Asia Archives - Zoom News

UN: Iran Executed at least 901 People Last Year

7Jan

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, Iran, News

UN: Iran Executed at least 901 People Last Year

UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk has said that Iran executed at least 901 people last year. According to him, that is more than in 2023, when at least 853 death sentences were carried out. According to human rights organizations, Iran is one of the countries with the most executions. "It is alarming that we are again seeing an annual increase in the number of people sentenced to death in Iran," Türk said in a statement. He states that it is "high time" that this stops. The High Commissioner for Human Rights says he opposes the death penalty under all circumstances because it is "incompatible with the fundamental right to life" and also poses a risk that innocent people will be executed. Most of the people executed in 2024 were convicted of drug offences. Some of tho...

Chinese Tech Billionaire Jack Ma Resurfaces

9Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, Business, China, News

Chinese Tech Billionaire Jack Ma Resurfaces

At the celebration of Alipay and Ant Group's 20th anniversary, co-founder Jack Ma appeared on stage. This is remarkable because he disappeared from the radar long after criticizing the Chinese regulator. Ma was speaking in Hangzhou, China, at the anniversary event for Ant Group, which he co-founded 20 years ago. 'Today, I'm not here for the last 20 years of Ant, but for the next 20 years of Ant.' According to Chinese news website 36kr, China's most famous entrepreneur spoke about the future of AI. He mentioned that the Internet age has given his generation many opportunities. He sees even more opportunities for the current generation now that the AI age is here. 'AI will change everything, but this does not mean that AI can decide everything', he said, among other things. He...

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

9May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Asia, News, Pakistan

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-con...

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 al...

Multiple Dead and Missing After Severe Flooding in Malaysia

20Dec

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Malaysia, Asia, 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

Business, Asia, 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

Turkey, Asia, News

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

India, Asia, 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

India, Asia, 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.