Xi and Ishiba meet amid tensions as China urges Japan to ‘properly handle’ history

Chinese president Xi Jinping told Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba that he hoped Japan would “properly” handle issues such as history and Taiwan after Tokyo expressed concerns about Beijing’s “increasingly aggressive military manoeuvres”.

The leaders of two rival nations met for the first time at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Lima, Peru on Saturday.

China‘s Xi said Beijing was ready to work with Tokyo to establish a “constructive and stable” relationship and that the two Asian countries should be “partners, not threats”.

In recent months, Chinese and Japanese officials have moved to resume several consultative talks for the first time in years, signalling a possible steadying of testy relations.

The Chinese foreign ministry said Mr Xi reiterated Japan’s need to “face its history” and address sensitive issues such as Taiwan sensitively.

China, which regards self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory, routinely conducts exercises around the island. While a full-scale invasion of Taiwan is unlikely, China has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Mr Ishiba reportedly raised “serious concerns” over China’s aggression in the South China Sea, the human rights situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang. He said the “peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is extremely important to Japan and the international community”.

Mr Ishiba told the Chinese leader that he wanted to build a “constructive and stable” relationship but asked him to reverse an import ban on Japanese seafood and strengthen safety measures for Japanese nationals in China in the wake of a stabbing attack.

China banned seafood imports from Japan last year over the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Former Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida said in September that the two sides have reached “a certain level of mutual understanding” and that China will start working toward easing the import ban.

According to a Japanese readout of the meeting, Mr Ishiba asked Mr Xi to release Japanese nationals detained in China.

China and Japan have been at odds in recent years over issues including territorial claims, trade tensions and Beijing’s anger over Tokyo’s decision to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, which triggered the seafood ban.

Sri Lanka president’s party wins landslide victory in snap elections

Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s coalition has secured a decisive victory in Sri Lanka’s snap general election, giving its new leftist president greater legislative powers to pursue policies to revive a country in the grip of a financial crisis.

Mr Dissanayake, an outsider in a country dominated by family politics for decades, comfortably won the island’s presidential election in September.

But his Marxist-leaning coalition, the National People’s Power (NPP), had just three of 225 seats before Thursday’s election, prompting him to dissolve parliament and seek a fresh mandate. This will help consolidate support for his economic relief initiatives aimed at alleviating the struggles of Sri Lanka’s poorest citizens amid an ongoing financial crisis.

The NPP won 107 seats, receiving almost 62 per cent or 6.8 million votes in Thursday’s election, putting them past the majority mark in the parliament, latest results on the Election Commission of Sri Lanka‘s website showed. A two-third majority appeared within reach of the coalition.

“We see this as a critical turning point for Sri Lanka,” Mr Dissanayake declared after casting his vote on Thursday.

“There is a change in Sri Lanka’s political culture that started in September, which must continue,” he said.

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, led by opposition figure Sajith Premadasa, was the NPP’s main rival in the election but fell far short of challenging Mr Dissanayake’s sweeping success. The SJB captured just 28 seats with roughly 18 per cent of the votes polled.

Voters directly elect 196 members to parliament from 22 constituencies under a proportional representation system. The remaining 29 seats will be allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote obtained by each party.

Celebrations were largely muted, with the exception of a few NPP loyalists who lit fireworks in the outskirts of the capital, Colombo.

Approximately 17 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote, with the election drawing a record number of political entities, as 690 parties and independent groups competed across the nation’s 22 electoral districts.

The vote grants lawmakers a five-year term in office, as the president seeks to address the economic and social fallout of the country’s ongoing debt and currency crises.

Traditionally, Sri Lankan voters support the president’s party in parliamentary elections held shortly after a presidential win, and this election appears no different.

Although the president holds considerable executive power, Mr Dissanayake still requires a parliamentary majority to fully appoint his cabinet and advance key economic policies. Among his ambitious goals is a plan to abolish Sri Lanka’s executive presidency, but for this, he needs a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Sri Lanka, a nation of 22 million, has been reeling from an economic crisis that erupted in 2022, which saw the country default on its debt due to a severe foreign currency shortage. This crisis drove the economy into a 7.3 per cent contraction in 2022, followed by a further 2.3 per cent drop last year.

