Month: September 2023

Charity Urges Court to Force Australia to Repatriate Detainees in Syrian Refugee Camp

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Sydney —  Australia’s decision not to repatriate more than 30 women and children from a detention camp in northeast Syria is facing a legal challenge. The women are the wives and widows of Islamic State fighters and have been held in custody for the past four years. The charity Save the Children is taking legal action Tuesday in Federal Court against Australia’s Home Affairs Department, demanding the return of the Australian citizens and their children. Campaigners have insisted the group’s detention is unlawful. Many of the women have insisted they…

Myanmar junta extends sentences of 63 protesting prisoners

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Myanmar’s junta authorities extended the prison sentences of 63 political prisoners for taking part in a protest in Ayeyarwady’s Pathein Prison, a prisoner rights group said Tuesday. The Political Prisoner Network Myanmar said the prisoners protested against plans to hang a teacher in the prison and the beating of another inmate who was discovered with a mobile phone. In August, 26 of the protesters had their sentences extended by three years for damaging public property while 37 were sentenced to an additional three years for causing pain to a prison…

China Evergrande has ‘no bullets’ left as crisis lights up mainland social media about end-game for fallen billionaire Hui Ka-yan

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The debacle at China Evergrande Group is heating up some of the nation’s social media platforms with discussions about its fate. Some argued the penny stock is worth a punt before another bid to beat the drop. Others said bankruptcy may be inevitable. The drama took another turn for the worse when the developer’s major onshore unit, Hengda Real Estate Group, failed to repay a 4 billion yuan (US$547 million) note on Monday, an obligation among US$327 billion of liabilities choking the homebuilder. It is talking to bondholders about a…

South Korea Court Strikes Down Ban on Anti-North Korea Propaganda Leaflets

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SEOUL, South Korea —  South Korea’s constitutional court ruled on Tuesday the ban on sending propaganda leaflets to North Korea was unconstitutional, striking down a law passed in 2020 by the liberal party of then-President Moon Jae-in, who sought better ties with Pyongyang. The law, which subjects violators to up to three years in prison or $22,210 in fines, had come under intense criticism from rights activists and conservative lawmakers as a violation of free speech rights. The 7-2 found that a clause in the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act…

The Philippines’ Tension With China Crosses New Line in South China Sea

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The video may seem too simple, too understated to mark a serious international incident in the South China Sea: a quick clip of a diver using a knife to cut a section of rope underwater. But that diver was with the Philippine Coast Guard, and the rope was part of a sea barrier placed by Chinese forces to keep Philippine boats away from an area they had a legal right to fish in. In that moment, the Philippines took one of the most forceful steps yet in contesting China’s unrelenting…

S Korean court rules anti-Pyongyang leaflets ban ‘unconstitutional’

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South Korea’s Constitutional Court has overturned the law barring the dissemination of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into North Korea, a decision that is likely to irk North Korea, which perceives such leaflets as a significant threat to the Kim Jong Un regime. The South Korean court declared the law unconstitutional Tuesday, with seven out of its nine judges finding that the law restricted the nation’s constitutional value of free speech. This verdict led to the law’s immediate annulment.  “The law’s goal of ensuring the safety of people’s lives and bodies constitutes an…

China-backed AIIB unveils US$50 billion loan plan for climate action

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AIIB president Jin Liqun said the plan “outlines our ambition to bring capital, capacity and convening power to help our members in their efforts to address climate change”, adding that it “builds on what is already a significant area of focus for our bank”. According to Jin, the CAP will build on the AIIB’s 2020 pledge to stop bankrolling coal-powered projects and instead ramp up its investments in environmentally friendly schemes. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank president and chairman Jin Liqun addresses the opening of the bank’s annual meeting in Egypt…

Foreign brands including Tesla to face scrutiny as part of EU probe into China car subsidies

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Receive free EU-China relations updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest EU-China relations news every morning. Tesla and European carmakers that export from China to the EU are set to come under scrutiny as the bloc probes whether the country’s electric vehicles industry is receiving unfair subsidies, said Brussels’ most senior trade official. EU executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday said there was “sufficient prima facie evidence” to justify the probe into imports from China of battery-powered vehicles, which Brussels fears could overwhelm the…

EU trade chief says Tesla will be part of probe into Chinese car subsidies

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Receive free EU-China relations updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest EU-China relations news every morning. Tesla and European carmakers that export from China to the EU will be part of the bloc’s probe into whether the country’s electric vehicles industry is receiving unfair subsidies, said Brussels’ most senior trade official. EU executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday said there was “sufficient prima facie evidence” to justify the probe into imports from China of battery-powered vehicles, which Brussels fears could overwhelm the bloc’s car…

EU trade chief says Tesla to face anti-subsidy probe over China exports

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Receive free EU-China relations updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest EU-China relations news every morning. Tesla and European carmakers that export from China to the EU will be part of the bloc’s probe into whether the country’s electric vehicles industry is receiving unfair subsidies, said Brussels’ most senior trade official. EU executive vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday said there was “sufficient prima facie evidence” to justify the probe into imports from China of battery-powered vehicles, which Brussels fears could overwhelm the bloc’s car…