Tokyo, 22 March, /AJMEDIA
Russia to halt peace-treaty talks with Japan over sanctions
TOKYO – Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Monday it will suspend negotiations for a post-war peace treaty with Japan, in an apparent reaction to Tokyo’s participation in sanctions by the United States and European countries against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
The ministry also announced that Moscow will halt a visa-free program which allows former Japanese residents to periodically visit the Russian-controlled, Japan-claimed islands off Hokkaido, while indicating that Russia will withdraw from joint economic activities on the disputed islands.
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U.S. labels Myanmar military’s repression of Rohingya “genocide”
WASHINGTON – The United States said Monday it has determined Myanmar’s military committed “genocide” against the Rohingya ethnic minority, hoping to add more pressure on the junta that has seized control of the Southeast Asian country following last year’s coup.
“Beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times. Today marks the eighth,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he announced the designation, describing the atrocities against the mainly Muslim minority as “widespread and systematic.”
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Japan issues warning over tight energy supply in Tokyo, other areas
TOKYO – The Japanese government on Monday issued a warning over tight energy supply, urging people in Tokyo and some other areas to save electricity as a large earthquake last week in the northeastern region caused some power plants to halt.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s warning came after Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said earlier in the day a power shortage is possible Tuesday due to cold weather and suspension of some thermal power plants from the quake last Wednesday.
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Ramos-Horta leads E. Timor presidential race, heading for runoff
JAKARTA – Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta came out on top in the first round of the East Timor presidential election, garnering 46.58 percent of the vote according to the final count late Monday.
A runoff election is scheduled for April 19 between the 72-year-old Ramos-Horta and the second-place candidate, incumbent President Francisco Guterres Lu Olo, 67, who took 22.16 percent of the vote in the first round. The runoff is necessary because neither of the top two candidates crossed the 50 percent threshold to win outright.
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China Eastern plane with 132 people aboard crashes in southern China
BEIJING – A China Eastern Airlines Boeing jet with 132 people aboard crashed in southern China on Monday, Chinese aviation authorities said.
The B737-800, bound for the southeastern city of Guangzhou from Kunming in Yunnan Province, was carrying 123 passengers and nine crew members when it lost contact and crashed in Wuzhou, a city in the Guangxi region, according to the authorities.
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S. Korea president-elect wants to move office but faces pushback
SEOUL – South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol wants to move the presidential office from the Blue House to the Defense Ministry compound but has faced pushback from the office of President Moon Jae In, which is citing security concerns.
Yoon told a news conference on Sunday that he will start work at the complex located some 6 kilometers south from his inauguration day on May 10 so as to be away from the “symbol of imperial power” and closer to the public.
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Quake-hit bullet train services to fully resume around April 20
TOKYO – East Japan Railway Co. said Monday it aims to fully resume around April 20 its high-speed shinkansen train services that were disrupted in the wake of a powerful earthquake that hit northeastern Japan last week and caused one bullet train to derail.
The operator, known as JR East, said it is continuing efforts to resume full operations of the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet trains connecting Tokyo and the northeast region, after halting services between Nasushiobara Station in Tochigi Prefecture and Morioka Station in Iwate Prefecture following the quake late Wednesday.
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China’s LNG imports from Russia double in Feb. amid Ukraine crisis
BEIJING – China’s imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia doubled last month from a year earlier, official data showed Monday, indicating the two countries were deepening economic cooperation as Moscow began invading Ukraine on Feb. 24.
The volume of China’s LNG imports from Russia grew 2.2 times from the previous year in February, while in value terms, the imports increased 2.7 times to around $300 million, according to the Chinese General Administration of Customs.
