Asia Pacific Times
Seoul - Two South Korean envoys left for Washington on Thursday to brief US officials on their landmark visit to Pyongyang and the North's offer to talk about giving up its nuclear arsenal.
Chung Eui-yong, head of Seoul's National Security Office, will meet top US officials including National Security Advisor HR McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Yonhap news agency said.
"We have a separate message from North Korea for the US," Chung told journalists after revealing details of his meeting with the North's leader Kim Jong Un.
In a surprising turnaround, Kim said-as relayed by Seoul-that the North wanted to talk to the US and would not need nuclear weapons if the country's security was guaranteed.
The two Koreas also agreed to hold a third inter-Korean summit in late April at the southern side of the border truce village of Panmunjom.
Chung was accompanied on Thursday by Suh Hoon, the chief of South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, who was also part of the delegation to Pyongyang.
After Washington, Chung will later visit China and Russia to brief officials, while Suh will travel to Japan.
The three countries, along with the US, are involved in six-party talks on ending North Korea's nuclear drive which have stalled since 2008.
US President Donald Trump welcomed this week's developments as "very positive" and said the North's talks offer appeared to be "sincere", adding: "We'll soon find out."
The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper quoted an unidentified senior official of the presidential Blue House saying that Kim had not made any specific "give-and-take style" demands concerning dialogue with the US.
"He is apparently drawing a big picture," the official was quoted as saying.
"Kim has expressed his willingness to make his country a normal state" instead of a pariah state under sanctions, he added.
Analyst Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute said the landmark visit to Pyongyang had provided "key momentum" to contain the North's nuclear and missile threats, prevent conflict on the Korean peninsula and and start building trust.
"However, the path toward denuclearisation will be very rough," he said, forecasting that the North would continue missile production this year even if it stops nuclear and rocket tests.
And he added: "Even if an agreement is reached on freezing the North's nuclear programmes, complete verification would be next to impossible."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Manila - The Philippine Supreme Court chief justice vowed to fight "bullying" and save judicial independence as President Rodrigo Duterte's congressional allies launched an impeachment process on Thursday to remove her from office.
Voting 38-2, the House of Representatives justice committee said there was "probable cause" to impeach Maria Lourdes Sereno, in a move critics allege is part of wider efforts by Duterte to destroy foes and usher in one-man rule.
A US-style impeachment trial in the Senate will follow if the House adopts the committee report, focusing on allegations Sereno failed to pay about two million pesos ($40,000) in taxes.
"All kinds of lies, threats, harassment and bullying have been thrown my way but I will not yield," Sereno, the country's first female chief justice, said at an International Women's Day event in Manila.
"I am fighting for our future as a freedom-loving nation," the 52-year-old said, framing the case against her as an issue of "judicial independence".
Aside from the impeachment case, the government's chief lawyer on Monday asked the Supreme Court itself to oust its chief justice, citing her alleged failure to disclose assets.
Justice committee chairman Reynaldo Umali said his panel will ask the lower house, dominated by Duterte allies, next week to send the case to the Senate for trial.
The committee also accused Sereno of falsifying and tampering with court resolutions, excessive spending by buying a luxury official vehicle, staying in "opulent" hotels and flying business class.
Duterte and Sereno first crossed swords in 2016 when the newly elected president demanded that judges he linked to the illegal drug trade hand themselves in to authorities as part of his crackdown on narcotics.
The chief justice rebuffed him, citing rule of law and separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches of government.
Police have since killed more than 4,100 drug suspects, with rights groups alleging more than 8,000 others have been murdered in what they describe as crimes against humanity.
Other Duterte critics have also been ousted, punished or threatened including detained Senator Leila de Lima, the Commission on Human Rights, and an anti-corruption prosecutor who had investigated allegations of Duterte's hidden wealth.
On Wednesday, the United Nations human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, criticised Duterte for his "authoritarian approach to governance".
"I am concerned by deepening repression and increasing threats to individuals and groups with independent or dissenting views," he said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Singapore - A "sudden turn" by the American warship USS John S. McCain led to a collision with a tanker last year off Singapore that left 10 sailors dead, a report by the city-state's government said on Thursday.
Singapore's transport ministry, releasing the results of its investigation into the incident, said a "series of missteps" by the destroyer's crew and insufficient action by those of the tanker, the Alnic MC, contributed to the accident.
The vessels smashed into each other in the predawn hours of August 21, 2017 in the busy shipping lanes around the Strait of Malacca. There were no casualties among the tanker's crew.
The commander of the John S. McCain is facing charges including negligent homicide and dereliction of duty, the US Navy said in January, after its own investigation into the incident found "multiple failures" by the ship's crew.
Singapore said its 35-page report did not blame any organisation or individual for the fatal crash, but found the warship made an abrupt turn after a transfer of controls caused confusion among the crew.
"The collision... happened because of a sudden turn to port (left) by JSM (John S. McCain), which caused it to head into the path of the (tanker)," the report said.
It also noted that several sailors on watch at the John S. McCain during the collision had been assigned from another warship with steering control systems that were "significantly different".
"These differences were not compensated for. Inadequacies in training and familiarisation before the task allocation may have contributed to the actions on John S. McCain," it said.
The collision took place within three minutes of the warship's sudden turn, it said, adding however that the actions taken by the tanker's crew "were insufficient to avoid" the smashup.
"When the bridge team of Alnic MC saw the USS John S. McCain turning, it presumed that the (warship) would be able to safely pass ahead," it said.
The incident came after another destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, smashed into a Philippine-flagged cargo ship off Japan in June 2017, leaving seven sailors dead.
In a report on the two separate collisions, US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said both were "preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watch standers that contributed to the incidents".
The US Navy said in November that the John S. McCain collision "resulted primarily from complacency, over-confidence and lack of procedural compliance".
"In particular, McCain's commanding officer disregarded recommendations from his executive officer, navigator and senior watch officer to set sea and anchor watch teams in a timely fashion," it said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Beijing - China's foreign minister urged the United States and North Korea on Thursday to start talks as soon as possible, stressing that "the sincerity" of all parties to solve the nuclear crisis would be tested.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi cautiously welcomed Seoul's announcement that Pyongyang had offered to hold denuclearisation talks with the United States in return for security guarantees.
The North also agreed to hold a historic summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April.
"The Korean peninsula issue has finally taken an important step in the right direction," Wang told a press conference on the sidelines of annual parliamentary session.
"These initial steps must be followed up by corresponding and concerted efforts by the parties. We call on the parties, particularly the United States and the DPRK, to engage in dialogue sooner rather than later," he said.
But Wang issued a word of caution, noting that breakthroughs on the North Korean nuclear issue had collapsed in the past.
"Of course it takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice," he said.
"Despite light at the end of the tunnel, the journey ahead won't be smooth. History has reminded us time and again that whenever tensions subsided on the peninsula the situation would be clouded by various interferences," he said.
"Now is the crucial moment to test the sincerity of the parties to solve the nuclear issue."
Wang's comments come as two South Korean envoys left for Washington to brief US officials on the North's offer, after their landmark visit to meet Kim in Pyongyang.