However, the country has shown signs of recovery after securing a $2.9bn bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), though many citizens still struggle with the soaring cost of living.

In his economic strategy, Mr Dissanayake aims to soften some of the IMF’s stringent targets, hoping to cut back on income tax obligations and redirect funds towards welfare for those hit hardest by the downturn. Yet this approach has raised concerns among investors, who fear that attempts to alter the bailout terms could disrupt future IMF disbursements and jeopardise Sri Lanka’s target of reaching a primary surplus of 2.3 per cent of GDP by 2025.

The president’s ability to secure broad support in parliament will be critical as he moves forward with policies aimed at stabilising the economy while navigating international commitments and addressing the urgent needs of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable populations.

Additional reporting by agencies

North Korea’s Kim Jong-un orders mass production of suicide drones

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the mass production of exploding suicide drones designed to crash into targets after he guided a test of these aerial weapons, the state media reported on Friday.

The suicide attack drones, also known as loitering munitions, can be used to precisely attack enemy targets on the ground and in the sea and carry out a mission in different striking ranges, the North Korea state news agency KCNA reported.

The report claimed that the drones flew various routes and accurately struck targets. The images purportedly showed a BMW sedan being destroyed and old models of tanks being blown up.

“(Kim) underscored the need to build a serial production system as early as possible and go into full-scale mass production,” the report added.

Mr Kim said the competition for using drones for military purposes is accelerating around the world, with military authorities likely recognising their success in conflicts of various scale.

“The military authorities in the world will probably recognise that the drones are achieving clear successes in big and small conflicts. This is a trend that has emerged as an essential requirement in the military aspect nowadays,” it said.

Suicide drones have been used in escalating conflicts around the world, including in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, to prolong the conflict without expending the costly and deadly cruise and ballistic missiles.

“Such objective change urgently calls for updating many parts of military theory, practice and education,” Mr Kim said, according to KCNA.

The country’s latest military demonstration came as the US, South Korea and Japan engaged in combined military exercises involving advanced fighter jets and a US aircraft carrier in nearby international waters, in a display of their defense posture against North Korea.

This is not the first time the North Korean supreme leader is testing the practical use of suicide drones. In August, Mr Kim supervised a test of domestically-developed attack drones and said Pyongyang’s military should be equipped with them “as early as possible”.

Photos of the drone test showed a white drone with X-shaped tails and wings crashing into and destroying a target resembling South Korea’s K-2 main battle tank.

On the domestic front, North Korean drones have already been shot down by the South after Pyongyang sent them across the border flying for hours in key areas including Seoul and over the no-fly zone surrounding the South Korean presidential office.

The testing of the suicide drones amid North Korea’s rapidly developing military alliance with Russia has sparked concerns about Mr Kim receiving technical help from Moscow.

The leaders in the west are carefully watching North Korea and Russia’s recently ratified strategic partnership along military lines, where the two sides have vowed to come to each other’s aid.

Additionally, North Korea has deployed thousands of its troops to Russia’s western frontlines in the war with Ukraine without officially announcing its participation in Europe’s largest conflict since the Second World War.

South Korea’s opposition leader convicted of violating election law

A court in South Korea has convicted opposition leader Lee Jae-myung for violating election law, casting uncertainty over the prospects of him running for president in next year’s election.

The Seoul Central District Court found the Democratic Party leader guilty of making a false claim about a land development project in 2021 while campaigning for presidency.

The court handed him a jail term of a year, suspended for two years.

Lee, however, said he would appeal the ruling in a higher court. “It’s a conclusion that I cannot accept,” Lee told reporters as he left the court.

“There are still two more courts left in the real world, and the courts of public opinion and history are eternal,” he said, apparently referring to plans to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Lee is a firebrand liberal who lost the 2022 election to conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol by a thin margin.

He became a top contender to unseat Mr Yoon, whose approval ratings have plummeted to record-low levels as he grapples with his own political scandal.

Lee’s chances increased after a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in April and won enough seats in the parliament to pressure the conservative ruling People Power Party.

Considered one of the most polarising figures in South Korean politics, Lee, a former child factory worker who endured an industrial accident after dropping out of school, has often highlighted his rags-to-riches journey to political stardom.

However, his career has been overshadowed by scandals and allegations of links to organised crime.

