting remarks about African countries.
A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April would boost U.S. efforts to counter Russian influence in Africa.
"We have expressed our discomfort and our opposition," Ramaphosa said in a video uploaded to Twitter. "We should not be told by anyone who we associate with and we should never be put in positions where we have to choose who our friends are."
Africans often resent being a theater for competition between China, Russia and the Western order. The Ukraine war exacerbated the longstanding rivalry over Africa's natural resources, trade and security ties.
War and inflation have pressured South Africa, where half of the population lived below the poverty line even before the war dried up Russia and Ukraine's grain and fertilizer exports.
Biden is due to host more leaders from the continent in December, when ANC members will also decide whether to keep Ramaphosa as their party leader. (Reuters)
September
Taiwan eyeing earlier end to COVID quarantine for arrivals
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan is eyeing an earlier end to its mandatory quarantine for all arrivals and has been making relevant preparations, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Friday, as the government continues to ease controls put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Taiwan has kept its entry and quarantine rules in place as large parts of the rest of Asia have relaxed or lifted them completely, though in June it cut the number of days spent in isolation for arrivals to three from seven previously.
Taiwan has reported more than 5.7 million domestic cases since the beginning of the year, driven by the more infectious Omicron variant. With more than 99% of those showing no or only mild symptoms, the government has relaxed rather than tightened restrictions in its "new Taiwan model", although it has not given a timeline for when quarantine rules may be scrapped.
Su that said while cases were gradually ticking up at the moment that was in line with expectations.
"We are also preparing for a steady opening up with all ministries and departments," he told reporters.
"If during the (next) two weeks it can be monitored and predictions are as we first had them, if (cases) gradually rise and then slow down, then we can open up earlier."
Taiwan Centres for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang said this week it was possible the quarantine rule would be lifted entirely next month.
Taiwan this week began resuming visa free entry for visitors from countries including the United States and Canada, though the need for a PCR test upon arrival remains, as does the current cap on 50,000 arrivals a week.
Taiwan, which has a well vaccinated population, has already ended the requirement for pre-departure negative PCR tests.
Throughout the pandemic Taiwanese citizens and foreign residents have never been prohibited from leaving and then re-entering, but have had to quarantine at home or in hotels.
Before the pandemic, Taiwan was a popular tourist destination for mainly Asian visitors, with Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia the most important markets. (Reuters)
September
Kyrgyzstan reports heavy fighting with Tajikistan, 24 people killed
Written by Nur Yasmin
Kyrgyzstan reported "intense battles" with Central Asian neighbour Tajikistan on Friday and said 24 people had been killed in the latest outbreak of violence to hit the former Soviet Union.
Both of the small impoverished landlocked nations have accused each other of restarting fighting in a disputed area, despite a ceasefire deal.
In a statement, the Kyrgyz border service said its forces were continuing to repel Tajik attacks.
"From the Tajik side, shelling of the positions of the Kyrgyz side continues, and in some areas intense battles are going on," it said.
The Kyrgyz health ministry later said 24 citizens had been killed and 87 wounded, Russia's Interfax news agency said. It did not say how many of the victims were from the military.
Kamchybek Tashiev, the head of the Kyrgyz state committee on national security, was quoted by Russia's RIA news agency as saying military casualties had been high.
"The situation is difficult and as for what will happen tomorrow - no one can give any guarantees," he said.
The Kyrgyz ministry of emergency situations said more than 136,000 civilians had been evacuated from the conflict zone, Interfax said.
Earlier in the day Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon agreed to order a ceasefire and troop pullback at a regional summit in Uzbekistan, Japarov's office said.
Kyrgyzstan reported fighting in its southern Batken province which borders Tajikistan's northern Sughd region and features a Tajik exclave, Vorukh. The same area is famous for its jigsaw-puzzle political and ethnic geography and became the site of similar hostilities last year, also nearly leading to a war.
Clashes over the poorly demarcated border are frequent, but usually de-escalate quickly.
SOVIET LEGACY
Central Asian border issues largely stem from the Soviet era when Moscow tried to divide the region between groups whose settlements were often located amidst those of other ethnicities.