According to Seoul, Kim said the North wanted to talk to the US and would not need nuclear weapons if the country's security was guaranteed.
Envoy Chung Eui-yong, head of Seoul's National Security Office, will travel to China and Russia following his Washington trip.
Wang said the security concerns of North Korea must be addressed in return for progress towards denuclearisation.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, Beijing has backed a series of United Nations sanctions against North Korea, sending relations between the Cold War-era allies to a new low.
Beijing has repeatedly called for negotiations to peacefully put an end to tensions that have raised fears of nuclear warfare, after months of fiery rhetoric between Kim and Trump.
Wang said China's proposal for the United States, Japan and South Korea to suspend joint military drills in the region in return for North Korea halting its nuclear and missile tests was "the right prescription".
In Tokyo, which has seen North Korea test ballistic missiles over its airspace, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned that North Korea's offer of denuclearisation talks with Washington could be a ploy to play for time.
"I've repeatedly said that we have to create a situation of putting maximum pressure on North Korea so that the North wants to have talks with us," Abe told MPs.
"However... it is true that the North has in the past earned time to develop nuclear capabilities and missiles" during periods of negotiation, Abe cautioned.
"Talks for the sake of talks are meaningless and we should never loosen sanctions just because North Korea is open to talks."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Tokyo - Japan's prime minister warned on Thursday that North Korea's offer of denuclearisation talks with the United States could be a ploy to play for time and stressed the need for Pyongyang to take "concrete" steps.
In his first public comments since an apparent diplomatic breakthrough between North and South Korea, Shinzo Abe said that talking for the sake of talking was "meaningless."
"I've repeatedly said that we have to create a situation of putting maximum pressure on North Korea so that the North wants to have talks with us," Abe told MPs.
"However... it is true that the North has in the past earned time to develop nuclear capabilities and missiles" during periods of negotiation, Abe cautioned.
"Talks for the sake of talks are meaningless and we should never loosen sanctions just because North Korea is open to talks," added the hawkish prime minister.
In the latest chapter of a rapid Olympics-driven rapprochement on the Korean peninsula, Pyongyang has said it would consider giving up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees.
However, analysts have warned that any path to a US-North Korea deal over nuclear weapons is fraught with danger and uncertainty.
Japan, a close US ally in the region, is in the direct firing line of North Korean missiles and saw two fly over its territory in 2017, sparking outrage and lifting tensions to fever pitch.
Despite the apparent recent detente, Abe said Japan's position was unchanged: "North Korea has to show concrete actions toward denuclearisation by committing to abandon its nuclear programme via complete, verifiable and irreversible means."
Abe said he was looking forward to a briefing from a South Korean envoy about his talks with the North when he visits Japan next week.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
UN - The UN human rights chief on Wednesday called for a new body tasked with preparing criminal indictments over atrocities committed in Myanmar, after a similar panel was created for the Syrian conflict.
The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council has set up multiple investigations and fact-finding missions into major trouble spots, including an active one for Myanmar.
But some have expressed concern over the limitations of those probes, which focus on gathering a broad range of evidence about alleged atrocities, rather than assembling specific legal cases against individuals that can be taken to court.
In the Syrian case, the UN General Assembly voted in 2016 to set up an "independent and impartial mechanism" to prepare prosecutorial files.
UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said on Wednesday that a similar body was needed for Myanmar, where senior UN officials have said the military is continuing to wage a campaign against the Rohingya Muslim ethnic group that amounts to "ethnic cleansing".
Zeid called on the rights council to "ask the General Assembly to establish a new independent and impartial mechanism to prepare and expedite criminal proceedings in courts."
In his annual report to the council, Zeid restated his concern that "acts of genocide may have taken place" in the Rohingya homeland of Rakhine state.
An estimated 700,000 Rohingya have fled over the border to Bangladesh since an army crackdown was launched in Rakhine in August.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Jakarta - A luxury yacht linked to allegations that $4.5 billion was looted from Malaysia's state investment fund 1MDB is being handed over to the FBI, which is probing the scandal, Indonesian police said on Thursday.
US and Indonesian authorities last week searched the Cayman Island-registered Equanimity, reportedly worth some $250 million, which was moored off the Indonesian tourist island of Bali.
"(The handing over) is in the process of being done," national police senior detective Daniel Silitonga said.
The US Justice Department alleges in civil lawsuits that $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB - set up by Prime Minister Najib Razak - in a campaign of fraud and money-laundering. Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.
The suits list $1.7 billion in assets allegedly bought with the stolen funds, which US officials are seeking to recover.
Those assets include the 300-foot (90-metre) yacht which US officials said was purchased by Malaysian financier known as Jho Low, an unofficial adviser to 1MDB.
The ship's captain and about three dozen crew had been questioned but no one has been arrested so far, Silitonga said.
"Regarding the crew, we are still discussing it," he said, when asked if they would be taken into the FBI's custody.
Built in 2013, the Netherlands-made yacht has nine bedrooms, including a master suite with a hot tub, a helipad, a gym and spa, and a movie theatre, according to yachtcharterfleet.com.
Low, whose full is name Low Taek Jho, was said to have made key financial decisions linked to 1MDB, although he did not hold any official positions in Malaysia.
He has denied any wrongdoing and his current whereabouts are unknown.
After the boat seizure, a spokesman for Low noted that the US Department of Justice (DoJ) had officially delayed its efforts to seize assets last year.
A US court reportedly granted a stay after a request from authorities, as they believed the civil proceedings could affect a criminal probe they are also conducting.
Low's spokesman said last week that the DoJ had "still not taken any steps to prove that any impropriety has occurred".
"It is therefore disappointing that, rather than reflecting on the deeply flawed and politically-motivated allegations, the DoJ is continuing with its pattern of global overreach - all based on entirely unsupported claims of wrongdoing," he said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Beijing - China's foreign minister sought on Thursday to downplay concerns about Beijing's global ambitions, while also hinting at consequences for countries that don't fall in line on issues like Taiwan.
Pledging that China had no desire to "replace America" on the global stage, Wang Yi said the Asian nation's path "is totally different than the one that has already been taken by traditional major powers".
"The more China develops, the more it can contribute to the world," Wang said in a wide-ranging press conference.
Wang spoke as 3,000 members of China's mostly ceremonial national legislature have gathered for their annual meeting in Beijing, where they are set to grant President Xi Jinping a nearly limitless mandate to realise his vision of a resurgent China.
Xi's ambitions are not limited to home: he has clearly articulated his vision of putting China at the centre of world affairs, a position reflecting its Chinese name: "the Middle Kingdom."
The departure from the country's long-held stance of keeping a low profile had raised fears abroad of spreading Chinese influence.
On Thursday, Wang tried to strike a balance between reassurance and assertiveness, as Beijing deals with pressure from countries like the US to change its behaviour.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Manila - Philippine authorities opened on Thursday a fresh line of attack against a news outlet that has angered President Rodrigo Duterte, after the website's investors moved to block a separate government effort to shut it down.
The nation's tax authority said it filed criminal charges against Rappler, which has been critical of Duterte's deadly war on drugs, alleging the site failed to pay taxes on bonds it sold in 2015.
