South Korean sets himself on fire in protest at Japan’s trade curbs
A South Korean man set himself ablaze on Thursday to protest against Japan’s recent trade curbs and was taken to hospital with critical injuries, a fire official said.
Pompeo blasts Chinese ‘coercion’ in South China Sea
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday criticized Chinese “coercion” in the disputed South China Sea, highlighting a divide with Beijing at a meeting of Southeast Asian nations with world powers.
Houthi attack on military parade in Yemen kills more than 30
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it launched missile and drone attacks on Thursday on a military parade in Aden, the seat of the Saudi-backed government, that killed more than 30 people according to medical and security sources.
U.S. secretary of state criticizes China’s dams on Mekong River
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday criticized China’s dam-building on the Mekong River, saying its construction had left the crucial waterway at its lowest level in a decade in Southeast Asian countries downstream.
Shell not taking British-flagged tankers through Hormuz
Royal Dutch Shell is not taking any British-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with Iran in the vital chokepoint for oil shipments.
Channeling Trump, Cambodia says U.S. officials can ‘pack up and leave’
U.S. embassy officials in Cambodia can leave if they do not like it there, a Cambodian government spokesman said on Thursday, following criticism by U.S. diplomats that the Southeast Asian nation’s 2018 election was deeply flawed.
Rwanda seals Congo border after third Ebola case in Goma
Rwandan authorities closed the border with the Ebola-hit Congolese city of Goma on Thursday for everyone other than Congolese citizens leaving Rwanda, as a third case was confirmed in Goma.
Iran Guards say U.S. sanctioning of foreign minister Zarif ‘ridiculous’
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards condemned on Thursday the sanctioning of the Iranian foreign minister by the United States as “ridiculous, illegal and unwise”, the semi-official news agency Fars reported.
Aoun warns Lebanese of ‘tough’ measures unless economic sacrifices made
President Michel Aoun warned Lebanese on Thursday of the risk of harsh financial measures from international institutions unless sacrifices are made to save the country from economic crisis.
Factbox: Britain’s $7.6 billion no-deal Brexit spending spree
Britain is doubling spending on preparations for a no-deal Brexit this year as Prime Minister Boris Johnson sets his sights on leaving the European Union with or without a divorce deal at the end of October.
