All posts tagged: Asia

The crisis of overfishing in Southeast Asia : The Picture Show : NPR

The crisis of overfishing in Southeast Asia : The Picture Show : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Various species of sharks — some of which are endangered, while others are listed as vulnerable — are hauled on shore at dawn at the Tanjung Luar port on June 9, 2025, in East Lombok, Indonesia. Tanjung Luar is one of the largest shark markets in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, from where shark fins are exported to other Asian markets — primarily Hong Kong and China — and their bones are used in cosmetic products also sold to China. Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac hide caption toggle caption Nicole Tung/Fondation Carmignac “We were fighting over who had caught more fish, and then I saw my crewmate pushed overboard by the captain,” Akbar Fitrian, 29, an Indonesian crewmember says as he recounts an incident aboard a Chinese-owned fishing vessel in 2022. “The ship then started to drive away as my crewmate tried to swim towards us. And then I don’t know what happened. The captain never reported the incident.” The seas of Southeast Asia — home to some of the richest in biodiversity in the world — have long …

Lebanon President Says Ceasefire Should Move to Permanent Agreements

Lebanon President Says Ceasefire Should Move to Permanent Agreements

Published by Sam Flores

BEIRUT, April 17 (Reuters) – Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on ⁠Friday ⁠that a ceasefire agreed to by ⁠his country should be transformed into “permanent agreements,” without saying whether he was ​referring to a prospective peace deal with Israel. The televised address was his first speech since the U.S. brokered a ‌ceasefire to end six weeks of ‌fighting between Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah on Thursday. The text of the deal says ⁠Israel and ⁠Lebanon would hold direct talks to produce “peace between the two countries.” Aoun thanked U.S. President ​Donald Trump and regional countries for helping secure the ceasefire. “Now, we all stand before a new phase: the transition from working towards a ceasefire to working towards permanent agreements that preserve the rights of our people, ​the unity of our land, and the sovereignty of our nation,” he said. Hezbollah has said it ⁠opposes ⁠direct talks with Israel and ⁠its lawmakers on ​Friday criticised the government for agreeing to hold such negotiations.   Without mentioning Israel, Aoun said, “These negotiations are ​not a sign of …

Ships Crossing Hormuz Need OK From IRGC, Unfreezing Funds Part of Deal, Iran Official Says

Ships Crossing Hormuz Need OK From IRGC, Unfreezing Funds Part of Deal, Iran Official Says

Published by Sam Flores

By Parisa Hafezi and Jonathan Saul DUBAI/LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) – All ships can sail through the ⁠Strait ⁠of Hormuz but this needs to be coordinated ⁠with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that unfreezing Iranian funds was part ​of the deal. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that the strait was open after a ceasefire accord was agreed in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said ‌he believed a deal to end the Iran ‌war would come “soon”, although the timing remains unclear. Hundreds of ships and 20,000 seafarers have remained stranded inside the Gulf waiting to pass through the key waterway, which handles ⁠about 20% of ⁠the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. The Iranian official said transits would be restricted to ​lanes that Iran deemed safe, adding that military vessels were still prohibited from crossing the strait. “Releasing Iran’s funds was part of the agreement for reopening the strait,” the official noted, referring to an estimated $30 billion in frozen revenue, generated mainly …

China steps out of the shadows in Iran war – Access Asia

China steps out of the shadows in Iran war – Access Asia

Published by Sam Flores

China’s President Xi Jinping has broken a six-week silence about the war in Iran, vowing to take a “constructive” role in efforts to end the conflict. Beijing is wary of being drawn into a war it took no part in, and faces a delicate balancing act between its long-term partnership with Iran and its strategic interests in the Middle East and beyond. Yuka Royer speaks with Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, about what’s behind Beijing’s calculations.  Also on the show: India has embarked on a costly and long-overdue project to update its official population count. The year-long census involves multiple phases, with millions of officials carrying out door-to-door surveys. Last tallied in 2011, the new nationwide survey could redefine welfare programmes and redraw political representations in the world’s most populous nation.  Finally, one of Bollywood’s most iconic voices, singer Asha Bhosle, has passed away at the age of 92. Celebrated for mixing traditional, religious and Western melodies in her songs, Bhosle dominated the Indian music industry for over …

No date set for US-Iran talks, as Pakistan pushes to keep diplomacy alive | US-Israel war on Iran News