The government's move comes just over a week after Silicon Valley investment firm Omidyar Network said it was transferring its roughly $1.5-million investment in Rappler to the site's local managers to stave off Duterte's effort to shut it down.
The investment is at the heart of a case that led to the Philippines' corporate watchdog to void the news site's corporate license in January, saying it violated a law against non-Filipinos owning any share of local media entities. Rappler has appealed.
A statement from the Philippine tax bureau on Thursday accused Rappler of failing to pay taxes on bond instruments - called Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) - worth about 18.6 million pesos ($1.6 million) that the news site sold in 2015.
"It is clear there is motive that goes beyond a normal tax audit. Unless of course, the intent is to harass and intimidate Rappler," said the site's chief executive Maria Ressa.
The website is known for its extensive reportage of Duterte's anti-narcotics campaign, which police say has claimed over 4,100 lives but which rights monitors say has left 12,000 dead.
Duterte has banned a Rappler reporter from covering his official activities, saying its reports were "twisted".
"The government has vast resources and we are a very small company and we will continue to fight as long as we can," Ressa said.
Commenting on the tax case, Duterte spokesman Harry Roque told reporters: "The law must be enforced. If they have not paid taxes, then they must be called to account."
Duterte has also attacked other media outfits that criticise him, including top newspaper, The Philippine Daily Inquirer and major broadcaster ABS-CBN, threatening to also go after their owners over alleged unpaid taxes of loans.
A previous "cyber-libel" case filed against Rappler in January was dismissed a month later.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Yogyakarta, Indonesia - A pair of Indonesian Islamic universities are pushing female students to ditch niqab face veils - with one threatening expulsion for non-compliance - as concerns grow over rising fundamentalism in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation.
Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University said it issued the edict this week to more than three dozen niqab-wearing students, who will be booted from school if they refuse.
Although niqabs are common in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf states, they're rare in secular Indonesia, where around 90 per cent of its 260 million people have traditionally followed a moderate form of Islam.
For many Indonesians, the niqab - a full veil with a small slit for the eyes - is an unwelcome Arab export and some associate it with radical Islam, which the country has wrestled with for years.
"We are a state university... we've been told to spread moderate Islam," the school's chancellor Yudian Wahyudi told a press briefing this week.
The school, based in Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta, has some 10,000 students.
Another Yogyakarta-based institution, Ahmad Dahlan University, has also introduced a new prohibition on the niqab out of fears it might stir up religious radicalism, which has seen a resurgence on many of the nation's university campuses.
There will be no penalty for those who refuse, it added.
"But during exams, they cannot wear it because officials have to match the photos on their exam ID with them, which is hard if one is wearing the niqab," university chancellor Kasiyarno, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told reporters on Wednesday.
Indonesia's reputation as a bastion of progressiveness and religious tolerance has recently been tested by a government push to outlaw gay and pre-marital sex. The conservative lurch comes as once-fringe Islamic political parties move into the mainstream.
The niqab has been at the centre of a heated global debate over religious freedom and women's rights, with France the first European country to ban it in public spaces.
Backers of the schools' new rules said wearing a niqab is not a religious obligation.
"Education should be about dialogue - open and progressive - and if you wear a niqab it interferes in that dialogue and the teaching-learning process," said Zuhairi Misrawi, head of the Jakarta-based Muslim Moderate Society.
But others saw the anti-niqab appeal as trampling on individual rights.
It's "a matter of personal preference and the university has to respect that", said Fadlun Amin, a spokesman for the local chapter of the Forum Ukhuwah Islamiyah, part of top clerical body the Indonesian Ulema Council.
Several Indonesian universities have issued niqab bans in the past.
Last year, a private Islamic high school in Java was reprimanded by local officials after images went viral online that showed a classroom of sitting female students wearing niqab, violating a national regulation on acceptable school uniforms.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Washington - The US Holocaust Memorial Museum said on Wednesday it was stripping Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi of a prestigious human rights award, accusing her of doing little to halt the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her long campaign against the country's military dictatorship, was awarded the Holocaust Museum's Elie Wiesel award six years ago "for her courageous leadership and great personal sacrifice in resisting tyranny and advancing the freedom and dignity of the Burmese people."
But the Museum said it was rescinding the award due to her inaction over what it called "mounting evidence of genocide" committed by the Myanmar military against civilians from the Rohingya minority in Rakhine state.
"As the military's attacks against the Rohingya unfolded in 2016 and 2017, we had hoped that you - as someone we and many others have celebrated for your commitment to human dignity and universal human rights - would have done something to condemn and stop the military's brutal campaign and to express solidarity with the targeted Rohingya population," the museum said in a letter to Suu Kyi.
Instead, it said, her political party, the National League for Democracy, has refused to cooperate with UN investigators and added to the anti-Rohingya rhetoric.
The party has also obstructed journalists trying to report on the mass murder and expulsion to Bangladesh of the Rohingya.
"The military's orchestration of the crimes against Rohingya and the severity of the atrocities in recent months demand that you use your moral authority to address this situation," they said.
In November a joint report by the Museum and Southeast Asia-based watchdog Fortify Rights - based on testimony they gathered in the field - documented "widespread and systematic attacks" on Rohingya civilians.
The award was named after Elie Wiesel, a survivor of the Nazi genocide against Jews who spent much of his life campaigning for human rights, himself winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
Suu Kyi, the country's symbol of democracy for decades, has come under heavy criticism for her refusal to stand up for the Rohingya.
About 700,000 Rohingya have fled over the border to Bangladesh since August, with horrifying testimony of murder, rape and arson by soldiers and vigilante mobs.
In January US diplomat Bill Richardson resigned from a Suu Kyi-appointed panel set up to ease tensions with the Rohingya, assailing her for an "absence of moral leadership."
Various organisations have taken back honours bestowed on the onetime human rights icon, but Myanmar has rarely responded to the moves.
In a statement posted by a government spokesman on Wednesday, however, Myanmar's embassy in Washington said it regretted that the Museum had been "misled and exploited by people who failed to see the true situation" in Rakhine.
It added that the decision will have no bearing on local support for Suu Kyi but that it would "redouble its efforts in finding a lasting solution" to the crisis.
In Geneva on Wednesday the UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein called for a new body tasked with preparing criminal indictments over the Myanmar atrocities.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Seoul - South Korea will investigate allegations that ousted president Park Geun-hye planned to send military troops to quash the candle-lit protests that culminated in her impeachment last year, the defence ministry said on Thursday.
Activist group the Centre for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK), citing multiple leaks, said top military leaders had studied plans to crack down on demonstrators calling for Park's resignation over a corruption scandal.
South Korea was ruled by military dictators for decades-one of them Park's own father Park Chung-hee-and only fully embraced democracy in the 1990s, making such issues highly sensitive.
"The defence ministry will immediately launch a probe," the ministry said in a statement.
"We will announce the results of the investigation in a transparent manner and take follow-up measures", it added.
According to the CMHRK the plans were only set aside after the country's top court endorsed the National Assembly's decision to impeach Park.
The former president has been in custody since May and is awaiting a verdict after prosecutors called for 30 years in prison.
