By Philip Pullella ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) -Pope Francis, who is sometimes received as a superstar on trips abroad, arrived in Mongolia on Friday to the joy of its tiny Catholic community but with his presence barely making a ripple in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country. The plane carrying Francis and his entourage landed after a night flight …
Pope Francis begins low-key visit to Catholics in Buddhist Mongolia Read More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan recorded its highest average temperature this summer in 125 years, the nation’s weather agency said on Friday. Based on measurements at 15 locations around the country from June through August, the average temperature deviation was +1.76 degrees Celsius, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. That exceeded the previous record of +1.08 …
Whew! Japan had hottest summer on record – weather agency Read More »
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -The United States has an “obligation” to fill its backlog of arms sales to Taiwan and there is a bipartisan effort to ensure this happens, a U.S. lawmaker said on Friday, as the island’s defence ministry pushed for solutions from Washington. Taiwan has since last year complained …
US lawmaker says Washington has ‘obligation’ to fill Taiwan arms backlog Read More »
By Soo-hyang Choi SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea approved a Seoul city plan on Friday to let 100 foreign domestic workers into the country through a pilot programme aimed at boosting birth rates by helping more women rejoin the workforce. The issue sits at the confluence of South Korea’s sharply declining birthrate, aging population, and …
Rapidly aging South Korea prepares to open door for foreign maids Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Premier Li Qiang will attend a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) being held Sept. 5-8, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday. While at the summit, Li will attend several meetings, including the East Asia Summit and a key meeting that includes Japan and South Korea. (Reporting …
China’s Premier Li Qiang will attend ASEAN summit – foreign ministry Read More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Chinese delegation met with a senior U.S. military official during a conference earlier this month, the Pentagon said on Thursday, a move that could signal a potential thawing in military relations between the two countries. With U.S.-China relations at a low over national security issues, including Taiwan, U.S. export bans on …
Chinese officials, U.S. commander meet at Fiji conference Read More »
By Philip Pullella ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (Reuters) -Pope Francis headed to Mongolia on Thursday, a predominantly Buddhist country with just 1,450 Catholics which the Vatican hopes can act as a facilitator to improve difficult relations with China. Visiting places where Catholics are a minority is part of Francis’s policy of drawing attention to people …
With China on his mind, pope visits tiny Catholic flock in Mongolia Read More »
By Krishn Kaushik, Laurie Chen and Martin Quin Pollard NEW DELHI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip a summit of G20 leaders in India next week, sources familiar with the matter in India and China told Reuters, a development that would dash chances of a meeting there with U.S. President Joe …
China’s Xi likely to skip G20 summit in India -sources Read More »
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Nine soldiers were killed when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle set off his explosives next to a convoy in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, the military said. Another five soldiers were wounded in the attack in Bannu district, the military’s public relations wing said in a statement. Pakistan’s restive northwest, which borders …
Suicide bomber on motorcycle kills 9 soldiers in northwest Pakistan – army Read More »
By Chris Gallagher and Sakura Murakami SOMA (Reuters) -The U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, visited the Fukushima region on Thursday and told reporters he expected the U.S. to support Japan should China’s ban on Japanese seafood develop into a dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Japan started releasing treated radioactive water from the …
U.S. ambassador to Japan visits Fukushima, expects U.S. support in seafood dispute Read More »
