Earthquake in Afghanistan: hundreds dead

Today's headlines: the number of Chinese seeking asylum abroad continues to rise since 2012; Indonesia expells a Japanese man accused of defrauding the government; Kyrgyz people may find employment in agricultural work in South Korea; Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman visits Jordan.

AFGHANISTAN

At least 250 people died in a powerful earthquake that struck the Afghan province of Paktika. The tremor was also felt in India and Pakistan. Local authorities reported that the death toll and injuries-estimated at 150-could rise in the coming hours.

TAIWAN

In response to China's provocatory air forcecmissions and exercises near Taiwan, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry yesterday scrambled some jets. Taipei considers Chinese military activities, which aim to wear down the island's forces and test its responses, a "gray area." Beijing had unveiled its third aircraft carrier on Friday.

INDONESIA - JAPAN

Indonesia has expelled a Japanese man accused of defrauding its government during the worst of the pandemic: Mitsuhiro Taniguchi and others allegedly applied for nearly million in government subsidies intended for small businesses affected by Covid-19. The fugitive had been arrested a couple of weeks ago and was sent back to Japan this morning.

CHINA

The number of Chinese seeking political asylum abroad has continued to rise since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. This is according to a newly released UN Refugee Agency report. In the there has been a gradual increase in asylum applications: from 12 thousand in 2012 to 120 thousand in 2021.

INDONESIA - PAKISTAN

According to a report published by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality, women have borne the brunt of the spread of Covid-19 in Indonesia and Pakistan: two years after the start of the pandemic, while the percentage of employed men rose from 90 percent to 80 percent in both countries, only 60 percent of women remained employed in Indonesia and less than 40 percent in Pakistan. In addition, women in Pacific island countries were less likely to receive the second dose of vaccine due to misinformation issues.

SAUDI ARABIA-JORDAN

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman landed in Amman yesterday-it is the first such visit in five years and comes at a time of severe economic hardship for Jordan. Some companies hope the visit will unlock at least billion in funding that Saudi Arabia had pledged to invest without ever materializing into projects.A

RUSSIA

The original of the new name for Russian McDonald's, which is now called "Vkusno i točka!", "Just Good!", has been found. This is a Soviet street food initiative on stalls from the 1970s.

KYRGYZSTAN - SOUTH KOREA

Residents of Kyrgyzstan's Talas region will get a chance to find work in South Korea through a government-to-government agreement for seasonal agricultural work for up to 5 months, a program that had been suspended for Covid and will now further take Kyrgyz seasonal labor away from Russia.

• AsiaToday