"The presidential Blue House, the military and judicial authorities were planning a pro-Park coup," the CMHRK said in a statement.
It would have been "another bloody crackdown on protestors", it said, after the 1980 Gwangju massacre in which some 200 pro-democracy protestors were killed by martial law troops.
The CMHRK called for a thorough investigation and punishment for those responsible, including the then defence minister Han Min-koo and a former commander of the capital's defence garrison.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Tehran - China will build a train line connecting the Iranian port of Bushehr to the rest of the country's railway network under a $700 million deal signed on Wednesday.
The agreement was inked in Tehran in the presence of Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi and officials from China Machinery Industry Construction Group.
It will see the group build a 400-kilometre railway between the Gulf port and the southern city of Shiraz, IRNA state news agency cited officials as saying without specifying when construction would get underway.
This would complete the "North-South Railway Corridor" in line with Iran's goal of becoming a transport hub for goods between the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Russia and Central Asia.
Products arriving at Bushehr, Iran's second biggest port after Bandar Abbas, also on the Gulf, currently have to be transported by road.
The Bushehr-Shiraz rail project is one of seven the government is working on totalling 2,300 kilometres in tracks, according to IRNA.
China is Iran's biggest economic and trading partner.
In September, the Asian giant granted lines of credit worth $10 billion for five banks financing infrastructure projects.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Seoul - Three prominent South Korean writers and artists who have been accused of sex abuse will have their works and almost all mentions of their names removed from school textbooks, the government said on Thursday, as the country's nascent #MeToo campaign spreads.
A growing number of women have spoken out about abuses they suffered at the hands of powerful figures in multiple fields, making headlines in a country that remains socially patriarchal despite economic and technological advances.
Those accused of sexual misconduct include Ko Un, a top poet regularly tipped for the Nobel prize for literature, prominent stage director Lee Yoon-taek and playwright Oh Tae-seok.
Seoul poet Choi Young-Mi accused Ko of sexually abusing many women in literary circles, after publishing a thinly veiled poem "Monster" in which she detailed her experiences at his hands.
Lee is under investigation for raping or sexually harassing more than 10 actresses at his theatre group, and Oh is also accused of harassing actresses and students.
The trio's works and almost all 40-odd references to them will be erased from school textbooks, Seoul's education ministry said, describing them as "figures who created social controversy."
Only a few passing mentions of their names will remain, the education ministry said without elaborating further.
Ko also stepped down as of Wednesday as the president of a joint board to create a Korean-language dictionary aimed at bridging the widening linguistic divide between the two Koreas.
Ko has denied the allegations against him in a statement to the Guardian, saying he did "nothing which might bring shame on my wife or myself".
Lee apologised for causing "harm" to actresses, saying he was willing to "take any punishment", but denied accusations of rape. Oh has refused to comment.
Women in South Korea have long been reluctant to come forward about sex abuse due to fears of relentless public shaming and bullying.
But a Seoul prosecutor in January made a rare move to speak out about sex abuse by a superior on live television, triggering a wave of accusations against figures ranging from artists to politicians.
The most high-profile target is Ahn Hee-jung, a former presidential contender and a star politician who announced his resignation as a provincial governor and retirement from politics on Tuesday after an aide accused him of multiple rapes.
Ahn, 52, on Thursday cancelled a planned press conference after another woman came forward to claim that she also had been raped by him repeatedly, as prosecutors opened an inquiry.
Amid the barrage of allegations, scores of women's rights activists staged protests to mark International Women's Day, urging stern punishment for offenders and expressing support for victims.
"Can't trust empty apologies! They need to take legal responsibility!" shouted activists wearing black outfit and waving roses at a rally in Seoul.
Many held banners reading "#MeToo, #WithYou", chanting slogans including "You are not alone! We are with you!"
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Nusa Penida, Indonesia - Millions of tourists are drawn to Bali's palm-fringed scenery and rich marine life, but there is a danger lurking beneath its famously crystal-clear waters: a wasteland of plastic rubbish.
An underwater video shot by British diver Rich Horner this week showing a sea overflowing with plastic and other garbage at Manta Point, a well-known diving site near Bali's main island, has highlighted trouble in paradise.
The holiday island has become an embarrassing poster child for Indonesia's trash crisis.
The problem has grown so bad that officials in Bali last year declared a "garbage emergency" across a six-kilometre stretch of coast that included popular beaches Jimbaran, Kuta and Seminyak.
"The ocean currents brought us in a lovely gift of a slick of jellyfish, plankton, leaves, branches, fronds, sticks, etc.... Oh, and some plastic," the diver wrote on his Facebook account.
His video, which has been viewed more than a million times, shows a diver swimming through a torrent of rubbish - including bottles, cups and straws - at Manta Point about 40 kilometres from Bali's main island.
"Plastic bags, more plastic bags, plastic, plastic, so much plastic!" Horner said.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, and a colossal 1.29 million metric tons is estimated to be produced annually by the Southeast Asian nation.
The waves of plastic flooding into rivers and oceans have been causing problems for years, clogging waterways in cities, increasing the risk of floods, and injuring or killing marine animals who ingest or become trapped by plastic packaging.
"Microplastics can contaminate fish which, if eaten by humans, could cause health problems, including cancer," I Gede Hendrawan, an environmental oceanography researcher at Bali's Udayana University, previously said.
Bali's rubbish problem is at its worst during the annual monsoon season, when strong winds push marine flotsam on to the beach and swollen rivers wash rubbish from riverbanks to the coast.
"It tends to accumulate (at Manta Point) and the very large amount of rainfall probably has increased the level of garbage because it's all swept from the mainland out to sea by the rains," said Iwan Dewantama, a researcher at NGO Conservation International.
As part of its commitment under the UN Environment's Clean Seas campaign, Jakarta has pledged to reduce marine plastic waste by 70 per cent by 2025, through recycling, curbing the use of plastic bags, cleanup campaigns and raising public awareness.
Still, the scale of the problem facing Indonesia is huge, due to its population of more than 260 million and poor waste processing infrastructure.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Colombo - Sri Lankan police said petrol bombs were hurled at a mosque on Thursday as hundreds of troops patrolled a troubled central district where anti-Muslim violence has left three people dead.
Muslim-owned businesses were set on fire and vandalised in several parts of Sri Lanka, police said, days after an island-wide state of emergency was imposed to curb riots in Kandy.
Armoured vehicles and heavily-armed troops fortified the hill district, where internet services remain suspended and an evening curfew is in place.
The government ordered the internet blackout after police discovered mobs of Sinhalese rioters were using social media to coordinate attacks on Muslim establishments.
More than 200 homes, businesses and vehicles have been torched in three days of violence by mobs from the mainly Buddhist Sinhalese majority.
A 24-hour curfew was imposed on Wednesday afternoon after a hand grenade exploded in the hands of an attacker, killing him and wounding 11 others, officials said.
The day-time curfew was eased following a calm night but tensions remain high in the tourist hotspot and schools shuttered.
But in Kuruvita, 125 kilometres south of Kandy, police said petrol bombs were lobbed at a mosque. Little damage was inflicted and three suspects are being pursued.
