JAPAN
Quake injures four people
An earthquake shook Tokyo and surrounding areas yesterday, injuring several people and causing minor damage, officials and media said. The epicenter of the magnitude 5.4 quake was in Chiba Prefecture, southeast of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No tsunami warning was issued. Four people were injured, including a man who was hit by a falling ceiling light, and some rail services were canceled or delayed, Kyodo news agency said. The country is in one of the world’s most earthquake-prone regions, and a massive 2011 quake and subsequent tsunami killed thousands and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.
SOUTH KOREA
Cattle culled over disease
Authorities have ordered the culling of several hundred cattle and put in place biosecurity measures after confirming cases of foot-and-mouth disease in farms in a central province, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. The cases mark the first confirmed outbreak since January 2019, media reports said. The contagion occurred in three farms in North Chungcheong Province, the ministry said. “Related agencies and local governments are asked to make all-out efforts on preventive measures ... to stop further spread of foot-and-mouth disease,” Vice Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Kim In-joong said. The disease is highly transmissible and causes lesions and lameness in cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals, but does not affect humans. A team has been sent to the area to investigate the outbreak, disinfect farms and enforce a 48-hour halt on the movement of people and livestock, the ministry said.
ASEAN
Myanmar progress stalls
Myanmar’s ruling military has made no meaningful progress on implementing a peace plan agreed two years ago and the bloc must show unity in deciding how to address the escalating crisis, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said yesterday. Widodo, who chairs the bloc this year, was speaking on the second day of a summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, where the “five-point consensus” peace plan is in the spotlight. “I must speak candidly. On implementation of the peace plan, there has not been significant progress,” he said. “Therefore, ASEAN unity is required to decide on the next steps.” The president called on the 10-member grouping, of which Myanmar is a member, to chart a way forward to de-escalate violence in Myanmar since a coup in 2021.
UNITED STATES
Modi invited for state dinner
President Joe Biden is to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a state dinner on June 22, the White House said on Wednesday. It would be the third such formal event hosted by Biden after dinners for the leaders of France and South Korea. “The upcoming visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India, and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in the statement. The two leaders are to focus on a secure Indo-Pacific region and technology partnerships on defense, clean energy and space, Jean-Pierre said. The state visit comes as the Biden administration is working to deepen its relationship with key countries to counter what it sees as a growing threat posed by China. The two leaders would “explore ways to strengthen India-US collaboration in plurilateral and multilateral fora, including in the G20,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
Yemen’s separatist leader has vowed to keep working for an independent state in the country’s south, in his first social media post since he disappeared earlier this month after his group briefly seized swathes of territory. Aidarous al-Zubaidi’s United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces last month captured two Yemeni provinces in an offensive that was rolled back by Saudi strikes and Riyadh’s allied forces on the ground. Al-Zubaidi then disappeared after he failed to board a flight to Riyadh for talks earlier this month, with Saudi Arabia accusing him of fleeing to Abu Dhabi, while supporters insisted he was
‘SHOCK TACTIC’: The dismissal of Yang mirrors past cases such as Jang Song-thaek, Kim’s uncle, who was executed after being accused of plotting to overthrow his nephew North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media reported yesterday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, in a speech in which Kim attacked “irresponsible, rude and incompetent leading officials.” “Please, comrade vice premier, resign by yourself when you can do it on your own before it is too late,” Kim reportedly said. “He is ineligible for an important duty. Put simply, it was
The Chinese Embassy in Manila yesterday said it has filed a diplomatic protest against a Philippine Coast Guard spokesman over a social media post that included cartoonish images of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela and an embassy official had been trading barbs since last week over issues concerning the disputed South China Sea. The crucial waterway, which Beijing claims historic rights to despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis, has been the site of repeated clashes between Chinese and Philippine vessels. Tarriela’s Facebook post on Wednesday included a photo of him giving a
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday announced a deal with the chief of Kurdish-led forces that includes a ceasefire, after government troops advanced across Kurdish-held areas of the country’s north and east. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said he had agreed to the deal to avoid a broader war. He made the decision after deadly clashes in the Syrian city of Raqa on Sunday between Kurdish-led forces and local fighters loyal to Damascus, and fighting this month between the Kurds and government forces. The agreement would also see the Kurdish administration and forces integrate into the state after months of stalled negotiations on
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