Both countries host Russian military bases. Earlier on Friday, Moscow urged a cessation of hostilities.
The clashes come at a time when Russian troops are fighting in Ukraine and a new ceasefire appears to be holding between former Soviet states Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Kyrgyzstan has said that Tajik forces using tanks, armoured personnel carriers and mortars entered at least one Kyrgyz village and shelled the airport of the Kyrgyz town of Batken and adjacent areas.
In turn, Tajikistan accused Kyrgyz forces of shelling an outpost and seven villages with "heavy weaponry".
Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the remote villages at the centre of the dispute were not economically significant, but that both sides had given it an exaggerated political importance.
Umarov said both governments had come to rely on what he called "populist, nationalist rhetoric" that made an exchange of territory aimed at ending the conflict impossible.
Another Central Asia analyst, Alexander Knyazev, said the sides showed no will to resolve the conflict peacefully and the mutual territorial claims provoked aggressive attitudes on all levels.
He said only third-party peacekeepers could prevent further conflicts by establishing a demilitarised zone. (Reuters)
September
Mainland China reports first imported monkeypox case
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Chinese city of Chongqing reported one case of the monkeypox virus infection on Friday in an individual who arrived from abroad, marking mainland China's first known monkeypox infection amid the recent global outbreak of the virus.
The transmission risk is low as the individual was put in quarantine upon arrival in Chongqing, the municipal health commission said in a statement. All close contacts have been isolated and are under medical observation.
The person concerned entered Chongqing city in transit from abroad and showed symptoms such as a skin rash during their quarantine period for COVID, according to the statement.
Around 90 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease, which the World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency. There have been more than 60,000 confirmed cases and some non-endemic countries have reported their first related deaths.
The monkeypox virus, which is transmitted through close contact with infected people, animals or contaminated materials, usually causes symptoms similar to but milder than those of smallpox, such as fever, headache and rashes. (Reuters)
September
Biden talks energy, Russia with S.Africa's non-aligned Ramaphosa
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday discussed relations with Russia in a White House meeting with South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa, who has resisted joining Washington's campaign against Moscow for the war in Ukraine.
Biden, who has led an international coalition to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for the near-seven month war in Ukraine, wants South Africa's help in efforts that include forcing Moscow to sell its oil at below-market rates.
After a jovial greeting before the press, the two leaders spoke privately in the Oval Office for more than an hour on topics that included trade, climate and energy, the White House said.
They committed to addressing several of "the world’s most urgent challenges over which we both share concern, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its negative consequences for food security in Africa," the White House said.
Biden also announced $45 million in funding for an $8.5 multinational venture aimed at accelerating the phasing out of coal-fired power generation in South Africa.
The additional U.S. funding for the Just Energy Transition Partnership comes at time when declining natural gas and oil exports from Russia and Ukraine have boosted South African coal and set back decarbonization goals for one of the world's most carbon-intensive economies.
In recent weeks, Biden and his aides have been ramping up engagements with African countries as they cast a wary eye on investments and diplomacy by rivals Russia and China on the continent.
Ramaphosa has resisted calls to directly criticize Russia, instead opposing the use of force generally. In March, he blamed NATO's eastward expansion for instability and said the conflict should be solved through United Nations mediation rather than Western-led sanctions that hurt "bystander countries."
South Africa was one of 17 African countries to abstain from the U.N. vote condemning Russia's assault.
"Our position on this is respected, it is known and recognized," Ramaphosa told reporters after the meeting. "Clearly the conflict has to be resolved. Our view is that it can best be resolved through dialogue and negotiations."
Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) party, which has governed South Africa since white minority rule ended in 1994, had strong ties to the former Soviet Union, which trained and supported anti-apartheid activists.
However, South Africa still enjoys a high level of diplomatic clout among Russia's rivals in the West relative to its economic size since its peaceful transition to democracy.
Last month, during a visit to South Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would not dictate Africa's choices, after pledging to "do things differently," following former President Donald Trump's insulting remarks about African countries.
A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April would boost U.S. efforts to counter Russian influence in Africa.
"We have expressed our discomfort and our opposition," Ramaphosa said in a video uploaded to Twitter. "We should not be told by anyone who we associate with and we should never be put in positions where we have to choose who our friends are."