In Weligama, 240 kilometres south of Kandy, a Muslim-owned business was attacked, police said, while Muslim establishments were pelted with stones in at least two other locations outside Kandy.
Sri Lanka's telecoms regulator asked internet providers to block access to Facebook and other social media platforms to prevent the spread of anti-Muslim hate speech.
Police have already identified anti-Muslim messages being shared on social networks, including a video posted by a hardline Buddhist monk urging violence against Muslims.
Muslims in Kandy complained that security forces and police - equipped with special powers to detain under the emergency provision - were slow to react as the violence unfolded.
"The main junction is going up in flames. At the same time, the authorities are folding their arms and watching," said Muslim businessman M. Jaffer, as quoted in Thursday's DailyFT newspaper.
Former Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara alluded to the island's history of ethnic violence in urging his countrymen "to say no to racism".
"We have to make sure that in Sri Lanka anyone and everyone feels safe, loved and accepted regardless of ethnicity or religion," he said in a video posted to Twitter.
President Maithripala Sirisena toured Kandy on Wednesday and ordered security forces to use the full force of the law against troublemakers.
Military officials said more reinforcements were sent to the area on Wednesday night to assist police who resorted to teargas to disperse rioters the previous evening.
The United Nations has condemned the violence and urged Colombo "to ensure that appropriate measures are swiftly taken to restore normalcy in affected areas".
The Kandy region, 115 kilometres east of the capital Colombo, is popular with tourists as well as Buddhist pilgrims.
Holidaymakers have been urged to avoid the hill resort but no foreigners have been reported involved in the unrest.
"Shops are opening, and more people can be seen on the roads since the curfew was lifted," a police official in the area said by telephone.
Kandy is home to Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist shrine, the Temple of the Tooth Relic.
The chief custodian of the UNESCO-listed temple, Pradeep Nilanga Dela, said foreign tourists and pilgrims were flocking to the shrine despite the tensions.
The unrest began Monday after a Sinhalese man died following injuries sustained at the hands of a Muslim mob last week. Conflict escalated when a Muslim man was found dead in a burnt building on Tuesday.
Sinhalese Buddhists are the majority ethnic group in Sri Lanka, making up 75 per cent of its 21 million people. Muslims make up 10 per cent of the population.
Parliament on Tuesday issued an apology to the island's Muslim minority for the latest violence targeting them in the Indian Ocean island.
Mobs also set fire to Muslim-owned businesses and attacked a mosque in the east of the country last week. Last November riots in the south of the island left one man dead and homes and vehicles damaged.
In June 2014 riots between Buddhists, led by radical monks, and Muslims left four dead.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Hammuriyeh, Syria - Aid agencies postponed a convoy of vital food and health supplies to Eastern Ghouta on Thursday, as the Syrian regime pressed a relentless ground and air assault against the rebel enclave.
Dozens of people, including many children, were treated overnight for breathing problems and symptoms that medics said were consistent with chlorine attacks, which Western powers have repeatedly warned would not go unpunished.
New air strikes on the town of Zamalka killed at least seven civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, bringing the total number of dead in the offensive to more than 900.
The aid trucks were meant to bring relief to war-weary civilians living under government siege for five years and now facing a deadly Russian-backed assault.
The fighting has prompted international outrage, culminating in the UN Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire, aid deliveries and evacuations.
But with bombardment continuing, a joint convoy between the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross and Syrian Arab Red Crescent planned for Thursday could not go through.
"The convoy for today is postponed, as the situation is evolving on the ground, which doesn't allow us to carry out the operation in such conditions," ICRC spokeswoman Ingy Sedky said.
It marks the second time this week that aid operations have been disrupted by military developments, with food deliveries cut short Monday due to bombardment.
Ghouta is home to around 400,000 people under siege and is the last opposition-controlled zone on the capital's outskirts.
The Syrian army and allied militias began a fierce bombing campaign on February 18 against Ghouta, followed by a ground offensive.
The campaign has so far recaptured half of rebel-held territory, according to the Observatory, a Britain-based monitor.
Towns and villages have fallen in quick succession in recent days, with regime forces on the verge of cutting the remaining rebel-held territory into two isolated pockets.
A correspondent in the town of Hammuriyeh saw motionless bodies lying in the streets on Thursday after a night of ferocious bombing.
On Wednesday, volunteers from the civil defence group known as the "White Helmets" were seen trying to douse flames burning two men lying dead on the street next to a motorbike after a strike.
Dozens of civilians were treated in the town for breathing difficulties late Wednesday, with medics reporting symptoms consistent with a toxic attack.
Doctors at one facility treated at least 29 patients with signs of exposure to chlorine, according to the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which supports hospitals in Eastern Ghouta.
It said victims were suffering from shortness of breath, wheezing, and redness of the eyes.
Several families were seen trying to reach fresh air late Wednesday on the roof of a four-storey building in Hammuriyeh, after air strikes on their neighbourhood.
Parents had stripped their children down and were spraying them with water, fearing toxic substances had been absorbed into their clothes.
"I'm going to suffocate," two children screamed as rescue workers carried them down from the roof for treatment.
Regime forces have been repeatedly accused of using chlorine on Eastern Ghouta in recent weeks, which both the government and Russia have staunchly denied.
Government troops have imposed a siege on Eastern Ghouta since 2013, and deliveries of food and medicine to the zone require permission from all warring sides.
The UN's humanitarian coordination office (OCHA) in Damascus said the convoy could not go through Thursday because it had not received permission from Syrian authorities.
"Today, the UN and partners were not able to return to Douma in east Ghouta because the movement of the convoy was not authorised by the Syrian authorities due to security reasons," said spokeswoman Linda Tom.
The UN Security Council on February 24 demanded a 30-day cessation of hostilities but the resolution has done little to bring relief to civilians.
Bombardment has continued and on Monday a long-awaited aid delivery was cut short after heavy air strikes.
Nearly half of the food aid on the trucks could not be delivered, and the UN said Syrian authorities removed some medical and health supplies from the trucks.
The UN's top body met behind closed doors on Wednesday for three hours in an attempt to shore up the ceasefire.
UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura briefed the meeting and offered to help broker a deal with Russia to allow fighters in Eastern Ghouta to leave, a diplomat said.
Rebel groups operating in Eastern Ghouta have so far refused to discuss evacuating the enclave and have been firing rockets and artillery into eastern areas of Damascus in recent weeks, leaving at least 32 dead according to the Observatory.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
London - British detectives on Thursday scrambled to find the source of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of a Russian former double-agent and his daughter.
Sergei Skripal, 66, who moved to Britain in a 2010 spy swap, is in a critical condition in hospital along with his daughter Yulia after they collapsed on a bench outside a shopping centre on Sunday.
A policeman also fell ill after coming to their aid but is showing signs of recovery, according to interior minister Amber Rudd.
"The two targets are still in very serious condition, the policeman is talking and is engaging so I'm more optimistic for him, but it's too early to say," she told ITV1's Good Morning Britain.
The brazen poisoning in the southwestern English city of Salisbury is already being linked with Russia by British politicians and the media, sparking an angry response in Moscow.
