Asia Times News & Features

China refits older warships for a bigger punch

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, China

Shenzhen and Hangzhou get new weapons (From Popular Science) By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer The Chinese Navy (PLAN) has been expanding its power with a series of new, more capable surface warships like the 052D guided missile destroyers (DDG)… Read More ›

Beijing responds to Donald Trump’s China ‘rape’ remarks

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, China

“We can’t continue to allow China to rape our country,” Trump said Sunday (From UPI) By Elizabeth Shim China delivered a measured response after presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump accused Beijing of “rape.” Prior to his victory in Indiana… Read More ›

Israel’s ‘custom’ F-35 stealth fighter: A lethal, high-tech wonder weapon?

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, Middle East

(From the National Interest) By David Axe Israel is practically a launch customer for the American-designed F-35 stealth fighter. The Jewish state plans on declaring its first squadron of the radar-evading jet combat-ready by the end of 2017. That’s just… Read More ›

North Korean waitresses serve customers in a North Korean restaurant in Changchun Northeast China's Jilin Province

Are North Korean restaurants in China flourishing?

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, China, Koreas

By Qin Xuan, Initium Media BEIJING–China’s served as the turnkey in increasing pressure on North Korea since the UN imposed sanctions in March. So far, the only immediate economic consequence for Pyongyang has been a rapid escalation in oil prices from Chinese… Read More ›

Philippines faces crossroads in May presidential elections

By Richard Javad Heydarian on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, Southeast Asia

MANILA–In coming days, the Philippines will elect a new president. Arguably, the forthcoming elections scheduled for Monday, May 9, are the country’s most consequential in recent memory. Both the Philippines’ domestic and foreign policy trajectory could take a dramatic turn… Read More ›

In the annual list of top 250 construction companies of the world

Turkish contractors entering a difficult period in Russia

By Altay Atli on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, Middle East

ISTANBUL–Many business centers, hospitals, shopping malls and five-star hotels in Moscow as well as signature buildings like the Federation Tower, Evolution Tower and the International House of Music were built by Turkish contractors. But not a single structure built by… Read More ›

Kim Jong-un smokes a cigarette as he gives guidance on the development of Ssuk Islet in this undated photo

Kim keeps puffing amid North Korea’s campaign against smoking

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, Koreas

(From Reuters) North Korea said on Wednesday a campaign was helping to cut the number of smokers, although its leader Kim Jong-un is frequently seen with a cigarette in hand in photographs in state media. The government has cut the… Read More ›

Dhaka to blogger: ‘Take care and write something good about Islam, govt’

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, South Asia

(From AP) When Bangladeshi blogger and social activist Ashif Entaz Rabi hosted a TV talk show about a slaying of a publisher by Islamic extremists, he faced a torrent of threatening phone calls. He says young men with earpieces started… Read More ›

A man stands in front of a column of tanks on Chang'an avenue near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in this file photo

China to release last Tiananmen prisoner, says US rights group

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, China

(From AFP/ABC) China is planning to release the last prisoner known to be held in connection with the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests after nearly three decades in jail, a US-based human rights group says. Miao Deshun, 51, is due to… Read More ›

A woman identified as Lu tells she is seeking refund for therapy received by her husband, who had liver cancer and died in March last year

Amid scandal, China military hospital closes doors to new patients

By AT Editor on May 4, 2016 in Asia Times News & Features, China

(From Reuters) A Chinese military hospital, embroiled in a scandal over the death of a college student who had sought experimental cancer treatment at the facility, has temporarily closed its doors to new patients, state media reported on Wednesday. The… Read More ›