Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Thursday voiced serious concern over Japan’s passage of bills that will expand the role of Japan’s self-defense forces. Japan’s ruling coalition passed the bill amid strong public opposition, marking the most significant overturn of the nation’s ‘purely defensive’ military posture. On Thursday, hundreds of protesters outside the building... 

Chinese stock indexes rebounded Thursday. The Shanghai Composite added about 6 percent after the securities regulator made a bold move and stopped shareholders with more than a five percent stake in a listed company selling their stocks for six months. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 5.8 percent higher on Thursday and in Hong Kong the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index saw its biggest rise since... 

Picture taken on June 11, 2015 shows a dried-up irrigation reservoir in North Korea. The United Nations (UN) has warned that a serious drought in North Korea requires urgent action to prevent the death of children already weakened by widespread malnutrition. The UN children’s fund, UNICEF, made the warning on Thursday in a bid to push for international action to tackle the deadly crisis in N... 

Next week Obama will meet the general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party at the White House. It is said Obama and Nguyen Phu Trong will discuss a number of issues, most importantly the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) globalist trade accord. Vietnam plays an important role in the emerging globalist economy. Its authoritarian government works closely with transnational corporations to... 

A Chinese flotilla with a naval vessel firing an anti-submarine missile during a drill at Peter the Great Bay in Russia. China’s army has kicked off “unprecedented” air and sea drills in the Yellow Sea, between the Korean Peninsula and China, a report says. According to a late Friday report by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Daily, the exercises began earlier in the day. The report,... 

At least 45 people have lost their lives in India’s western Gujarat state due to flooding caused by heavy rains over the past 24 hours, officials say. An unnamed official at the state Disaster Management Authority said on Thursday that the southern Saurashtra region was worst hit by the flooding, with most of the deaths reported from the Amreli district. The official said that the two districts... 

Armenia’s “Electric Yerevan” protests against a hike in power tariffs coincide with Armenia’s sale of a massive complex of dams to a little-known US company with US government approval. We look at how it could impact US influence in the region. Protests over electricity price hikes in Armenia follow the June 6 privatization of Armenia’s Vorotan Hydroelectric Cascade to... 

South Korea has reported three more fatalities from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), bringing the death toll to 19 in an outbreak that began in May. South Korea’s Health Ministry on Tuesday also confirmed four new cases, bringing to 154 the total number of confirmed cases. According to the ministry, 17 of the 154 people have also been cured and released from hospital. Meanwhile, 16 of... 

The Chinese Defense Ministry confirmed the fourth test of a hypersonic nuclear delivery vehicle, which the US called an “extreme maneuver,” amid rising tensions between the two powers in the South China Sea. The test of the hypersonic glide vehicle, which the US has dubbed the “WU-14”, was carried out on June 7 and is the missile’s fourth test in 18 months. “The scheduled scientific... 

The city of Tbilisi has suffered an incessant and torrential downpour that resulted in flooding of the low-land areas of the Georgian capital at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains. The death toll has been climbing, with numerous buildings deluged. The death toll so far stands at 12, while 24 people are missing, TASS reports. Bodies were found mostly in flooded private households. There have been reports... 

As South Korea reported its 14th fatality from an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), in addition to the 12 new cases, the World Health Organization warned the “large and complex” outbreak will cost more lives. “Because the outbreak has been large and is complex, more cases should be anticipated,” Keiji Fukuda, who is leading a WHO team, told a news conference in Sejong, South... 

An Indonesian volcano near an ancient volcano that once nearly destroyed humankind is getting ready to erupt. At the moment, it’s throwing smoke high into the sky. Sinabung volcano in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, is only 35 kilometers from the Toba volcano whose super-eruption, according to scientists, put mankind on the brink of extinction almost 70,000 years ago by causing a “nuclear winter,”... 

Hong Kong issued a red alert and advised against traveling to South Korea, where an epidemic of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is gaining pace. The virus is spreading despite attempts to contain the outbreak. In Korea, the number of infected people passed 100 this week, reaching 122 on Thursday. Tenth patient died from the disease, health officials said on Thursday. Most of the victims are... 

A map of China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road. Iran is participating in an ambitious Chinese plan to revive the Silk Road which aims to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through a network of roads, railways, ports and airports. Deputy Economy Minister Massoud Karbasian says Iran will turn to a transit route for more than 12 million tonnes of goods a year if the Silk Road... 

At least 22 members of American forces in South Korea may have been exposed to live anthrax spores, which the Pentagon says it accidentally shipped off to a military base there, a report says. The announcement was made by United States Forces Korea (USFK), which is a sub-unified command of United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), on Thursday, Yonhap News Agency reported. USFK said in a statement that...