No date set for US-Iran talks, as Pakistan pushes to keep diplomacy alive | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that the United States and Iran were in discussions – through Islamabad – to hold a second meeting between their negotiators to end their now nearly seven-week war, with a fragile ceasefire announced on April 8 days away from expiring. But it added that no date had been set for that next round of negotiations, even as Islamabad stepped up a parallel diplomatic push to keep the process alive. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “Who will come, how big the delegation will be, who will stay, and who will go is for the parties to decide,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad, referring to what upcoming talks might look like. “As a mediator, it’s important for us to keep the talks confidential. We had the details and information of the talks entrusted to us by the negotiating parties.”  Speaking of the first round of talks on April 12 in Islamabad, which concluded without a deal, Andrabi said: “There was neither a …

Pakistan army chief in Tehran to advance next round of US-Iran talks | US-Israel war on Iran News

Pakistan army chief in Tehran to advance next round of US-Iran talks | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Sources tell Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are hopeful about a breakthrough on Iran’s nuclear programme. A high-level Pakistani delegation has travelled to Iran to hold talks focused on arranging a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, a week before their fragile truce is due to expire. Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is heading the delegation that arrived in Tehran on Wednesday evening, according to Iranian state media. It said he came with a new message from the US and plans to coordinate a second round of US-Iran talks, after an initial round in Islamabad ended on Sunday without a deal to end the war. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also joining mediation efforts in Tehran, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Saudi Arabia for the first stop in a four-day Gulf tour. Pakistan’s diplomatic blitz comes as competing US and Iranian sea blockades strain tensions – and the global economy – but amid indications of progress towards a deal …

UN Watchdog Says North Korea Is Boosting Nuclear Weapons Capacity

UN Watchdog Says North Korea Is Boosting Nuclear Weapons Capacity

Published by Sam Flores

By Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim SEOUL, April 15 (Reuters) – North Korea has made “very ⁠serious” ⁠advances in its abilities to turn out nuclear ⁠weapons, with the probable addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, as it stepped up activity at ​a key complex, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday. Enriching uranium can provide an alternative, and experts say, a more effective, path to acquiring weapons-grade ‌material in addition to reprocessing spent plutonium extracted ‌from a nuclear reactor. Speaking in Seoul, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed a rapid rise in activity at the 5-megawatt reactor, ⁠the reprocessing unit, ⁠a light water reactor and other facilities at the North’s Yongbyon nuclear complex. NORTH’S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME ​ESTIMATED AT FEW DOZEN WARHEADS North Korea’s nuclear programme was estimated at a few dozen warheads, he told a news conference, citing signs of activity such as the operation of a light water reactor and activation of other facilities besides Yongbyon.  “All of them point to a very serious increase in the capabilities of the …

Pakistan PM heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye in bid to end war on Iran | US-Israel war on Iran News

Pakistan PM heads to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye in bid to end war on Iran | US-Israel war on Iran News

Published by Sam Flores

Sharif pushing for further negotiations. Trump says talks could resume in Pakistan in next two days. Published On 14 Apr 202614 Apr 2026 Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to embark on a four-day diplomatic tour to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye as his bid to moderate the second round of peace talks between the United States and Iran appears to gather momentum. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the official visits are scheduled from Wednesday to Saturday, with meetings in Saudi Arabia and Qatar conducted “in the bilateral context” while talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders will take place on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list On Tuesday, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari had said in a statement that Sharif had briefed him on his drive to discuss the issue with his fellow mediators and to secure further negotiations, which comes during a two-week ceasefire that has halted US and Israeli strikes on Iran until April 22. Zardari urged the prime minister …

Saudi Arabia Summons Iraq Envoy Over Drone Threats From Iraqi Territory

Saudi Arabia Summons Iraq Envoy Over Drone Threats From Iraqi Territory

Published by Sam Flores

April 12 (Reuters) – ⁠Saudi ⁠Arabia ⁠said on Sunday ​it had ‌summoned Iraq’s ‌ambassador ⁠over ⁠what it described as threats ​targeting the ​kingdom and other ⁠Gulf states ⁠from ⁠drones launched from ​Iraqi territory. The Saudi ​foreign ⁠ministry said ⁠in a statement that it had “emphasised ⁠the importance of Iraq dealing responsibly with these threats and attacks”. (Reporting ⁠by Hatem Maher and Ahmed Tolba; ​Editing by Alexander ​Smith) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – April 2026 Source link