Thai king approves Prime Minister Shinawatra's new cabinet

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - Thailand's new cabinet, led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has been officially confirmed. The royal gazette published the list of ministers on Wednesday, following King Maha Vajiralongkorn's approval. The 36-member cabinet includes 17 members from Paetongtarn's ruling Pheu Thai Party and 19 from coalition partners. Several key positions remain unchanged, including Pichay Chunhavajira

September 5, 2024

Chinese vice president meets with Putin in far east Russia

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) -Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on Wednesday in a far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok. Han relayed warm greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Putin, highlighting the continued high-level operation of China-Russia relations under the leaders' strategic guidance, especially as the countries mark 75 years of diplomatic ties. Han expressed China's optimism about future cooperation between t

September 5, 2024

Turkey, Egypt strengthen diplomatic relations amid Gaza war talks

SEOUL, Sept. 05 (AJP) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met in Ankara to discuss the Gaza war and work on mending their long-strained relations, marking the first presidential visit between the two countries in 12 years. Tensions between Turkey and Egypt escalated in 2013 after Sisi, then Egypt's military chief, ousted President Mohamed Mursi, a Turkish ally. However, ties began improving in 2020 when Turkey initiated diplomatic effort

September 5, 2024

China strengthens ties with Africa in pursuit of modernization

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday praised the exemplary nature of China-Africa relations as African leaders gathered in Beijing for a significant summit aimed at enhancing partnerships. Xi and his spouse, Peng Liyuan, welcomed international guests with a banquet ahead of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit. Xi emphasized that the China-Africa community's shared future is grounded in long-standing friendship, which continues

September 5, 2024

Korea sees biggest number of international students in 25 years

SEOUL, Sept. 05 (AJP) - Korea has recorded its highest number of international students in 25 years, with over 200,000 enrolled this year—the largest figure since the government began tracking in 1999, the Ministry of Education announced Wednesday. During a ministerial meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul, the ministry reported on the first-year progress of the "Study Korea 300K Project." Launched in August last year, the initiative aims to attract 300,000 in

September 5, 2024

Former Philippine mayor suspected of being Chinese spy arrested in Indonesia

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - Alice Guo, the 35-year-old former mayor of Bamban City in Tarlac province, Philippines, has been apprehended in Indonesia after fleeing her home country amid allegations of being a Chinese spy. The Philippine Department of Justice and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced her capture near Jakarta on Wednesday. Guo, who allegedly entered the Philippines as a Chinese national named Guo Huaping before obtaining Filipino citizenship, is accused of invol

September 5, 2024

Japan grapples with rice supply concerns

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries convened a meeting on Wednesday with key stakeholders to address concerns over rice shortages in retail outlets, amid reports of dwindling inventories and consumer stockpiling, the Japan Times reported. The gathering, which included representatives from farming communities, agricultural cooperatives, wholesale distributors, and food manufacturers, aimed to assess current rice stocks and sales projecti

September 5, 2024

Telegram users in Korea surge amid deepfake concerns

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - Telegram, the instant messaging app at the center of a growing deepfake crime controversy in Korea, saw its largest-ever monthly user increase in the country in August, data showed Thursday. Telegram's monthly active users increased by 311,130 to 3,471,421 last month, according to the app analysis service Mobile Index. It marks the largest monthly increase since data collection began in March 2021. Those under 20 accounted for 32.1 percent of the new

September 5, 2024

India launching flood warning system amid increasing Himalayan glacial floods

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - India has commenced the installation of an advanced flood warning system at glacial lakes in the Himalayas, according to news reports. Safi Ahsan Rizvi, an official from India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that the installation work had recently commenced at 190 of the 7,500 glacial lakes in the Himalayas, which stretch from northern Kashmir and Ladakh to northeastern Arunachal Pradesh, AFP reported on Tuesday. These lakes have be

September 5, 2024

Biden expected to block Nippon Steel's U.S. Steel acquisition

SEOUL, Sept. 5 (AJP) - U.S. President Joe Biden is likely to reject Nippon Steel Corp.'s proposed $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp. due to national security concerns, according to media reports on Wednesday. The potential decision marks an unusual rebuff to a major Japanese company, given Japan's status as a key U.S. ally. It comes as the Biden administration faces increasing pressure to protect American manufacturing jobs ahead of the November presidential

September 5, 2024