Reuters Asia Top

By Nailia Bagirova BAKU (Reuters) -French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna urged Azerbaijan on Thursday to remove a newly installed checkpoint on the road linking Armenia to the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the first leg of a delicate trip to both countries. Her comments in Baku drew a sharp retort from her Azerbaijani counterpart that …

France urges Azerbaijan to free up road to disputed enclave, Baku unhappy Read More »

By Maggie Fick and Natalie Grover LONDON (Reuters) – AstraZeneca plans to spend about $450 million building a factory in China making inhalers to treat “smoker’s lung”, doubling down on the world’s No.2 pharmaceuticals market as the drugmaker predicts only “minimal” sales of its COVID vaccine this year. China is home to about 100 million …

AstraZeneca increases bets on China as COVID vaccine sales fade Read More »

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Thursday it welcomed anything that could bring the end of the Ukraine conflict closer when asked what it thought of a phone call a day earlier between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. But the Kremlin said it still needed to achieve the aims of …

Kremlin welcomes Xi-Zelenskiy call on Ukraine, but says its aims remain the same Read More »

By Laurie Chen and Sophie Yu BEIJING (Reuters) – Queues stretch hundreds of metres around temples in China on weekends, as despondent young worshippers pray to find jobs in an economy slowly clawing its way back from the coronavirus pandemic. “I hope to find some peace in temples,” said 22-year-old Wang Xiaoning, pointing to “the …

Jobless young Chinese seek solace in temples, tale of failed scholar Read More »

(Reuters) – China has completed work on a nationwide ecological protection “red line” aimed at preserving its ecosystems and reversing some of the damage from rapid urbanisation and industrial growth, a government official said on Thursday. The red line scheme was first proposed in 2011 in the hope of putting vulnerable ecosystems out of bounds …

China says ‘red line’ system to protect nature is complete Read More »

By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States granted South Korea a larger role in planning for a potential nuclear war with North Korea, but that will probably not ease doubts over U.S. defence commitments that have fuelled calls for a South Korean nuclear arsenal, experts said. Under a new “Washington Declaration” announced Wednesday, …

Analysis-Calls for South Korean nuclear arsenal unlikely to fade despite U.S. deal, analysts say Read More »

By Josh Smith and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) – For the first time since the 1980s a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will visit South Korea to help demonstrate Washington’s resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack. The visit was announced in a joint declaration during a summit between South …

U.S. plans rare nuclear missile submarine visit in message to North Korea Read More »

TAIPEI (Reuters) – The billionaire founder of Taiwan’s Foxconn and presidential hopeful Terry Gou said on Thursday China does not want war with the island and would not attack if he become president as he would not declare independence. Tension between Taipei and Beijing has surged in the run-up to January’s presidential election in Taiwan, …

Founder of Taiwan’s Foxconn says China won’t attack if he’s president Read More »

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia proposed on Thursday overhauling its immigration system to speed up getting highly skilled workers into the country and smoothening the path to permanent residency. The federal Labor government said the current system used to select skilled migrants – the points test – will be modified to identify people with the correct …

Australia to overhaul immigration system, smooth entry for skilled workers Read More »