East Asia

The international agency called the recent nuclear activity "deeply worrying". Pyongyang criticized the joint operations between Seoul and Washington. South Korea and the U.S. last week discussed humanitarian assistance for North Korea to get it to return to dialogue.

"We often think that evil comes above all from outside: from the behaviour of others, from those who think badly of us, from society". "And we spend time laying blame; but blaming others is a waste of time. One becomes angry, bitter, it keeps God out of one's heart".

Support for the Taliban is conditional on containing the Uyghurs and other jihadist forces. In a conversation with Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi also recalled the attacks on technicians working on the Belt& Road Initiative. The hypothesis of a buffer zone on the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan guarded together.

A reward system for reporting “crimes” related to religious worship is introduced in Heilongjiang. Anyone snitching by phone, email or letter can get up to US$ 150. Two members of Chengdu’s Early Rain Covenant Church were arrested while police used force during raid.

This was announced by the Japanese Health Minister after "foreign substances" were found in some batches. In the rest of Asia, the rate of vaccinated population remains low. India, which may have reached the endemic stage, plans to return to exporting vaccines in 2022.

The Iraqi government has signed an initial agreement with the giant PowerChina for the construction of a power plant with a capacity of 2 thousand megawatts. The world's second-largest Opec producer, the country depends on imports from Iran, which is subject to U.S. sanctions. In 2020, it burned about 17.37 billion cubic meters of gas.

Tepco, the company responsible for the nuclear power plant hit by the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, made the announcement yesterday. The radioactive water, which can no longer be stored, will first be diluted to reduce health risks. However, consumers are wary, so the government will buy seafood to compensate for the losses of local fishermen.

The US leader is in Southeast Asia to counter China’s influence and revive US global leadership. In the vaccine war, the US will provide an additional million doses of vaccine to Vietnam within 24 hours. The region’s countries prefer a policy of balance between the two powers.

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council will examine proposed legislative changes next week. If adopted, the new rules will impose up to three years in prison and a fine worth US$ 128,000. Productions that promote subversion, secession and terrorism are targeted. Controversy surrounds Nicole Kidman’s boutique shopping in violation of COVID-19 restrictions.

The governor of the capital declares crisis as pressure on hospitals continues to grow. The government and the organizing committee say they don't want to betray the Paralympic ideal of a more inclusive society. Criticism over a failure to discuss risks to Japan's post-Games population.

A plan to undertake “all-round efforts” to promote “sinicisation” is announced at a ceremony marking 70 years of Chinese rule over Tibet. The Dalai Lama is targeted for his “separatist” activities. The event is an opportunity to boost the “cult of personality” surrounding President Xi Jinping who is seeking a third term in office after limits were lifted.

The anniversary was celebrated on Saturday in the peninsula and in Rome with the first ever solemn Mass in Korean in St Peter's led by Archbishop Lazzaro You Heung-sik, the new prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. In a message, the pope thanked Seoul Catholics for sending anti-COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries.