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Tag: asia

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Australian magpie mimics emergency sirens as deadly fires rage

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(CNN)A songbird mimicking the sounds of emergency sirens has been caught on video in southeast Australia, as firefighters battle deadly wildfires in the region. The fires have also caused extensive damage to wildlife and the environment — 3.6 million hectares (8.9 million acres) of land has burned in NSW alone this fire season. Protected by law throughout NSW, the Australian magpie has one of the world’s most complex bird songs, according to the Australian Museum. The NSW government says magpies can mimic the songs of more than 35 types of…

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A challenge from China could be just the thing to pull NATO together

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Hong Kong (CNN)The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is looking more disorganized than ever, but a major Pacific rival could help push them back together. ‘Brain death’ Speaking last month, Macron warned that NATO was at risk of “brain death,” due to ongoing US indifference for the alliance — which Trump has previously described as “obsolete” — and in particular criticized Washington’s decision to pull out of Syria, leaving Kurdish allies at the mercy of Turkey, which soon invaded. “You have partners together in the same part of the world, and…

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‘Chickenization’ program gives chicks to kids to fight internet addiction

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(CNN)A city in Indonesia hopes nature can save kids from internet addiction. But can chicks and trees really replace iPhones and smart TVs? Smartphone addiction The average Indonesian internet user spends eight hours and 36 minutes per day online — almost two hours higher than the global average — according to the Global Digital Report 2019, created by social media management platform Hootsuite and digital marketing agency We Are Social. Several parents in Bandung appeared supportive of the program dubbed “chickenization,” according to an article posted on the local government’s…

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Thai king fires six royal officials for ‘disciplinary misconduct’ days after dismissing his royal consort

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(CNN)The Thai King has fired six palace officials for “severe disciplinary misconduct,” only days after stripping his royal consort of her titles and military ranks. These dismissals are the latest development in a turbulent week at the palace. On Tuesday, the King stripped his royal consort of her titles, status, and military ranks for being “disloyal,” only three months after she was anointed. Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, 34, had been bestowed the title of royal consort on July 28, the first woman to be given the rank by a King in nearly…

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U.S. Stock Futures Drop as Trade-Talk Doubts Swirl: Markets Wrap

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U.S. equity futures fell as Chinese and American officials struggled to schedule a planned meeting this month to continue trade talks. The pound slumped with the U.K. facing a showdown in Parliament over delaying Brexit again. Contracts on the three main U.S. indexes extended their declines after Bloomberg reported the difficulties the two countries were having in support liquidity and growth. Elsewhere in Asia, equities in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia declined in thin volumes. The Stoxx Europe 600 advanced for a third straight session, led by financial services shares.…

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North Korean cryptocurrency heists net estimated $2 billion: UN report

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(CNN)North Korea earned as much as $2 billion dollars through large-scale cyber attacks to help fund its weapons programs, a United Nations panel alleges in a new report. The allegations were published in an early draft of a biannual report authored by a panel of independent experts that work for the UN monitoring sanctions on North Korea. Previous reports from the panel have also accused regarding Pyongyang of evading sanctions through illicit behavior. A summary of the report was obtained by CNN and its content verified by a UN diplomat…

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Odds and Ends 

Alibaba to help Salesforce localize and sell in China

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Salesforce, the 20-year-old leader in customer relationship management (CRM) tools, is making a foray into Asia by working with one of the country’s largest tech firms, Alibaba. Alibaba will be the exclusive provider of Salesforce to enterprise customers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and Salesforce will become the exclusive enterprise CRM software suite sold by Alibaba, the companies announced on Thursday. The Chinese internet has for years been dominated by consumer-facing services such as Tencent’s WeChat messenger and Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace, but enterprise software is starting to garner…

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South Korea fires 360 warning shots at Russian military aircraft