On Wednesday, British police confirmed for the first time that a nerve agent was used and that their probe was now an attempted murder investigation.
"Police are now in a position to confirm that their symptoms are a result of exposure to a nerve agent," said the Metropolitan Police.
"Scientific tests by government experts have identified the specific nerve agent used which will help identify the source."
The Times newspaper reported on Thursday that Skripal's condition was particularly severe, quoting a senior unnamed British government official.
"The feeling is that he is not going to make it out of this," the source told the newspaper. "I think it could be more positive (for Yulia)."
Police have cordoned off an Italian restaurant and a pub that the pair are believed to have visited.
A diner in the restaurant told the Times that Skripal had eaten there on Sunday, and that he was in an agitated state.
"He was going absolutely crazy, I didn't understand it and couldn't understand them," the witness said.
"He didn't seem ill physically but perhaps mentally ill with the way he was shouting."
Police say they are keeping an open mind about what happened, but Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has alluded to Russia.
He noted the "echoes" with the 2006 poisoning in London of former Russian spy and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, which Britain has blamed on Russia.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told British television on Thursday that Russia was "becoming an ever-greater threat". Fellow Conservative MP Nick Boles tweeted that "I do not see how we can maintain diplomatic relations with a country that tries to murder people on British soil."
However, the interior minister called for "cool heads" while the police investigated.
Moscow accused British politicians and journalists of whipping up anti-Russian sentiment, with Kremlin foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling reporters the story "was straight away used to boost an anti-Russian campaign in the media".
Hundreds of counter-terrorism detectives are working "around the clock" to create a timeline of the victims' movements, with "many hours" of CCTV under review, police said.
The Times reported police are probing whether Skripal's daughter, who arrived in Britain from Moscow last week with "gifts from friends", may have inadvertently brought the nerve agent into the country.
The paper previously said investigators would also examine the 2012 death of Skripal's wife from cancer, and that of his 44-year-old son last year in St Petersburg, reportedly from liver problems.
Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the government might consider a boycott by British officials and dignitaries of the 2018 football World Cup in Russia if it were found to have been involved.
Multiple British media outlets reported Wednesday that Prince William would now not attend the tournament, citing royal sources.
Skripal was a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who was jailed in his country for betraying agents to Britain's MI6 secret service.
He was pardoned before being flown to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap involving Russia and the United States in 2010.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Beijing - China warned the United States on Thursday that everyone will be harmed if President Donald Trump launches a trade war, as official figures showed the Asian power maintained a robust trade surplus with the US.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi issued the stern message as the Trump administration geared up to formally introduce steel and aluminium tariffs as early as Thursday despite global concerns.
"Choosing a trade war is surely the wrong prescription, in the end you will only hurt others and yourself," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
"China will certainly make an appropriate and necessary response," Wang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the Communist Party's annual parliamentary session.
On Wednesday, at the World Trade Organisation, China led a group of 18 members urging Trump to scrap the planned tariffs, with its representative saying the levies would pose a systemic threat to the rules-based global trading system.
US imports from China of steel and aluminium make up a small proportion of its total imports from the world's second largest economy.
But the tariffs may be the first foray in the brewing American trade war with Beijing.
In coming weeks, the Trump administration plans to issue a report on China's intellectual property practices expected to hammer China and possibly bring about further tariffs on a wider range of Chinese imports.
"The US is acting swiftly on Intellectual Property theft. We cannot allow this to happen as it has for many years!" Trump tweeted hours before Wang took the stage in Beijing.
Trump also took to Twitter to say the US had asked China to "develop a plan for the year of a One Billion Dollar reduction in their massive Trade Deficit with the United States."
"We look forward to seeing what ideas they come back with. We must act soon!" Trump said.
The amount is a drop in the bucket when compared with the record $375.2 billion trade deficit the US racked up with China last year.
Averting a trade war
Trump's tweets follow China's moves to resolve the simmering trade tensions.
While Beijing has launched warning shots - like trade investigations into US goods such as sorghum, and hinted it could even take on soybeans, its largest US import - officials have worked to find a peaceful resolution.
President Xi Jinping sent his top economic aide, Liu He, to Washington to discuss trade issues last week on the heels of a similar visit by state councillor Yang Jiechi last month.
But Washington has shown little interest in negotiating, with Liu's visit resulting in few major breakthroughs beyond a commitment to further talks on trade issues.
Tuesday's resignation of Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn - who had held talks with Liu during his visit - also throws cold water on the negotiations.
His departure leaves "nationalist" advisors like arch China sceptic Peter Navarro, author of "Death by China", and Commerce boss Wilbur Ross with the president's ear.
Last week, Trump said "trade wars are good, and easy to win" when the US is losing billions on trade.
In Beijing, officials continue to search for a way out.
"The lessons of history show engaging in a trade war is never the right way to resolve problems," said foreign minister Wang.
Trade data released by China's customs administration on Thursday shows its massive trade surplus with the US - the root of Trump's ire - far from finding a more even level.
The surplus with the US stood at $21 billion in February, China's official data showed, more than double the $10.4 billion surplus registered in February of last year.
"The bigger picture is that while China's trade surplus with most of the world has declined during the past year...its surplus with the US has continued to expand" said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China Economist at Capital Economics in a note.
February's surplus did edge downwards from the $21.9 billion recorded in January and $25.6 billion from December.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Tokyo - Japanese authorities on Thursday ordered two cryptocurrency exchanges to suspend operations as part of a clampdown following a massive hack that saw thieves steal hundreds of millions of dollars in virtual currency.
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) said in a statement it had ordered FSHO and Bit Station, exchanges based in Yokohama and Nagoya, to temporarily halt their operations for a month from Thursday.
The agency alleged that FSHO "does not have a proper system to monitor trading and has not given training to its employees," while an employee of Bit Station "diverted digital currency deposited by clients for his personal use."
Authorities also ordered five other exchanges, including Coincheck, to improve their business practices.
Coincheck was already slapped with sanctions in January following the hack of its systems, which was one of the largest of its kind and resulted in the disappearance of NEM cryptocurrency worth $530 million
At a press conference, Coincheck said it would start reimbursing customers affected by the theft and aim to restart its operations from next week, adding that details would be announced later on the firm's website.
The company, whose offices were searched by authorities last month, has pledged to reimburse about $400 million to all 260,000 customers who lost their holdings of NEM, then the 10th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.
Coincheck chief operating officer Yusuke Otsuka said the company's system was breached after several staff members opened emails containing malware.
The firm had failed to upgrade its systems to keep up with the rapid expansion of the cryptocurrency market, he said.
Following the fresh FSA order, Coincheck vowed to "thoroughly review its management", take measures to protect its depositors, and deal with money laundering and terrorist funding.
It also said it would rebuild its internal network and strengthen restrictions on access to its server.
Asked whether the firm's top managers would consider resigning to take responsibility for the incident, Coincheck chief executive Koichiro Wada said: "We are in a process of review, that includes that (option)."
In February, seven plaintiffs - two companies and five individuals - filed a lawsuit against Coincheck seeking the reimbursement of 19.53 million yen ($184,000) in lost virtual currency and further compensation for interest lost due to the hack.
