News reports in Japan say Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has postponed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month because of the Russian leader’s poor health. Japan’s Kyodo and Jiji newspapers reported Friday that the mayor of a northern Japanese town told Mr. Noda Friday that Mr. Putin’s health condition is bad. However, the […]
Reports Say Noda Postpones Meeting with Putin, Citing Russian President’s Health Problems
Posted November 30th, 2012 at 5:20 am (UTC-5)
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Nephew of Blind Chinese Activist on Trial
Posted November 30th, 2012 at 5:20 am (UTC-5)
The nephew of blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has gone on trial in a case seen by rights groups as retaliation for Chen’s escape from house arrest earlier this year and subsequent asylum in the United States. The father of Chen Kegui said his son faced charges Friday in the northeastern Yinan County Court that […]
Two More Tibetans Set Themselves On Fire
Posted November 29th, 2012 at 8:45 pm (UTC-5)
Tibetans in exile say two more of their compatriots have died after setting themselves on fire in protest of China’s policies in their region. VOA’s Tibetan Service learned that 31-year-old Tsering Namgyal, a father of two, died Thursday in the town of Luchu in the northeastern part of Tibet, after self-immolating in front of a […]
Group Says China Fueling Global Illegal Timber Trade
Posted November 29th, 2012 at 8:55 am (UTC-5)
A top environmental group says China is fueling the global illegal timber trade as it tries to power its rapidly growing economy. A report by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency said China’s “insatiable appetite for raw material” is also “effectively exporting deforestation around the world.” It said China, the world’s second largest economy, is the […]
China Border Patrols to Search, Expel ‘Illegal’ Foreign Ships
Posted November 29th, 2012 at 6:40 am (UTC-5)
China will soon allow border police to board and search foreign ships that enter what Beijing considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea. In a move likely to raise regional tensions, state media say police in the southern island province of Hainan will soon be authorized to “land on, check, seize, and […]
N.Korea Replaces Defense Minister in Military Shakeup
Posted November 29th, 2012 at 6:00 am (UTC-5)
North Korea has replaced its defense chief with a hardline general believed to have masterminded deadly 2010 attacks on South Korea. South Korean officials said Thursday that Kim Kyok Sik was named to the post of Armed Forces Minister. He is is believed to have orchestrated the sinking of a South Korean warship and an […]
China Border Patrols to Search, Expel ‘Illegal’ Foreign Ships
Posted November 29th, 2012 at 4:05 am (UTC-5)
China will soon allow border police to board and search foreign ships that enter what Beijing considers its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea. In a move likely to raise regional tensions, state media say police in the southern island province of Hainan will soon be authorized to “land on, check, seize, and […]
Philippines Joins Vietnam in Refusing to Stamp New Chinese Passport
Posted November 28th, 2012 at 3:45 pm (UTC-5)
The Philippines has become the second Asian nation to refuse to stamp China’s new electronic passports, which include a controversial map depicting the South China Sea’s disputed waters as Chinese territory. The Philippine foreign ministry said Wednesday that stamping the Chinese passport could be seen as “legitimizing” what it calls Beijing’s “excessive” territorial claim, depicted […]
Burmese Protest at Copper Mine Grows, in Defiance of Gov’t
Posted November 28th, 2012 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
Hundreds of Burmese villagers and monks are defying government orders to end a 10-day protest against the expansion of a Chinese-backed copper mine in northwestern Burma. Protesters remained in several camps near the Monywa mine, ignoring a warning to vacate by Tuesday or face unspecified action. A VOA reporter says the number of protesters is […]
Defying Gov’t Orders, Burmese Protesters Occupy Dam
Posted November 28th, 2012 at 6:30 am (UTC-5)
Hundreds of Burmese villagers are defying government orders to end a days-long occupation-style protest against a controversial Chinese-backed copper mine. A state television announcement Tuesday ordered protesters to vacate their camp sites at the mine in the northwest city of Monywa. But activists said dozens refused to leave before the Tuesday midnight deadline. There has […]