In January, Lee survived a knife attack, sustaining a neck injury that required surgery.

In 2022, prosecutors indicted Lee on charges of making false claims about two contentious development projects in Seongnam, where he served as mayor from 2010 to 2018, during his campaign as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

On 25 November, the same court will rule on another case against Lee in which he is accused of suborning perjury by allegedly pressuring a Seongnam city employee to give false testimony in a different court case in 2019.

The testimony was meant to downplay his 2003 conviction that, when as a lawyer, he had helped a TV journalist impersonate a prosecutor to secure an interview with then-Seongnam Mayor Kim Byung-ryang over suspected corruption in 2002.

Lee has denied any wrongdoing and accused the government of Mr Yoon, a prosecutor-turned-president, of pursuing a political vendetta.

Additional reporting by agencies

Couple returns from work to discover koala in their bedroom

An Australian couple met an unexpected guest when they returned home from work – a koala bear waiting patiently in their bedroom.

Fran Dias Rufino, who moved to Australia from Brazil, and her husband Brunno Rufino, reached home around 12.30am on 13 November and found an adult koala bear sitting on the floor next to their bed.

In a video she shared on her social media, the koala can be seen looking at the couple for a few seconds before climbing onto a bedside table.

“Only in Australia. We came from work now and we just found a koala in my bedroom,” she wrote in her post. “I was so nervous that I forgot my English.”

“I was nervous and worried about how we would manage him to go out,” Ms Rufino told CNN.

“His face is like, ‘Why are you so dramatic?’” said one comment on her Instagram video. “I prefer a cute koala than a spider or something like this,” wrote another.

In a video she posted later, she explained that the koala eventually ran outside the house through an open door after her husband used a sweater to lure it away.

Responding to questions in further videos, she said that it was likely the koala had entered through an unlatched pet door, and that koalas had been seen on top of eucalyptus trees in her neighbourhood before.

Many questioned Ms Rufino’s caption where she described the koala bear as being “aggressive”. She said in a comment that the koala had tried to bite them.

Koalas are critically endangered marsupials native to Australia and only about 100,000 to 250,000 are left now, according to the country’s National Koala Monitoring Programme. They face threats such as dog attacks, diseases like Chlamydia, wildfires, habitat loss, and fragmentation.

The area where the Ruffinos live in south Australia have relatively stable numbers for the koala population, according to CNN.

A recent study found that a 50km stretch of the Peak Downs Highway is a “roadkill hotspot” for koalas with nearly 150 of the endangered marsupials killed in just one year. About 145 healthy koalas were struck and killed along this stretch in 2023 compared to an average of 350 elsewhere in Australia due to road accidents every year, researchers from the Central Queensland University found.

American tourist arrested for ‘defacing Tokyo’s iconic shrine’

An American tourist was arrested in Japan for allegedly defacing a traditional wooden gate at a famous Tokyo shrine by etching letters on it, police said on Thursday.

Steve Hayes, a 65-year-old American, was holidaying in Japan with his family and arrived in the country on Monday. He visited one of Tokyo’s most famous shrines, Meiji Jingu, and allegedly defaced one of its gate’s pillars as a prank by using his fingernails to scratch the surface, reported AFP.

The American tourist is suspected of carving five letters of the Latin alphabet in a space measuring roughly 5cm by 6cm on the pillar on Tuesday morning.

Mr Hayes was arrested on Wednesday “on suspicion of damaging property” at the shrine complex, a police spokeswoman said.

The arrest comes at a time Japan is facing a surge in unruly tourists visiting the country post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last month, a Chilean influencer posted a clip of doing pull-up exercises on a red gate at a different Japanese shrine, sparking online backlash for “disrespecting” the holy spot.

The influencer, with more than 139,000 followers on Instagram, later apologised in a video and said it “was not my intention to show disrespect”.

Japan is witnessing an unprecedented surge in the number of tourists visiting the east Asian country. The country has said it wants to welcome 60 million tourists a year in the next five-six years, doubling its own record from 2019, before the pandemic torpedoed its tourism economy.

Earlier this year, Japan set a record high for monthly tourists in June, as its weak yen fuelled a tourism boom that is becoming a key driver for the economy.