Thieves syphoned away 523 million units of the cryptocurrency NEM from Coincheck during the January 26 hack, which exceeded the $480 million in bitcoin stolen in 2014 from another Japanese exchange, MtGox.
That hack prompted Japan to issue new regulations, requiring exchanges to obtain a licence from the FSA, but Coincheck was allowed to continue operating while the agency was reviewing its application.
As many as 10,000 businesses in Japan are thought to accept bitcoin, and bitFlyer - the country's main bitcoin exchange - saw its user base grow beyond one million in November.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Tokyo - Japan's economy is growing at a faster clip than initially estimated, the government said on Thursday, as the world's third-biggest economy notched up its longest period of expansion since the "bubble" days of the 1980s.
Gross domestic product expanded 0.4 per cent in the October-December period, the Cabinet Office said, a spectacular upwards revision from its initial estimate of 0.1-per cent growth.
The figures also confirmed the eighth consecutive quarter of expansion, the longest run since the 1980s when the Japanese economy was the envy of the world.
Thursday's figure was also higher than market expectations of 0.2 per cent growth compiled by Bloomberg News.
For the calendar year 2017, the economy grew 1.7 per cent after a 0.9 per cent in 2016.
Japan has enjoyed a period of largely export-driven growth, helped by a recovering global economy.
It has also got a shot in the arm from domestic demand spurred by infrastructure upgrades ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games.
However, with wage growth and consumption persistently lukewarm, the economy is still battling to make a clear break from deflation.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who looks set to stay at the helm until 2023, has vowed to maintain a loose monetary policy given still weak inflation.
The latest figure will not likely to have any significant impact on the central bank's policy which is widely expected to be kept unchanged in the two-day board meeting through on Friday, analysts said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Santiago - Eleven Asia-Pacific nations on Thursday are to sign a slimmed-down trade pact to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump seeks to raise them after withdrawing from the deal last year.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have represented 40 per cent of the global economy and nearly one-quarter of its trade, was left for dead after Trump pulled out to pursue his "America First" agenda before the TPP could take effect.
But the revamped deal, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is still a significant achievement that sends a message of openness, its supporters said ahead of the signing ceremony in Santiago, Chile.
The pact will include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, representing together 13.5 per cent of global gross domestic product.
The 11 states form a market of 500 million people, greater than that of the European Union's single market.
"While taxes are going to be applied to certain products and there is a threat of a trade war, we are going to give a signal of openness," said Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz.
"It's the most important free trade agreement and the most rigorous that has been signed until now in the world."
The deal will be finalised in the same week that Trump has risked a global trade war over his decision to introduce tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
Former president Barack Obama's administration pushed for the TPP as a counterweight to growing Chinese commercial power. It not only cut tariffs but required members to comply with a high level of regulatory standards in areas like labor law and environmental protection.
Fernando Estenssoro, of Chile's University of Santiago, says the revamped pact will be "a type of suicide" for the United States.
Washington's absence leaves an open path for China-which remains excluded from the deal-as it negotiates separately with Asian countries and New Zealand.
The CPTPP aims to slash tariffs among the 11 members and foster trade to boost growth.
Felipe Lopeandia, Chile's top trade negotiator, said the deal will "send a political signal to the world and to the United States itself, that this is a global agreement."
It is one which remains hugely significant, said Ignacio Bartesaghi of the Catholic University of Uruguay's business school.
"There is no trade agreement involving that number of countries, and one that has 30 chapters which deal with all the most modern topics of international trade," Bartesaghi said.
Most provisions of the original agreement remain, except those related to intellectual property originally inserted at the demand of US negotiators.
"The CPTPP will establish a new standard for other regional economic integration agreements, and even for future negotiations in the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and in APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)," said Chile's foreign ministry, which is hosting Thursday's ceremony.
Chile said membership of the new pact will improve access to markets currently responsible for 17 per cent of its total exports.
Mexico and Peru will also get better entry to countries on the other side of the Pacific.
"It means an increase in our potential market and the possibility that our people can access more products," said Mario Mongilardi, head of Lima's chamber of commerce.
The pact will come into force 60 days after it is fully ratified by six of the 11 members.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
New York, US - Coca-Cola plans to launch its first ever alcoholic drink in Japan, in a suprising departure for a US company identified with cola and other non-alcoholic beverages.
While Coca-Cola dabbled in the wine business in the 1970s, the Japanese experiment is "unique" in the company's 125-year history, said Coca-Cola Japan president Jorge Garduno.
The new offering will be in Japan's growing "Chu-Hi" category of beverages, Garduno said in a recent interview posted to the company's website.
"This is a canned drink that includes alcohol; traditionally, it is made with a distilled beverage called shochu and sparkling water, plus some flavoring," he said.
Chu-Hi drinks come in a range of flavors such as grape, strawberry, kiwi and white peach and sometimes replace shochu with vodka.
The drink, which usually has between three and nine per cent alcohol and is marketed by leading Japanese beverage companies such as Asahi, Kirin and Takara, is especially popular with young consumers and women.
"We haven't experimented in the low alcohol category before, but it's an example of how we continue to explore opportunities outside our core areas," Garduno said.
But Garduno said the launch of Chu-Hi drinks should not be seen as a harbinger of the company's intentions elsewhere.
"It makes sense to give this a try in our market," he said.
"But I don't think people around the world should expect to see this kind of thing from Coca-Cola. While many markets are becoming more like Japan, I think the culture here is still very unique and special, so many products that are born here will stay here."
Still, the push is part of a broader campaign by Coca-Cola to diversify beyond sodas at a time when consumers in the US and other developed markets are backing off sweet drinks and diet colas out of health concerns.
Leading non-cola products in the company's portfolio include Honest tea, Dasani bottled water, the flavored Vitamin Water and the Powerade sports drink.
Coca-Cola in 1977 sought to diversify into wine, purchasing Taylor Wines of New York and establishing Wine Spectrum that comprised Sterling Vineyards and Monterey Vineyard.
But Coca-Cola exited the venture six years later, selling Spectrum for $200 million.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Hong Kong - A softer tone on threatened tariffs from the White House helped Asian markets rise on Thursday, continuing a week of volatility sparked by fears of a global trade war.
Hong Kong added 1.5 per cent -having fallen one per cent Wednesday- and Sydney climbed 0.7 per cent, while Seoul surged 1.3 per cent. Singapore, Wellington and Taipei were also sharply up.
Shanghai gained 0.5 per cent as a report showed Chinese exports surged a blistering 44.5 per cent in February but imports were up a disappointing 6.3 per cent. The country's trade surplus with the US, a key touchstone with Trump, also narrowed month-on-month but is still double last February's figure.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
ThuCls PvsCls
Tokyo Nikkei225 21368.07 21252.72
Hong Kong HangSeng 30654.52 30196.92
Sydney All Ords 6046.6 6005.4
Jakarta JSX Comp 6443.02 6368.26
Kuala L Composite 1839.62 1837.9
Seoul KOSPI 2433.08 2401.82
Shanghai A 3445.10 3426.61
Shanghai B 328.64 327.78
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Indian Wells, US - Five-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova suffered a shock defeat on Wednesday to Japanese No. 1 Naomi Osaka, losing her opening match at the WTA Indian Wells tournament 6-4, 6-4.