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Seoul (CNN)South Korean fighter jets fired more than 300 warning shots at a Russian military aircraft Tuesday after it twice violated the country’s airspace, defense officials said. The South Korean military said the Russian A-50 flew above islands claimed by both South Korea and Japan, first at 9.09 a.m. local time and then again at 9.33 a.m., each time for just a matter of minutes. The two, small disputed islands are known to the Koreans as Dokdo and to the Japanese as Takeshima. They’re situated about halfway between both countries.…

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Asia’s meth trade is worth an estimated $61B as region becomes ‘playground’ for drug gangs

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(CNN)Deep in the jungle in Thailand’s northern Chiang Mai province, a unit of armed border officers were on duty late last month when they stumbled on a cave stuffed with drugs. A UNODC report published Thursday found the methamphetamine trade is now worth between $30 billion and $61 billion per year in East and Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh. The UNODC report noted that it has found “large quantities” of meth are also being trafficked through Laos — which also borders Myanmar — to Vietnam, which has ample…

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Bali volcano: Flights canceled after Mount Agung erupts

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(CNN)A volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Bali has resulted in the cancellation of some flights overnight, Reuters reports. Mount Agung, which stands at 3,031 metres (9944 feet) tall, has now erupted three times in May with six days between each eruption, according to the BNPB. The volcano’s alert level remains at level three — the second-highest level — and a 4 kilometer exclusion zone has been established. Nearby settlements are not at risk, the BNPB said. In 2017, authorities raised Mount Agung’s alert level to four, the highest…

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India’s minorities fear return of Modi

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Alwar, Rajasthan, India (CNN)“It’s not even been one year. I really miss him,” says Sahila Khan, her head bowed and sitting in a small room that belonged to her father, Rakbar, a Muslim farmer who was lynched by a group of Hindu men in India’s Rajasthan state. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Hindu vigilante groups have killed dozens of people in recent years, many of them Muslims, for allegedly slaughtering or transporting cows — an animal that is considered sacred by many Hindus. The attacks have sparked concern about…

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Chinese marathon official directs race winner the wrong way

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(CNN)A Chinese marathon official has been banned for a year after he redirected an elite runner away from the finish line, in a mistake that almost changed the outcome of the race. On May 10, the Chinese Athletic Association (CAA) penalized marathon official Huang Jianyi, banning him from overseeing marathons for a year. Huang broke the guidelines by riding in the guide car and leading the runners, the CAA said in a notice on May 10. “At a critical position in the race route, he did not guide properly, which…

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China denies having ‘concentration camps,’ tells US to ‘stop interfering’

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Hong Kong (CNN)Beijing has rejected US accusations of operating “concentration camps” in its Xinjiang region, with a government spokesman telling Washington Monday to “stop interfering in Chinese domestic affairs.” In recent years, the government has detained large numbers of Uyghurs in what former detainees describe as re-education centers with prison-like conditions, aimed at eradicating Uyghur cultural and religious practices and instilling Communist Party propaganda—a practice described by one as “cultural genocide.” However, Beijing has repeatedly denied the Uyghur citizens are being held in such large numbers and against their will,…

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The Sunday school children: The little-known tragedy of the Sri Lankan Easter attacks

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Batticaloa, Sri Lanka (CNN)The first church Mohammed Nasar Mohammed Azar tried to blow up had already finished its service by the time he arrived. The Easter Sunday mass there had started early. It was then that Azar seemingly decided to cut his losses and detonate his bomb outside, where the children who had just finished Sunday school were gathering. He killed 29 people, including the two men who had held him back, Raju and Sasikumar — now hailed as heroes for saving the lives of many others. “If he had walked inside and made his way…

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The Thai King has been ruling for over two years, but he’s only just getting crowned

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(CNN)Thailand is preparing to crown its new king in a $31 million three-day celebration that comes almost 69 years to the day since the last coronation. Although Thailand’s monarchy hasn’t held absolute power in 86 years, it remains an influential part of Thai life.Pictures of the royals are widely displayed around Thailand and the country’s strict lese majeste laws make it illegal to defame, insult or threaten the king, queen, heir-apparent or regent. The coronation comes amid an ongoing period of political instability in the country, which has had two…

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