Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6893)
June
N.Korea spent as much as $642 million on nukes in 2021, report estimates
Written by Nur Yasmin
North Korea may have spent as much as $642 million on its nuclear programme last year, according to anti-nuclear activists, as the impoverished country appears ready to test a new weapon despite battling a COVID-19 outbreak and economic crisis.
There is no confirmed data on North Korea's nuclear spending, or the size of its arsenal. Since 2006 it has conducted at least six nuclear tests, and appears to be preparing to resume testing for the first time since 2017.
In a report on global nuclear weapons spending released on Tuesday, the Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said its estimate is based on the assumption that North Korea has continued to spend about a third of its gross national income (GNI) on its military, and about 6% of that military budget on nuclear weapons.
That estimate put North Korea as the lowest spender of the nine nuclear-armed countries covered by the ICAN report, spending about half as much as the next lowest country, Pakistan.
The United States, which has led an international campaign to impose sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development, has criticised Pyongyang for spending millions of dollars on its military while the country faces food shortages and other economic problems.
North Korea says it has a sovereign right to develop nuclear weapons for self-defence, and that they are necessary to protect the country in the face of international threats.
It is unclear whether Pyongyang cut back any funding for its nuclear programme during the pandemic.
But analysts, foreign officials, and independent experts who monitor United Nations sanctions have reported that Pyongyang appears to have forged ahead with its stated goal of developing and expanding its arsenal, with activity and new construction observed at its main nuclear reactor, uranium mine, and other related sites.
In an annual report released this week, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that North Korea has assembled up to 20 warheads, and probably possessed sufficient fissile material for approximately 45–55 nuclear devices.
"North Korea’s military nuclear programme remains central to its national security strategy," SIPRI said.
South Korea's latest defence white paper reported that North Korea possesses about 50 kg of weapons grade plutonium and “substantial” amounts of highly enriched uranium, an estimate that remains unchanged since 2016. (Reuters)
June
Taiwan condemns Qatar for 'politicising' World Cup amid China spat
Written by Nur Yasmin
Taiwan's Foreign Ministry condemned organisers of the World Cup in Qatar on Wednesday for saying Taiwanese fans may be listed as being from China, and demanded organisers not allow "improper political factors" to interfere in sporting events.
The issue is extremely sensitive for democratically-governed Taiwan, which bristles at China's claims of sovereignty over it, and particularly its giant neighbour's efforts to claim people from Taiwan as being from China.
All World Cup ticketholders must apply for the Hayya card used to identify fans, which also serves as their entry visa for Qatar.
On Tuesday, a drop-down menu of nationalities on the application system had no listing at all for Taiwan, and a senior Qatari official said Taiwanese were likely to be listed as being from China on the card.
By Wednesday, the online system was listing "Taiwan, Province of China", terminology that equally angers Taiwan's government and many of its people, though it did also include a Taiwanese flag, a symbol anathema to China's government.
Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said it was "unacceptable to belittle our country" and they were looking for organisers to make an "immediate correction of their ways".
"The Foreign Ministry again calls on the organisers of the World Cup to not allow improper political factors to interfere with simple sports activities and tarnish sporting venues that value fair competition and emphasise the spirit of the athletes," she added.
Organisers should let sports be sports and give fans around the world "a clean World Cup football event".
There was no immediate response to the comments from World Cup organisers. The Qatar government's communication office was not immediately responding to request for comment.
Taiwan competes at most international sporting events, like the Olympics, as "Chinese Taipei" to avoid political problems with Beijing.
It has never played at the World Cup finals and crashed out in the second round of Asian qualifying for the 2022 tournament last year after losing all eight matches.
Taiwan has no diplomatic relations with Qatar, which, like most countries, only recognises China's government.
China, seeking to assert its sovereignty claims, has been stepping up pressure for countries and foreign companies to refer to Taiwan as part of China in official documents and on websites, often using the wording "Taiwan, Province of China", or "Taiwan, China".
When asked about the complaints made to the Qatar World Cup organisers by Taiwan officials, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said he wished to reiterate that "Taiwan is part of China".
