News of the World

[kyonides]

 This Edition's Keywords: Political Instability

Japan's former prime minister meets Taiwan president, seeks stronger ties

During a meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, Aso Taro, the vice president of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed his willingness to further enhance bilateral ties.

Aso, who formerly served as prime minister, met Tsai in Taiwan's presidential office on Tuesday afternoon.

Tsai described Japan as Taiwan's important partner and voiced her willingness to cooperate on reinforcing supply chains and other areas of mutual interest.

Aso responded that even after diplomatic ties between Japan and Taiwan were severed, there has consistently been a sentiment within the LDP advocating for maintaining robust relations with Taiwan.
...
The two officials also reportedly discussed how to evacuate Japanese nationals in the event of a potential crisis involving Taiwan.

Prior to the meeting, Aso met Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's official candidate for the upcoming presidential election in January.

China condemns Japan ex-prime minister Aso's remarks over Taiwan

China has condemned remarks over Taiwan by Aso Taro, vice-president of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, after he said that "a readiness to fight" serves as a deterrence in the region.

Aso, who formerly served as Japan's prime minister, made the remarks during a speech in Taipei on Tuesday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday released a comment saying a certain Japanese politician visited Taiwan despite Beijing's strong opposition, to hype up cross-strait tensions and interfere in China's internal affairs.

The ministry added, "China has made serious demarches to Japan and strongly condemns this."

The Chinese Embassy in Tokyo described Aso's remarks as "nonsense."

Kim Jong Un sacks military chief, orders war preparations

At a meeting on Wednesday, Kim sacked Chief of the General Staff Pak Su Il and replaced him with General Ri Yong Gil, who held the post for two stints previously and also served as the country's defense minister.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Pak was "dismissed" without providing further details.

Ri, meanwhile, was once thought to have been executed when he was sacked in 2016, only to reappear a few months later in another senior post.
...
Kim set a target to boost weapons production and also called for the military to conduct drills with the country's latest weapons.

North Korea is set to stage a military parade on September 9 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic.

Putin orders increase in production of attack drones

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a state-owned company to increase the production of suicide drones, which are being used in the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's presidential office said Monday that Putin met Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov.

Putin said the drones -- the Cube and the Lancet -- "proved to be very effective." He said "their impact is powerful and any equipment, including foreign-made equipment, not only burns, but ammunition also explodes."

Putin's remarks come as Western nations have been supplying tanks and other military aid to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's internal affairs ministry said Russia conducted two missile strikes on the city of Pokrovsk in the eastern region of Donetsk on Monday, damaging about 20 buildings, including a five-story residential block. It said the attacks killed seven people and wounded more than 80 others, including children.

Japan expands export ban against Russia

The Japanese government has expanded a ban on exports to Russia as part of tightened sanctions over the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The additional ban imposed on Wednesday covers 758 items, including automobiles and optical equipment.

Auto-related items include gasoline and diesel cars with an engine displacement of over 1,900 cc, hybrid and electric vehicles, and parts such as tires for large vehicles.

Used Japanese cars, which are popular in Russia, are also subject to the broadened embargo.

The government had earlier prohibited exports of trucks and luxury vehicles to Russia.

Russia accuses Ukraine of arson attacks on military recruitment offices

Russia is blaming Ukraine for a series of arson attacks since late July on its military recruitment offices.

Independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported that there have been about 30 cases, including fires in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the country's far eastern region of Khabarovsk.

On Tuesday, Russia's interior ministry officials and prosecutors claimed that Ukraine was involved, though they did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegation.

The prosecutor general's office said in a statement that the crimes were committed by Russian nationals who had received instructions by phone from Ukraine. The office urged the public not to get involved.

Russia's interior ministry said anonymous callers are using different ways to manipulate victims into committing arson, including telling them that their money is at risk of being stolen.

Beijing floods devastate city, kill dozens

Recent heavy flooding in the Chinese capital has left the city reeling as officials on Wednesday announced that the death toll had risen to 33, with 18 more people still missing.

Beijing has been slammed by record rainfall in recent weeks, with the deluge causing havoc to infrastructure and destroying thousands of homes.
...
Five rescuers were among the dead.

City officials said some 59,000 homes had collapsed in the flooding, while another 150,000 had been damaged, especially in Beijing's mountainous western outskirts.

The flooding also took its toll on cropland, with more than 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) hit.

Scores of roads across the city region were also damaged, as were over 100 bridges.

Xia said that rebuilding and repairs could take up to three years.
...
Hebei province, which neighbors Beijing, officials reported that 15 people had been killed and 22 were still missing. In northeastern Jilin, the toll was 14 dead and one person reported missing on Sunday.

Some 125,000 residents from the city of Zhuozhuo to the southwest of Beijing were able to return to their homes on Saturday after flooding had necessitated their evacuation.

Biden restricts US investments in Chinese tech

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday to block and regulate US investment in key high-tech industries in China.

The order covers semiconductors, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence.

Biden said in a letter to Congress he was declaring a national emergency to respond to China's advancements "in sensitive technologies and products critical to the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities."

Senior administration officials said the order was intentionally narrow in scope and stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests.
...
The order is expected to come into effect next year.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer praised Biden's order, "For too long, American money has helped fuel the Chinese military's rise."
...
Republicans said the Biden order did not go far enough. Senator Marco Rubio, for example, said the order was "almost laughable" because it ignored the dual-use nature of some technologies.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said on Wednesday said it is "very disappointed" by the news.

Ecuador: Presidential candidate shot dead at campaign event

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated at a campaign rally on Wednesday evening.

Footage of the incident shows Villavicencio leaving the event and entering a vehicle when gunshots can suddenly be heard.

Villavicencio was wounded and taken to a nearby medical center before he died. It was initially unclear how many other people at the event were injured during the shooting.
...
The suspect died from injuries sustained during a shootout with police, according to the Attorney-General's office.

Villavicencio was one of eight candidates in the election scheduled for August 20.

Opinion polls consistently put him in fifth place in recent weeks.

Pakistan dissolves parliament, paving way for election

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday advised the country's president, Arif Alvi, to dissolve parliament, setting the stage for a general election as the world's fifth-most populous country wrestles with deepening political and economic crises.

Legally, an election should be held within 90 days of parliament's dissolution, but the outgoing government has already warned that polling day is likely to be delayed.

Speculation has lingered that there could be a delay to elections as the establishment contends with overlapping security, economic, and political crises.
...
A delay until well into next year is possible if Pakistan's election commission decides it needs to redraw constituency maps based on the results of a recent census.

Parliament's five-year term had, in any case, been due to expire on August 12, with Sharif's announcement merely ending it three days earlier.