Asia news

• FirstFT: China continues rapid expansion of nuclear forces, says Pentagon

  18-12-2024 23:02
  Also in today’s newsletter, TikTok’s US fate to be determined by Supreme Court, and Microsoft’s Nvidia chip hoard
  
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• Reeves to take UK bankers to China as she seeks closer business ties

  18-12-2024 19:27
  Chancellor has been accused by the Tories of ignoring security concerns about Beijing
  
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• The Guardian view on North Koreans dying for Russia: an alarming alliance gains strength | Editorial

  18-12-2024 19:24
  
  For Pyongyang, dead soldiers are a price worth paying for the rewards of friendship with Moscow A few years ago, it would have sounded fantastical to suggest that massed North Korean soldiers would fight on a European battlefield – as a Ukrainian commander noted last month. Yet about 10,000 are now thought to be fighting for Moscow, and on Tuesday a US official reported that “several hundred” had died in Russia’s Kursk region.North Korea has one of the largest armies
  
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• Bali bomb plotters moved from Guantánamo to Malaysia after guilty plea

  18-12-2024 17:51
  
  Malaysians imprisoned in US prison camp agreed to testify against alleged ringleader of attacks that killed 202The US has transferred two Malaysian detainees from the Guantánamo Bay military prison to their home country, after they pleaded guilty to charges related to deadly 2002 Bali bombings and agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader of that and other attacks.The transfers, and the repatriation of a Kenyan man who’d been held at Guantanamo for 17 years without charge, co
  
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• China is rapidly expanding nuclear forces, says Pentagon

  18-12-2024 16:00
  
  US defence department reports that Beijing has increased operational nuclear warhead arsenal by 20% in a year
  
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• Fleeing Xi’s China: following the trail of migrants trying to reach Australia through Indonesia

  18-12-2024 15:00
  
  A new and high-stakes escape route has been revealed, through the Indonesian archipelago to a smuggler’s boatPaul, an Indonesian fisherman, says he was working as a rideshare driver in the dusty streets of Kupang in West Timor when he came across half a dozen Chinese men on the side of the road. They were wet up to their waist, carrying a backpack each, and spoke no Indonesian.“They had walked from the beach, from the mangrove forest to the main road. They said they had difficulty wi
  
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• Honda-Nissan merger talks mark Japan Inc’s new consolidate-to-survive mood

  18-12-2024 12:42
  
  Carmakers face problems of Chinese competition, a shrinking domestic market and the threat of tariffs
  
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• Consolidate to survive: what the Nissan-Honda merger talks mean for Japan Inc

  18-12-2024 12:42
  Carmakers face problems of Chinese competition, a shrinking domestic market and the threat of tariffs
  
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• Consolidate to survive: what the Honda-Nissan talks mean for Japan Inc

  18-12-2024 12:42
  
  Carmakers face problems of Chinese competition, a shrinking domestic market and the threat of tariffs
  
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• The ultimate Muji experience – across seven floors

  18-12-2024 12:00
  
  In Ginza, the Japanese brand distils its vision in a ‘retail theme park’
  
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• Chinese AI chip firms blacklisted over weapons concerns gained access to UK technology

  18-12-2024 11:20
  
  Imagination Technologies had licences with two Chinese firms – but said it had not ‘implemented transactions’ that would enable the use of technology for military purposesChinese engineers developing chips for artificial intelligence that can be used in “advanced weapons systems” have gained access to cutting-edge UK technology, the Guardian can reveal.Described by analysts as “China’s premier AI chip designers”, Moore Threads and Biren Technology
  
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• South Korean president fails to appear before corruption watchdog

  18-12-2024 09:31
  
  Yoon Suk Yeolwas summoned for questioning over attempt to impose martial law earlier this monthSouth Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, failed to appear before the country’s corruption watchdog on Wednesday, it said, after he was summoned for questioning over his attempt to impose martial law.Yoon was stripped of his duties by parliament over the weekend following his short-lived 3 December martial law declaration, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil i
  
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• ‘A living hero’: Philippines welcomes back death row survivor Mary Jane Veloso