"Maintaining the one China principle is a basic norm of international relations and is the widely held consensus of the international community,” Wang told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. (Reuters)
June
U.S. rebuffs China by calling Taiwan Strait an international waterway
Written by Nur Yasmin
The United States on Tuesday backed Taiwan's assertion that the strait separating the island from China is an international waterway, a further rebuff to Beijing's claim to exercise sovereignty over the strategic passage.
The Taiwan Strait has been a frequent source of military tension since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists, who established the People's Republic of China.
In recent years, U.S. warships, and on occasion those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait, drawing Beijing's anger.
On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry said the country "has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait" and called it "a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait 'international waters'."
Commenting on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said in an email to Reuters: "The Taiwan Strait is an international waterway, meaning that the Taiwan Strait is an area where high seas freedoms, including freedom of navigation and overflight, are guaranteed under international law."
The world has "an abiding interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we consider this central to the security and prosperity of the broader Indo-Pacific region," Price added.
He reiterated U.S. concerns about China's "aggressive rhetoric and coercive activity regarding Taiwan" and said the United States "would continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and that includes transiting through the Taiwan Strait."
Earlier on Tuesday, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou called China's position a "fallacy."
On Wednesday, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang said the strait was by "no means China's inland sea".
"China's ambition to swallow up Taiwan has never stopped or been concealed; the Taiwan Strait is a maritime area for free international navigation," he told reporters.
China's Taiwan Affairs Office said the government in Taipei was "cooperating with external forces to hype up the issue".
This "harms the interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and betrays the interests of the Chinese nation - it is despicable," office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang said in Beijing.
China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and views the island as an inherent part of Chinese territory.
Taiwan says China has no right to speak for it or claim sovereignty, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their own future and that the People's Republic of China has never controlled any part of the island. (Reuters)
June
Thailand edges closer to legalising same-sex unions
Written by Nur Yasmin
Lawmakers in Thailand on Wednesday passed at first reading four different bills on same-sex unions, moving a step closer towards becoming the second territory in Asia to legalise same-gender marriages.
Thailand has one of Asia's most open and visible lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities, adding to its image of tolerance and attraction as a liberal holiday destination for foreign tourists.
But activists say Thai laws and institutions have yet to reflect changing social attitudes and still discriminate against LGBT people and same-sex couples.
The four drafts approved on Wednesday each seek to provide same-sex partners with almost the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.
The cabinet endorsed two last week that would create a same-sex civil partnership law. Another civil partnership bill from the Democrat Party was also approved.
A more liberal equal marriage bill from the opposition Move Forward party also passed, despite efforts by government whips to vote it down. That draft seeks to replace gendered terms in existing laws and make marriage applicable to all people.
"This is a very good sign," Chumaporn "Waddao" Taengkliang, of the Rainbow Coalition for Marriage Equality, said in reference to the approval of the bills.
"There should be the same standard for all genders, whether it's a civil union or marriage."
The Constitutional Court last year ruled Thailand's current marriage law, which only recognises heterosexual couples, was constitutional, but recommended legislation be expanded to ensure rights of other genders.
The bills' passage follows last week's first official pride parade in Thailand, where thousands waved rainbow flags and called for liberal reforms.
So far in Asia, only Taiwan has legalised same-sex unions.
Thai LGBT activists have criticised the two government-backed bills, arguing there is no need for a special law for same-sex couples, just amendments to make existing laws more inclusive.
The four bills will be deliberated by a 25-member committee, which will decide whether to send any of those, or a consolidated draft, to the house for two more readings, prior to senate then royal approval. (Reuters)
June
Must stay focused on Ukraine during 'pivotal' moment- Pentagon chief
Written by Nur Yasmin
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was at a "pivotal" moment and the United States and its allies could not lose focus on the three-month long conflict, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday during a meeting of dozens of defense ministers in Brussels.
The meeting on the sidelines of a NATO defense ministerial will focus on weapon deliveries to Ukraine and is the third time the group of nearly 50 countries are meeting to discuss and coordinate assistance to Ukraine. The previous in-person meeting was at Ramstein Air Base in Germany in April.
