Asia - Page 15

North Korea has begun its media victory lap over its alleged hydrogen bomb detonation last week, publishing an avalanche of exultant editorials praising dictator Kim Jong-un and publishing a photo of Kim with the nation’s leading nuclear scientists.

The governments of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Japan have all condemned China for landing a plane on an artificial island in the South China Sea, constructed in what is widely regarded as sovereign Vietnamese territory. China rejects international claims in the sea and has begun constructing military facilities in the Spratly Islands.

Indian police have arrested 30-year-old systems engineer Syed Emad Hasan after he allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted his 27-year-old ex-colleague for five days “to force her to convert to Islam.”

When dozens of ships carrying decaying bodies began to wash ashore near Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, theories abounded regarding who were on the ships, where they were coming from, and what led to their deaths.

An unsettling mystery has washed up on Japan’s shores.

In Nepal, Hindus dedicate one day during the five-day festival of Tihar to dogs, known as Kukur Tihar. Other days are devoted to other animals, such as cows or crows.

Religious intolerance in secular India continues to grow as hardline Hindus target those they believe are butchering cows, which are sacred to them.

South Korea has introduced “death experience” schools as a way to combat the country’s high suicide count. Statistics estimate that at least 40 people kill themselves in South Korea every day.

Media in Bangladesh are reporting that they received a threatening email from a banned radical Islamic group. Police are investigating the incident.

While in China, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov announced the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) plans to expand into Europe, Russia, and Asia. His proof consisted of an allegedly strong ISIS presence in Afghanistan.

The Philippine Navy denied reports that wreckage from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been found in the island nation.

U.S. authorities have charged six people in connection with an alleged bribery scheme at the UN, including a former head of the General Assembly. The bribes were for real estate developments in Macau, a peninsula in mainland China.

A villager in India reportedly beheaded a four-year-old boy to appease the Goddess Kali. He hoped she would bestow “divine powers” on him.

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) claimed its militants murdered a Japanese tourist in northern Bangladesh over the weekend. The murder comes only five days after the radical Islamic group claimed responsibility for the murder of an Italian in Dhaka.

The Uzbekistan Education Ministry issued an order that bans people under 18 years old from Friday prayer services, even during Eid at the end of September.

Xiao Jiguo gained national attention in China for his impersonation of President Barack Obama back in 2012. Now he is receiving international fame since Chinese President Xi Jinping is in America to meet the president.

Majed Hassan Ashoor, First Secretary at the Saudi Arabia Embassy in India, escaped into the night only days after he was accused of using two Nepali maids as sex slaves. Activists descended upon the embassy when the news broke.

A rally of thousands of ethnic Malays froze the city of Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, with police resorting to water cannons to subdue the group. The Malay majority organized to show support for Prime Minister Najib Razak as he faces a corruption probe but had clear ethnic undertones as many chanted anti-Chinese slogans.

The U.S. recently strengthened its military presence in the Arctic due to a heavy Chinese and Russian presence. Sources told CNN that American officials witnessed a Russian intelligence vessel in the Arctic near a Shell Oil ship on Monday.

Russia and China began their Joint Sea 2015 II exercises in the Sea of Japan with 22 vessels, 20 aircraft, and 40 armored vehicles. The exercises occur just off the coast of Vladivostok

The Chinese government is censoring media and citizen coverage of the deadly explosion in Tianjin. Reports are circulating of Weibo accounts critical of Chinese media being shut down, and CNN’s Will Ripley was forced off the air by angry alleged relatives of victims.

The government of Seoul is promising “pitiless penalty” and “a severe retaliation” against North Korea for the serious injury of two South Korean soldiers at the hands of what appear to be North Korean landmines, which the South Korean government believes were planted by North Koreans infiltrating the other side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) released two Indian teachers out of the four they abducted last Wednesday in Libya. Indian Foreign Minister Sushama Swaraj tweeted about the release.

A man on the French island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean, located near the African nation of Madagascar, contacted former military pilot Xavier Tytelman about wreckage found there which he believes may be missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. “I’ve

The Russian government has started a program to give away land in Siberia in an attempt to stop the population decline.

To fund a nuclear program, North Korean President Kim Jong-un is sending slave laborers to countries around the world, including Russia. These slaves are worth almost $2 billion.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has threatened to sue The Wall Street Journal after they reported that a Malaysian probe found documents proving money from a state investment fund found its way into his personal bank accounts.

India’s intelligence agencies believe the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) might spread its caliphate and horror into India as they inch closer to Afghanistan/Pakistan held territories.

On Thursday, the North Korean government culminated the celebration of “Struggle Against US Imperialism Month” with a large stadium commemoration of the anniversary of the Korean War. In addition to propaganda significantly more belligerent than its usual fare and praise for communist leader Kim Il Sung and current dictator Kim Jong Un, the nation’s museums were teeming with individuals observing the holiday.

The Pentagon deployed a U.S. Navy Littoral Combat ship (LCS) to Asia, knowing weeks in advance that the vessel was vulnerable to a potential enemy attack, according to an unclassified assessment for Congress obtained by Bloomberg News.

China on Wednesday gave its first-ever assessment of the scourge of drug abuse, saying it caused annual economic losses of 500 billion yuan ($80.54 billion) and as many as 49,000 deaths last year.

Both of these statements are true

Thailand has confirmed its first case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) following travel warnings issued against South Korea by Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, as that nation struggles to limit the number of cases of the deadly disease, which takes an estimated 40% of the lives it touches.

This article originally appeared at Bloomberg: With five million citizens to protect and billions of investment dollars at stake, China is rethinking its policy of keeping out of other countries’ affairs. China has long made loans conditional on contracts for its

On Thursday, Hong Kong health officials tested two patients for the MERS virus striking at the heart of South Korea. At least one patient was confirmed not to have the deadly disease.

After announcing that the company was “technically bankrupt,” the new CEO of Malaysia Airlines has announced a major overhaul that will see the company cut 6,000 jobs and launch a publicity campaign aimed at getting customers to trust the airline once more following two of history’s greatest aviation disasters.