Kishida and Francis held a meeting at the Vatican as Russia pressed its war in Ukraine and after North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters and vowed to speed up the development of its own nuclear arsenal. ROME (AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Pope Francis vowed to work together to try to rid the world of nuclear weapons, the Vatican and Japanese officials said Wednesday as new nuclear threats worried Asia and Europe. Japan PM, pope discuss nuclear arms after NKorea test launch Its economic miseries have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing a protests and a no-confidence motion in Parliament. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy and has suspended payments on its foreign loans. He said any IMF rescue program, including a rapid financing instrument needed to urgently resolve shortages of essential goods, would depend on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors and would take six months to implement. Ali Sabry was speaking to Parliament after returning to Sri Lanka from talks with the International Monetary Fund. Sri Lanka foreign reserves at record low, politics in crisisĬOLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - Sri Lanka’s economy is in dire straits with its usable foreign reserves down to less than $50 million, the country’s finance minister said Wednesday.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missile was fired from the North’s capital region and flew to the waters off its eastern coast. The launch, the North’s 14th round of weapons firing this year, also came six days before a new conservative South Korean president takes office for a single five-year term. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to speed up the development of his nuclear weapons “at the fastest possible pace” and threatened to use them against rivals. North Korea fires ballistic missile amid rising animosities There are also questions about how far U.S. A question remains over which of two Russian oligarchs really owns the Amadea, with only one of them facing sanctions. authorities from taking the yacht to Hawaii or elsewhere. That order will stand for now, preventing U.S. The yacht Amadea - worth $325 million - had earlier been stopped from leaving the South Pacific nation because of its links to Russia. authorities can seize a Russian-owned superyacht - but has put a hold on his order until at least Friday while defense lawyers mount a challenge. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A judge in Fiji has ruled that U.S. Major tourist sites in the city, including the Forbidden City and the Beijing Zoo, have closed their indoor exhibition halls and are operating at only partial capacity.įiji says US can seize Russian superyacht but not right away Beijing has been on high alert for the spread of COVID-19, with restaurants and bars limited to takeout, gyms closed and classes suspended indefinitely. No date for the resumption of service was given. The Beijing subway authority in a brief message said only that the mostly downtown stations were being shut as part of epidemic control measures. Forty stations were closed from the morning, and 20 more were added in the afternoon. “We deplore the continual demonstration of lack of trust by the concerned parties, and tacit warning of military intervention in Solomon Islands if their national interest is undermined in Solomon Islands,” Sogavare said.īeijing shuts 10% of subway stations to stem COVID-19 spreadīEIJING (AP) - China’s capital on Wednesday closed 60 subway stations, more than 10% of its vast system, as an additional measure against the spread of the coronavirus. Both countries have told the Solomons that a Chinese military presence in the Solomons less than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) off the northeast Australian coast would not be tolerated. Sogavare did not name the United States or Australia. Morrison defends management of Australia’s ties to SolomonsĬANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Thursday he was following security officials’ advice in managing bilateral relations with the Solomon Islands after the South Pacific neighbor’s leader alleged he’d been threatened “with invasion.” Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told Parliament on Wednesday that opponents of his new security pact with China had threatened his country and insulted it.