Tokyo, 22 May, /AJMEDIA/
Australia to see change of gov’t for 1st time in 9 yrs
SYDNEY – Australia’s center-left opposition Labor Party declared victory in Saturday’s tightly contested general election, returning to power for the first time in nine years.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese, 59, will replace Scott Morrison, 54, of the conservative Liberal-National coalition to become the country’s 31st prime minister.
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South Korea, U.S. to further boost deterrence against North Korea
SEOUL – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed Saturday to further strengthen deterrence against security threats posed by North Korea during their first summit talks in Seoul, condemning Pyongyang for recent escalatory ballistic missile tests.
Yoon and Biden shared the view that North Korea’s nuclear program presents a “grave threat” not only to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula but also the rest of Asia and the world and sought complete denuclearization of the peninsula, according to the joint statement released after the two-hour summit talks.
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Japan, Australia, India, U.S. to agree on COVID vaccine cooperation
TOKYO – The leaders of Japan, Australia, India and the United States will agree to step up the provision of COVID-19 vaccines to the international community, when they hold a summit meeting next week, a Foreign Ministry official said Saturday.
The agreement, part of the four Indo-Pacific democracies’ efforts to counter China’s expanding influence in developing countries, is expected to be stated in their joint statement, said the Japanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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Preparatory work for salvage of Hokkaido tour boat completed
SAPPORO – Preparatory work to salvage a tourist boat that sank off Hokkaido last month, leaving 14 dead and 12 people still missing, was completed Saturday.
The raising of the 19-ton Kazu I will now take place possibly Tuesday. The boat, which currently sits on the seabed some 120 meters below the surface, went missing off the Shiretoko Peninsula on April 23.
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Japan, U.S., 3 others walk out APEC trade meet in protest of Russia
BANGKOK – Representatives of Japan, the United States and three other countries briefly walked out of a meeting of Asia-Pacific trade ministers on Saturday in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said.
The two-day meeting in Bangkok of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will wrap up Sunday, with promotion of trade and investment in a post-COVID-19 world high on the agenda.
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Russia declares full control of Ukraine’s Mariupol
KYIV – Russia has declared full control of a steel plant in Ukraine’s key port city of Mariupol, finally pushing out the remaining Ukrainian resistance, according to the Russian defense ministry, as the ongoing war is set to enter its fourth month.
Igor Konashenkov, the ministry’s spokesman, was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying on Friday that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has informed President Vladimir Putin about the “complete liberation” of the Azovstal plant and Mariupol from Ukrainian militants.