Asia

Pakistanis Take to the Streets en Masse After the Arrest of Former Prime Minister Imran Khan

9May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Pakistanis Take to the Streets en Masse After the Arrest of Former Prime Minister Imran Khan

Supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan took to the streets en masse on Tuesday after his arrest. Police use water cannons and tear gas. Khan, 70, was arrested in Islamabad on Tuesday for corruption. Footage posted on social media shows thousands of Pakistanis protesting his arrest in Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Khan's home city of Lahore. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party says on Twitter that a "red line" has been crossed with his arrest. "Take to the streets and save Pakistan," the PTI calls on its sympathizers. An attempt was made to arrest the former prime minister in March. That failed because thousands of Khan's supporters came to his home in Lahore to thwart the arrest. Khan was prime minister until April 2022, when he was ousted following a no-co...

China Registers First Deaths Since the Lifting of Strict Corona Measures

19Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, China, News

China Registers First Deaths Since the Lifting of Strict Corona Measures

China reported the first corona deaths on Monday since lifting strict measures under Beijing's zero-covid policy. The number of coronavirus infections is currently exploding. Hospitals and crematoria are flooded. After almost three years of draconian measures to contain the covid epidemic, the Chinese authorities made a 180-degree turn in early December. Most of the measures went into the trash. An unprecedented wave of protest was the reason. However, due to the strict policy of recent years, few Chinese have built up immunity against the virus. Moreover, millions of elderly and vulnerable people are still unvaccinated. As a result, the number of corona cases is currently peaking. However, the authorities themselves admit that they cannot estimate the size of that wave. After a...

Multiple Dead and Missing After Severe Flooding in Malaysia

20Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, Malaysia, News

Multiple Dead and Missing After Severe Flooding in Malaysia

In Malaysia, torrential rain has caused severe flooding in places over the past few days. Several people were said to have died as a result. Dozens of people are still missing, and more than 40,000 people had to be placed in emergency shelters as a result of the flooding, authorities report. The storm hit seven states and the capital Kuala Lumpur, the national news agency Bernama reported Monday. Cars were washed away, and the water swept entire houses. The situation is especially critical in the Selangor region, the wealthiest state in the country around Kuala Lumpur. There it came to an unprecedented amount of precipitation. The armed forces and the police and fire brigade were deployed to rescue the residents and distribute relief supplies. However, dozens of roads had to be ...

Asian Stock Markets Rise After Major Free Trade Pact

16Nov

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, Business, News

Asian Stock Markets Rise After Major Free Trade Pact

The Asian stock markets showed substantial gains on Monday. Investors responded positively to the trade deal that China and fourteen other countries in Asia and the Pacific closed on Sunday. The pact aims to gradually lower trade tariffs in the region and creates a free trade zone between, among others, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The main index in Tokyo, the Nikkei 225, ended 2.1 percent higher at 25,906.93 points. The sizeable Japanese export companies, in particular, were in demand after the trade deal in the region, which, according to analysts, forms the largest trading bloc in the world. In addition, it turned out that the Japanese economy grew by 5 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. It was the first growth in four quar...

2 Killed and More Than 70 Injured in Explosion At A Fireworks Factory in Turkey

3Jul

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, News, Turkey

2 Killed and More Than 70 Injured in Explosion At A Fireworks Factory in Turkey

At least 2 people were killed in an explosion in a fireworks factory in northwestern Turkey. More than 70 were also injured. The explosion took place around 11 a.m. local time at a fireworks factory near Hendek, in Sakarya province, about 150 kilometres east of Istanbul. At the time of the explosion, between 150 and 200 workers were present in the factory. According to the Turkish authorities, at least 2 people died. More than 70 others were injured and taken to hospital. Some 85 ambulances, 2 helicopters and 11 rescue teams came to the scene to take the victims away, Turkey's health minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted.

India is Suffering from the Heatwave and Natural Violence

27May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, India, News

India is Suffering from the Heatwave and Natural Violence

India is suffering from a severe heatwave during the corona crisis. The mercury rose to 50 degrees in some places. The country is now also dealing with flooding and a locust plague. The 1.3 billion inhabitants of India are more likely to deal with warm weather, but Wednesday's temperatures are seen as unprecedentedly high. In the capital New Delhi, temperatures have been measured of 47.6 degrees. That means that it is the hottest day in May in 18 years. It was even hotter in the northern city of Churu. The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has called on governments to consider measures to ensure human safety in the event of a heatwave during the corona crisis. A spokeswoman emphasized this week that it is one of the hottest years ever recorded. Measures often taken wi...

Afghanistan is Going to Release 900 Captured Taliban Fighters

26May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Afghanistan, Asia, News

Afghanistan is Going to Release 900 Captured Taliban Fighters

Afghanistan is going to release 900 captured Taliban fighters, the government announced Tuesday. Kabul called on the Taliban to extend the three-day truce that ends Tuesday night by three days. The release is part of an agreement the United States and the Taliban signed in February. The aim is to exchange a total of 5,000 captured Taliban fighters against 1,000 captured government soldiers to build trust between the parties. To date, the government has released about a thousand men and removed the Taliban about 300 prisoners. The Taliban declared a ceasefire on the occasion of the sugar feast. "It is important to extend the armistice, and the Afghan government is ready to support it, to prevent bloodshed," said the spokesman for the Afghan national security adviser.

Residents of India Have to Stay Inside Longer Because of Coronavirus

1May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, India, News

Residents of India Have to Stay Inside Longer Because of Coronavirus

The approximately 1.3 billion inhabitants of India will have to stay inside for at least two more weeks after May 4 because of the corona crisis. However, the measures are being relaxed here and there. The Indian Interior Ministry announced on Friday that the lockdown would be extended by two weeks. Travelling between the states will, therefore, remain prohibited for the time being. Restrictions are eased in areas where no new infections are reported. This is mainly intended to get the economy going again. The country was locked on March 25 when just over 600 infections had been diagnosed, and 10 patients had succumbed. There are now officially 35,000 infections with more than 1,000 deaths.

Hong Kong Violence Breaks Out again in Shopping Centres

15Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, International, News

Hong Kong Violence Breaks Out again in Shopping Centres

After three weeks of shelter, protests in Hong Kong have once again collided between protesters and riot police. The new protests were held in and around shopping centres. This time the protests took place mainly around shopping centres, which are already visited during this period in the run-up to Christmas. Black-clad and masked activists gathered in different shopping malls, calling for slogans for more democracy and freedom. They barred access to stores. In some places, the protest led to vandalism. Some branches of a restaurant chain were destroyed. The chain became the target of protest after the owner's daughter had criticised the protest movement in Hong Kong. The riot police used tear gas and pepper spray. Under the cheers of passers-by, she made a few arrests ...

Why is the Protest Escalating in Hong Kong and China Preparing for a Raid?

12Aug

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, China, International, News

Why is the Protest Escalating in Hong Kong and China Preparing for a Raid?

Why is the Protest Escalating in Hong Kong and China Preparing for a Raid? The protest in Hong Kong is becoming increasingly grim, although the controversial extradition law to China was already put in the fridge last month. Today the demonstrators succeeded in paralyzing the busy Hong Kong international airport. But what do they want? And how long will Beijing continue to watch from the sidelines? The unrest in Hong Kong began on 9 June with the first mass demonstration against a controversial extradition law. That would make it possible to extradite suspects from Hong Kong to China, where the Communist Party controls the court. Hong Kong has been part of China again since 1997 but still has its legal system. Hundreds of thousands of people came to the streets, many young peopl...