  18-12-2024 07:12
  
  Supporters say her drug smuggling conviction embodies the deepest fears of families in a country that sends millions of workers abroad each yearAfter 14 years on death row in Indonesia, Mary Jane Veloso arrived in Manila on Wednesday to the tight embrace of her family. Their eyes were swollen from tears of joy, yet their faces were lit up with big smiles.It was a homecoming and family reunion that has brought early Christmas cheer to a country that has stood by her and her fight for justice. Con
  
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• China’s ‘magic weapon’: the network helping Beijing wield influence abroad

  18-12-2024 06:29
  
  United Front Work Department has payroll of thousands aiming to win support for Communist party’s agenda
  
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• China’s ‘magic weapon’ helping Beijing wield influence in the UK

  18-12-2024 06:29
  
  United Front Work Department has payroll of thousands aiming to win support for Communist party’s agenda
  
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• Prince Andrew’s ‘opaque’ finances provoke calls for register of royal interests

  18-12-2024 06:00
  
  Claims of refused FOI requests into Duke of York’s business dealings come as controversy over alleged Chinese spy continues Getting information from government departments about the Duke of York’s past business dealings is like playing “whack-a-mole”, it was claimed, as fallout over the alleged Chinese “spy” controversy continues, with China saying it was an attempt to “smear” it.Calling for a register of royal interests, similar to that for MPs, a
  
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• AstraZeneca insiders expect sales dip in China after arrest of local boss

  18-12-2024 06:00
  
  FTSE 100 group reportedly faces difficulties in selling drugs to Chinese hospitals
  
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• Chipmaker Kioxia rises on debut at the end of Bain’s long road to IPO

  18-12-2024 04:44
  
  Private equity group finally floats Japanese flash memory provider at a valuation far below what it paid in 2018
  
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• Footage captures moment quake strikes cafe in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila – video

  18-12-2024 04:40
  People were seen running from Nambawan cafe in Port Vila as an earthquake struck Vanuatu's capital. Rescuers in Port Vila are racing to retrieve people trapped under collapsed buildings after the powerful 7.3 magnitude quake struck the Pacific nation on Tuesday, killing 14 and injuring 200 othersRescuers in Vanuatu race to retrieve trapped quake victims as survivors tell of escape Continue reading...
  
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• Rescuers in Vanuatu race to retrieve trapped quake victims as survivors tell of escape

  18-12-2024 04:21
  Witnesses recount the moment the earthquake hit in Port Vila, as rescue teams sift through the wreckage after disaster that has killed 14 and injured 200Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRescuers in Vanuatu’s capital of Port Vila are racing to retrieve people trapped under collapsed buildings as witnesses spoke of their escape from the powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the Pacific nation on Tuesday, killing 14 and injuring 200 others.At least 200 people
  
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• ‘A different animal’: inside Huawei’s nascent EV business

  18-12-2024 03:47
  
  Chinese tech giant’s $16bn unit sets sights on becoming big supplier to electric car industry despite US sanctions
  
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• ‘They fear him becoming president’: the leftwing firebrand who could be South Korea’s next leader

  18-12-2024 02:00
  
  Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung seen as frontrunner in potential election
  
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• The leftwing firebrand who could be South Korea’s next leader

  18-12-2024 02:00
  
  Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung seen as frontrunner in potential election
  
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• Nissan and Honda hold merger talks

  18-12-2024 01:16
  
  The Japanese carmakers are grappling with fast-growing Chinese rivals and sluggish consumer demand for EVs
  
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• ‘Several hundred’ North Korean troops killed fighting Ukraine, says US official

  18-12-2024 00:08
  
  ‘All ranks’ among casualties in Kursk after Pyongyang sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce Russia’s war effortNorth Korean forces have suffered “several hundred” casualties fighting against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, according to a senior US military official.Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia’s war effort, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year. Continue
  
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• North Korean troops suffer ‘several hundred’ casualties fighting Ukraine, says US official

  18-12-2024 00:08
  ‘All ranks’ among dead and injured in Kursk after Pyongyang sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce Russia’s war effortNorth Korean forces have suffered “several hundred” casualties fighting against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, according to a senior US military official.Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia’s war effort, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year. Con
  
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