Africans often resent being a theater for competition between China, Russia and the Western order. The Ukraine war exacerbated the longstanding rivalry over Africa's natural resources, trade and security ties.
War and inflation have pressured South Africa, where half of the population lived below the poverty line even before the war dried up Russia and Ukraine's grain and fertilizer exports.
Biden is due to host more leaders from the continent in December, when ANC members will also decide whether to keep Ramaphosa as their party leader. (Reuters)
September
China's Vice President Wang Qishan to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral
Written by Nur Yasmin
Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral at the invitation of the British government, the ministry of foreign affairs said on Saturday.
The BBC reported on Friday that the Chinese delegation visiting London for the queen's Monday funeral would not be allowed to view her coffin at a lying-in-state vigil inside parliament.
Some parliamentarians had raised concerns about inviting representatives from China after several British lawmakers were sanctioned by Beijing for criticising alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang. China denies any such abuses.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Friday she had not yet seen the report but that "the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is an important event for the United Kingdom".
"Foreign delegations participating in the event upon invitation from the United Kingdom is a sign of respect to the queen and the importance accorded to (relations with) the United Kingdom," Mao said.
Reuters on Thursday that Wang would likely attend the funeral for Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, according to a British foreign office source. (Reuters)
September
William and Harry prepare to hold vigil by late queen's coffin
Written by Nur Yasmin
Princes William and Harry will mount a silent vigil at the coffin of their late grandmother Queen Elizabeth on Saturday, watched on by just some of the many mourners who are queuing for up to 24 hours to pay their respects.
The two brothers will be joined by their six cousins in forming a 15-minute vigil at Westminster Hall in central London, a night after their father, King Charles, joined his three siblings in a similar tribute to the queen.
Tens of thousands of people have already filed past the coffin in a steady, solemn stream, queuing for hours through cold temperatures, some through the night, to pay their respects to Britain's longest-reigning monarch - a testimony to the affection in which she was held.
"I'm here because of the queen's service and dedication over the last 70 years," said Reuben Fevrier, a 50-year-old accountant from London. "Her stoicism, her deep commitment to the country - a remarkable life.
"I think this the least I can do."
On Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was seen curtsying to the coffin as she filed through - one of the first of nearly 100 presidents and heads of government who are expected to attend the state funeral on Monday.
The premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, Jason Kenney, was also in the queue. "There's a profound sense of shared grief & affection for Her Majesty in this huge, diverse gathering of people from around the world," he said on Twitter.
London's police force said the funeral will be the biggest security operation it has ever undertaken. U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and the leaders of Australia, Canada and Jamaica will join the emperor of Japan among the congregation.
On Saturday, King Charles will meet the prime ministers of the 14 other countries where he is head of state. He will also meet workers in the emergency services who are helping to stage the funeral.
Later the focus will switch to the younger royals and their vigil.
Heir-to-the-throne William and his brother Harry, who have grown apart in recent years after Harry moved to the United States, will both appear in military uniform.
Harry served two tours of duty with the British Army in Afghanistan but so far has appeared in processions in morning suits after he lost his honorary military titles when he stepped back from public royal duties.
The vigil will take place at the oak casket, which stands on a purple-clad catafalque, draped in the Royal Standard and with the bejewelled Imperial State Crown placed on top.
The two brothers will be joined by their cousins - Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, the children of Princess Anne, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the children of Prince Andrew, and Louise and James, the children of Prince Edward. (Reuters)
September
Indian PM Modi tells Russia's Putin now 'is not an era of war'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertiliser and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present.
"I know that today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this," Modi told Putin on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan, adding that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue keep the world together.
Putin said that he understood Modi's concerns about the Ukraine war. "I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine, and I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible."
Putin, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit, acknowledged on Wednesday Beijing's concerns about the war. NL1N30M23X
Modi and Putin spoke on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, whose permanent members, besides India, include China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
"Our trade is growing, thanks to your additional supplies of Russian fertilisers to the Indian markets, which have grown more than eight fold. I am hopeful that this is going to be of huge help of the agricultural sector of India," Putin said. (Reuters)