Simona Botviciute, Editor (Asia — Far East) TOKYO — Japanese authorities approved the revised five-year defence plan to increase defence spending by five per cent. A new national security strategy proposed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is focusing on the China and Japan island dispute, with hopes to improve Japan’s military profile. The Cabinet announced that within the next five years, Japan will have its very first surveillance drones. Under the proposal, additional desired […]
Shoko Konno Correspondent (Asia – Far East) FUKUSHIMA – A publishing company recently suggested the idea of ‘touring the melt downed power station’ to the public. The Japanese publisher, called Genron Co. Ltd issued a booklet of the plan with eight various specialists including journalists, artists and sociologists. The aim of the plan “The Fukuichi Kanko Project” is to record, in remembrance, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster for future generations. The plan is formulated on the […]
Simona Botviciute, Editor (Asia – Far East) PONGYANG – In 1953, Merrill Newman was in a small group of US servicemen on the island located in the west coast of North Korea. He served as an officer in the US Army and supervised South Korean guerrillas during the horrid times of Korean War (1950-1953). What made him to set foot into the mainland of North Korea more than 60 years after the war is […]
Simona Botviciute, Editor (Asia – Far East) XICHANG – China has launched its first March-3B rocket carrying the Chang’e-3 lunar probe. The lunar rover mission blasted off from Xichang city in south China at 1:30 local time and is aimed to land in the northern hemisphere of the Moon around mid-December. The Long March rocket’s payload includes a robot rover “Yutu”, also known as Jade Rabbit, and a ground-penetrating radar. Both will be used to […]
Simona Botviciute, Editor (Asia – Far East) HONG KONG – Chinese Defence Ministry admitted to have monitored the flight of two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers that flew over the new air zone in the East China Sea. Planes flew over the disputed islands on a training mission without informing Beijing. Japan Airlines and ANA Holdings also claim to have stopped providing flight plans and other information to the Chinese authorities. Both ANA and JAL airlines […]
Layane Malluhi, Correspondent (Asia – Far East) BEIJING — In 1979, China enforced a new family-planning policy, the “one-child policy.” This policy restricts an urban couple from having more than one child, whereas rural couples are allowed more than one in limited cases. Four hundred million fewer Chinese were said to be born as a result of this policy. This led to quite the economic boom the past 30 years. Problems rose from that […]
Simona Botviciute, Editor (Asia – Far East) BEIJING – On November 15, 2013, President Xi Jinping announced an easing of China’s controversial one-child policy in an effort to improve human rights, including the abolishment of the “re-education” labour camps as part of a reform package. While some people look forward to the new policy which will permit them to have two children if either spouse is an only child, experts have expressed their scepticism […]
Trisha Chowdhury, Editor-in-Chief MANILA – The visuals coming out of Philippines give the feeling of a post-apocalyptic scene. Tens of thousands feared dead, thousands missing, whole cities destroyed, people desperate for food and aid – this is what the typhoon left behind. The Global Panorama provides a full coverage of the devastation caused by the Typhoon Haiyan and Philippines’s efforts to rebuild itself. The Course of Typhoon Haiyan Typhoon Haiyan started as a low […]
Chloe Symons Correspondent (Asia: Far East) MANILA – What is being labelled as one of the worst storms on record ripped through the Philippines late last week, causing what can only be described as absolute devastation across the country and its islands. The typhoon, named Haiyan, was one of the most powerful storms to hit land, with storms of a similar strength only having been detected out at sea, which has left some […]
Layanne Malluhi, Correspondent (Asia: Far East) The official website of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was defaced with headlines like: “It’s great to be Singaporean today” and “ANONYMOUS SG WAS HERE BIATCH.” This took place only one day after the minister had vowed to track down anyone who attacks the Singaporean technological network. This act was performed by the activist group ‘Anonymous.’ The Prime Minister has threatened to go after Anonymous, who had […]
