Asia News fra SCMP

New Zealand said on Wednesday it will stop the export of livestock by sea following a transition period of up to two years, citing animal welfare concerns for a decision that will affect major trading partners including Australia and China.The ban was welcomed by animal welfare groups, but the peak farming industry body said it was caught by surprise and was unaware of any breaches of standards.Live exports by sea have represented around 0.2 per cent of New Zealand’s primary sector exports…

South Korea on Wednesday recorded 731 new coronavirus cases, the most since January 7, prompting authorities to warn of a possible fourth wave.New cases have centred on the greater Seoul area and have spread to over a dozen cities and provinces despite rigid social distancing rules. According to data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), South Korea has recorded 111,419 infections and 1,782 deaths.“Cluster infections have been spreading from nightspots, churches and cram…

A one-time California man who scammed wine collectors out of millions by selling cheaper booze he rebottled in his kitchen has been deported to his native Indonesia, US immigration officials said.Rudy Kurniawan, 44, was deported last week on a commercial flight from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Tangerang City, Bann, Indonesia, according to a statement from US Customs and Immigration Enforcement released on Tuesday.“He is a public safety threat because of his aggravated felony…

North Korea could resume nuclear tests this year as a way to force US President Joe Biden’s administration to enter into dialogue, US intelligence experts said in a report released on Tuesday.“North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilising actions to reshape the regional security environment and drive wedges between the United States and its allies – up to and including the resumption of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile…

Singapore’s economy exited negative territory in the first quarter of this year after three consecutive quarters of contraction, signalling that the trade-reliant city is set to recover steadily.The country’s export-dependent economy grew 0.2 per cent from the same period last year, according to advance estimates released by the trade ministry on Wednesday, rebounding from -2.4 per cent in the fourth quarter. On a quarterly seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew 2 per cent.The growth was…

Lee JH didn’t have to think twice before signing a petition objecting to the construction of a tourist-focused “Chinatown” in South Korea’s eastern Gangwon province. The 29-year-old illustrator in Bucheon, about 20km outside Seoul, distrusts China following repeated controversies involving Chinese claims of ownership to Korean culture, and fears that the so-called Korea-China Culture Town, which is being developed with the support of Beijing mouthpiece People’s Daily, will lead to an influx of…

The Governor of the Chinese island of Hainan said the authorities will conduct a “deeper investigation” after a scandal erupted this week over a tourist claiming that a US$35 dish of steamed sea urchin mixed with egg did not contain any urchin meat.The incident made headlines after the tourist posted a short video on social media showing a dish that was supposed to contain six urchins steamed with egg at a restaurant in Sanya last week. In the video the tourist claims the dish contains no…

Three-time Academy Award winner Bong Joon-ho thinks filmmakers have to do their part to help stamp out hate and racism.The Parasite director recently served as a masterclass guest lecturer for Chapman University’s Dodge College, sharing his thoughts regarding America’s current racial turmoil and discussing what choices the film industry has to confront social issues.Addressing recent racially-charged violence in the US — including the March 16 mass shooting at Atlanta spas that left eight…

Japan’s decision on Tuesday to release treated radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea was met with fierce opposition from its neighbours, including China, as well as the local fishing industry. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said ocean release was the most realistic option for Fukushima’s recovery, a decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear meltdown in March 2011. Here we examine some of the biggest questions raised by the decision.What…

The Philippines on Tuesday said it had summoned Beijing’s top envoy in Manila to press for Chinese ships to immediately leave the Whitsun Reef in the South China Sea, describing the escalating row as a “source of regional tension”.Officials from the two countries have traded acrimonious remarks since some 200 Chinese vessels, including some believed to be maritime militia, moored around the reef in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) last month, an incident Beijing insists was…