Ukraine needs 1,000 howitzers, 500 tanks and 1,000 drones among other heavy weapons, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Monday. Western countries have promised NATO-standard weapons, including advanced U.S. rockets.
But deploying them is taking time, and Ukraine will require consistent Western support to transition to new supplies and systems as stocks dwindle of their Soviet-era weapons and munitions.
"We can’t afford to let up and we can’t lose steam. The stakes are too high," Austin said at the start of the meeting in Brussels.
"We must intensify our shared commitment to Ukraine’s self-defense and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens, and its territory," Austin added.
Before the start of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the allies would continue to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons and long-range systems and that he expected them to agree a new package of assistance to Kyiv at a NATO summit later this month.
"Sometimes these efforts take time. That's exactly why it is important to have a meeting like we have today... to meet with the Ukrainian representatives to identify the challenges and the issues they would like to raise with us when," Stoltenberg said.
'GRINDING' OPERATION
The battle for Sievierodonetsk - a city of barely more than 100,000 people before the war - is now the biggest fight in Ukraine as the conflict has shifted into a punishing war of attrition.
"Ukraine is facing a pivotal moment on the battlefield... Russia is using its long-range fires to try to overwhelm Ukrainian positions," Austin said.
U.S. officials expect announcements on additional weapons to Ukrainian forces in the coming days.
The United States has committed about $4.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia's Feb. 24 invasion, including artillery systems such as howitzers and longer-range weapons like the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
"Russia has not given up on the fight, despite its pretty anemic progress... What we have is this grinding, slow, incremental Russian operation," said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"So the question is what do the Ukrainians need to continue the success they've already seen in slowing down and thwarting that Russian objective and that'll be a major focus for the defense ministers," the official said.
Attending the meeting in Brussels is U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for political-military affairs, Jessica Lewis, who gives policy direction for international security, defense trade and security assistance.
Lewis told Reuters in an interview on Friday that allies could ask for many defense articles to help backfill arms sent to Ukraine.
That could include tanks made by General Dynamics Corp (GD.N) or air defense systems from companies like Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) or Raytheon Technologies (RTX.N).
Russia launched what it calls a "special operation" in Ukraine in February, saying it was needed to rid the country of dangerous nationalists and degrade Ukraine's military capabilities - aims the West denounced as a baseless pretext.
The Biden administration has said it has received assurances from Kyiv that those longer-range weapons will not be used to attack Russian territory, fearing an escalation of the conflict.
Kyiv has said it is losing 100 to 200 soldiers each day, with hundreds more wounded. In an overnight address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the battle for the eastern Donbas region - partly occupied by Moscow proxies since 2014 - as one of the most brutal in European history. (Reuters)
June
War threatens Ukraine's place in global food security - Ukrainian experts
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ukraine may not be able to regain its role in helping maintain global food security unless damage done to the country's agriculture sector during Russia's invasion is repaired, Ukrainian experts said on Wednesday.
An analysis by the Kyiv School of Economics Institute's Center for Food Research and Land Use in cooperation with the agriculture ministry said 2.4 million hectares of winter crops worth $1.435 billion would not be harvested because of the war.
The agriculture sector has so far suffered losses of $4.292 billion because of the invasion and the war has killed about 42,000 sheep and goats, 92,000 cows, 258,000 pigs and more than 5.7 million heads of poultry, it said.
"Russia's aggression affects not only the ability to freely export our agricultural products and feed about 400 million people a year around the globe," said Roman Neyter, an expert at the Center for Food and Land Use Research.
"Damage to land, infrastructure, and agricultural machinery directly affects the production of agricultural products in Ukraine. Without the restoration of lost assets, Ukraine will not be able to return to its place in global food security. Damage assessment is the first element in assessing the need for restoration."
Ukraine is usually a major global grain and oilseed grower, but its exports have fallen sharply since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24. Because of a Russian blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, Kyiv is trying to export by road, river and rail.
The fall in production and in exports has stoked fears of a global food crisis and the war, together with Western sanctions against Russia, has sent the price of grain, cooking oil, fertiliser and energy soaring.
Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said this week the invasion could create a global wheat shortage for at least three seasons by keeping much of the Ukrainian crop from markets, pushing prices to record levels. (Reuters)
June
Children killed, tortured in Myanmar junta's crackdown, UN expert says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Scores of children have been killed in Myanmar since last year's coup, not just in the crossfire of conflict but as deliberate targets of a military willing to inflict immense suffering, a United Nations expert said on Tuesday.
Minors had been beaten and stabbed and had fingernails or teeth removed during interrogation, while some were made to endure mock executions, according to a report from U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews.
The junta has repeatedly scolded the U.N. and Western countries for interference and rejected allegations it is carrying out atrocities. A military spokesman could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Based on contributions from U.N. agencies, humanitarian and human rights groups and civil society organisations, the report said 250,000 children were displaced by fighting, and at the least 382 killed or maimed, including by air strikes or heavy artillery.
"The junta's relentless attacks on children underscore the generals' depravity and willingness to inflict immense suffering on innocent victims in its attempt to subjugate the people," Andrews said in a statement.
"The junta's attacks on children constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes."
Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power early last year and launched a fierce crackdown on its opponents, prompting a violent backlash by newly formed resistance groups.
The U.N. had received information of 142 children being tortured by soldiers, police and pro-army militias, the report by Andrews said, while there were anecdotal reports of an increase in child labour recruitment, including by anti-junta fighters.
Andrews said the world should take coordinated action to isolate the junta financially and commit to a "dramatic increase" in humanitarian assistance.
He said U.N. members "must respond to the crisis in Myanmar with the same urgency they have responded to the crisis in Ukraine". (Reuters)
June
Australia wants 'broad, deep' security ties with Japan, minister says
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia wants "broad and deep" cooperation with Japan as the two U.S. allies face complex security circumstances in Asia as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation and COVID-19 disruption, its defence minister said on Wednesday.
"It is clear that our region faces the most complex set of strategic circumstances we have known since the end of the Second World War," the minister, Richard Marles, told a media conference with his Japanese counterpart, Nobuo Kishi, after talks in Tokyo.
The allies have been increasing defence cooperation as a counterbalance to China's growing military power and influence in Asia.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is spurring a deepening of those ties as concern that what Russia calls its "special operation" could encourage China to use force against self-ruled Taiwan.
Marles said Australia and Japan would use a reciprocal access agreement signed in January to engage in deeper and more sophisticated cooperation that would strengthen their militaries' interoperability.
The access pact provides a legal bases for Australian and Japanese forces visiting each other's countries and establishes a framework for cooperation. (Reuters)
June
Thai opposition files no-confidence motion against 'flawed' PM
Written by Nur Yasmin
Thailand's opposition parties on Wednesday filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and 10 cabinet ministers, accusing them of graft, economic mismanagement and of undermining democracy and clinging to power.
The opposition expects the censure debate to take place next month and hopes it will bring down Prayuth's 17-party government. It would be the last confidence vote Prayuth, 68, will face before his term ends in March next year.
Prayuth, a retired general who first came to power in a 2014 coup, has weathered three previous confidence motions since a 2019 election that kept him in power.
"(He) is a leader that has a flawed thinking, likes to cling to power, does not respect the rule of law, lacks morals and failed in managing states affairs," Chonlanan Srikaew, the leader of the opposition bloc, told the house.
Analysts say the government's parliamentary majority of 253 seats verses the opposition's 208 makes it likely Prayuth will prevail.
Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok's Institute, said Prayuth should survive as his coalition was still unified, while political analyst Sukhum Nualsakul said the motion was aimed more at next year's election than Prayuth's removal.
Others say the administration's popularity has been declining, highlighted by last month Bangkok governor elections that saw pro-government conservative candidates defeated by a former opposition figure.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said had nothing to fear.
"The prime minister is ready to explain to parliament and answers all issues raised by the opposition because the government is confident that it ran the country honestly without corruption that occurred in past governments," Thanakorn said. (Reuters)
June
Hong Kong reports 1,047 new coronavirus infections
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hong Kong reported 1,047 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, the first time the daily tally has topped 1,000 since mid-April, as cases crept up ahead of celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the city's handover to mainland China. (Reuters)