The former world number one, and twice a winner in the California desert, Sharapova was one of the tournament's major attractions after missing the last two events.
"I wanted to do well here and not just because I won this event a couple times," Sharapova said.
"I would have loved to stay longer it is just not going to happen this year."
Sharapova made six double faults, won just 25 per cent of her second serve points and had her serve broken five times.
The 20-year-old Osaka won 75 per cent of her first-serve points as she needed 95 minutes to win the only night session match.
For Sharapova this loss is another reminder that it's back to the drawing board for the Russian as she makes her way back from a 15-month drugs ban.
This is her second first round loss in a row after she withdrew from the Dubai tournament with a forearm injury.
In her only Grand Slam appearance this year, Sharapova reached the third round of the Australian Open before losing to Angelique Kerber.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Hong Kong - Japan and Sunwolves coach Jamie Joseph said on Thursday that his players will soon reap the benefits of him being able to "roll up his sleeves" and get stuck in on the training pitch.
Former All Black Joseph, who has coached Japan since 2016, replaced Filo Tiatia at the Tokyo-based Sunwolves in September.
He said that working daily with the players will boost both the Super Rugby side this season and the Japan national team as they prepare for their home World Cup next year.
"The main reason being involved in the Sunwolves for myself and the other coaches is really to get more time with the players to develop our game," Joseph said via videolink from South Africa where his side will face the Coastal Sharks in Durban on Saturday.
The Sunwolves will play a "home" game in Hong Kong for the first time this season when they face South Africa's Western Stormers at Mongkok Stadium on May 19.
"The workload to do both jobs and other things is really challenging, but to get in here and roll up our sleeves with the coaching team just outweighs the negatives," said Joseph.
The Sunwolves won only three Super Rugby matches in their first two seasons in the competition and have lost both their opening matches this year.
But Joseph predicted an upswing soon. "We are faced with a few injuries, which are always a part of Super Rugby," he said.
"The competition goes for six months. In the next two to three weeks we will start to see some of our players coming back into the set-up," said Joseph.
"The (Auckland) Blues have lost their first two games, (Wellington) Hurricanes lost their first game, there is no doubt that we will see them towards the top end of the ledger later in the season."
The New Zealander coached the Otago Highlanders to the Super Rugby title in 2015 and has set lofty targets for both his teams - a top-five finish for the Sunwolves this year and Japan reaching the knockout phase at the World Cup.
He has a hard act to follow: in 2015 under Eddie Jones the Brave Blossoms famously beat South Africa but became the only team in World Cup history to win three matches and fail to progress from their pool.
"I'm focused on the calibre of rugby we're playing," said Joseph of the national team.
"We want to be a team that is exciting and also plays a style of rugby that fits the personalities of the side.
"We are not South Africa, Australia or New Zealand, we are Japan and Super Rugby is the vehicle that will help us develop our game and perform in the World Cup."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Bangkok - Elephants tromped across a manicured pitch in Bangkok on Thursday in the kick-off of a polo tournament raising money for the animals, who are celebrated as a national symbol but often subject to abuse.
Dozens of elephants were trucked down to the Thai capital for the four-day King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, an annual charity event that brings players from around the world to a field on the banks of the Chaophraya river.
During lumbering matches that resemble a slow-motion version of horse polo, handlers - known as "mahouts" - steer the animals while players wielding extra-long mallets take aim at a small white ball rolling underfoot.
The cup, now in its 16th year, has raised $1.5 million for charities that help Thailand's wild and domesticated elephants, according to event host Anantara Hotel.
The tournament has faced criticism in the past from animal rights activists, who say mahouts must inflict pain on the elephants to manoeuver them around the pitch and provoke crowd-pleasing roars.
But event organisers insist the competing elephants - which include both animals who work in Thailand's tourism industry and others who are domesticated but unemployed - receive plush treatment and plenty of time to rest.
"They are elephants that may normally work in camps somewhere...and our aim is to bring them here for a week of vacation so to say. We have our vets here, they are being well fed, they're having a very good time," Tim Boda, one of the event's organisers, said.
"They come and play maximum about 35 minutes per day," he added.
The money raised from last year's competition was donated to trainings for mahouts and vets, plus projects aimed at mitigating conflict between wild elephants and Thai villagers, according to event organisers.
A 2017 report by World Animal Protection found Thailand to be the global epicentre of the elephant tourism industry, in which businesses charge visitors for a chance to ride and bathe the beasts.
The kingdom employs twice as many pachyderms - 2,198 - in its tourism sector as the rest of Asia combined, with most kept in poor conditions, the report said.
Animal rights groups have long criticised the lucrative industry as inhumane, with many elephants relegated to lives on the end of a chain.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Shanghai - Oscar said he's hoping to force his way back into the Brazil squad for this year's World Cup after the former Chelsea star made it five goals in two games for Shanghai SIPG.
The attacking midfielder, who moved to the Chinese Super League (CSL) last year for an Asian-record 60 million euros from Chelsea, has not been picked for Brazil since October 2016.
But with the World Cup in Russia less than 100 days away, the 26-year-old has made a spectacular start to the new season in China, scoring a hat-trick in SIPG's opener at the weekend in an 8-0 thrashing of Dalian Yifang.
He followed that up with both goals in a 2-2 home draw with Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday and said afterwards: "I am very happy that I am in good form.
"I have played for the Brazilian national team for five years and this year is World Cup year so I think I have the opportunity to go for that.
"What I need to do is keep in good form for SIPG and keep playing the way I am now."
SIPG coach Vitor Pereira also pushed Oscar's hopes of ending his time in the international wilderness, saying: "Oscar is a player who can make me smile all the time during the game.
"Oscar's ability is beyond doubt. If I was coach of Brazil, he would definitely be selected.
"As the coach of SIPG, I am very happy working with him."
Oscar has 48 caps and 12 goals for Brazil, but national coach Tite appears unconvinced and already has a wealth of attacking options.
There were suggestions that Oscar ruined his chances of playing again for his country when he moved to China.
However, Tite started midfielder Renato Augusto of Beijing Guoan for Brazil's friendly against England in November, and previously selected Shandong Luneng forward Diego Tardelli.
Midfielder Paulinho was a mainstay of the Brazil team when he moved from Guangzhou Evergrande to Barcelona last summer.
SIPG striker Hulk has not played for Brazil since June 2016 but will also be hoping to catch Tite's eye as the clock counts down to the World Cup in June.
Brazil are in Group E in Russia with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
Min Max Forecast
Bangkok 21 30 Thunderstorms
Beijing -2 10 Partly sunny
Hanoi 14 22 Mostly sunny
Hong Kong 13 20 Sunny
Jakarta 25 31 Thunderstorms
Kuala Lumpur 23 35 Thunderstorms
Manila 25 32 Showers
Seoul -1 10 Partly sunny
Taipei 11 15 Dreary
Tokyo 4 15 Rain
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP
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