While traveller spending has been a boon for the economy, the masses of people at visitor hot spots has rankled some locals and prompted concerns among policymakers.

In July, authorities imposed admission fees and hiker limits on sacred Mt Fuji amid concerns of crowded trails and increased littering.

The mayor of Himeji in western Japan also suggested charging foreigners about six times the rate residents pay to enter the city’s famous samurai-era castle.

In another episode of unruly tourism, tourists eager to see Japan’s Mount Fuji were seen poking holes in a new barrier designed to prevent bad behaviour at a popular panoramic spot.

The installation of a black mesh screen in Fujikawaguchiko was completed and was carried out by officials in Yamanashi prefecture after locals became increasingly frustrated with the influx of foreign visitors who were littering, trespassing and breaking traffic rules in a bid to capture social media worthy perfect photos.

New Zealand may start charging visitors to iconic tourist sites

New Zealand is considering charging visitors to some of the country’s most iconic destinations in an effort to conserve them.

The government is seeking feedback on charging both domestic and foreign visitors to five iconic tourist sites, which collectively receive 2.6 million people a year.

The conservation minister called it the biggest potential change in conservation in over three decades.

“We’re also consulting on a proposal to introduce access charges for some public conservation areas,” Tama Potaka said. “Access fees are widely used internationally to help maintain popular sites sustainably.”

According to two discussion documents released on Friday, the government plans to charge each New Zealander $20 and each foreigner $30 access fee for Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Alpine Crossing, Franz Josef Glacier, Milford Sound, and Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.

The fees are expected to bring in about $71m a year. Charging only international visitors will yield about half that.

“New Zealand’s ecosystems are declining and nearly 4,000 native species are either at risk or threatened with extinction,” one of the documents states.

The Department of Conservation “is only just ‘holding the line’ at present and cannot do this everywhere”, it adds about the access fees.

Many countries such as the US, UK, Japan, and Australia charge access fees to control the number of visitors to tourist sites and raise revenue, the department points out.

The government will also discuss “modernising” the management of conservation land.

The proposal has drawn criticism from Forest and Bird, an independent conservation organisation, which said connecting to nature is part of being a Kiwi.

“Connection to te Taiao is a fundamental part of being a New Zealander. All New Zealanders should be guaranteed the ability to connect with our natural environment regardless of how much money they earn,” it said.

Mr Potaka said he did not hold “a firm view” on whether New Zealanders have an inalienable right to free access to public conservation land.

“I think the average Kiwi, in certain specific places, would be up for that discussion because the average Kiwi recognises that looking after those iconic places does not come cost-free,” he said.

Usagi weakens over Philippines but Taiwan braces for severe weather

Typhoon Usagi weakened over the Philippines on Thursday afternoon but was still expected to bring damaging winds to parts of Taiwan early Friday morning.

Packing sustained winds of 132mph, the typhoon could uproot small trees and tear off roof shingles, forecasters said. Heavy rains accompanying the storm were likely to result in flash flooding in low-lying and inland areas, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

Usagi, named Ofel in the Philippines, continued its west-northwest track across the Philippine Sea early on Wednesday, moving towards Luzon. As of 11am local time on Wednesday, the centre of the storm was located nearly 722km east of the capital city, Manila.

It was forecast to approach the Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon before making landfall on the Camiguin Island later in the day.

The storm was expected to move close to the Batanes province early on Friday, shift northeastward, weaken to a tropical storm and approach Pingtung county in Taiwan by the afternoon.

The storm could then move towards Japan’s Miyako Islands in Okinawa Prefecture late on Saturday, forecasters said, and weaken further to a tropical depression by early Monday.

Philippine authorities evacuated people in Cordillera, Ilocos and Cagayan valley regions even as much of the northern and central parts of the country were still recovering from devastation caused by recent storms Trami, Kong-rey, Yinxing and Toraji.

The Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, and even US territories like Guam are frequently battered by storms during the typhoon season from July to mid-December.

Severe weather could cause disruptions in business operations, transportation and utilities in the affected regions, authorities warned, with some roads and bridges potentially becoming impassable.

Regional airports could experience flight delays or cancellations and ports might face temporary closures.

In a rare occurrence, four storms have been simultaneously active in the Western Pacific Ocean this month. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, this is the first time since records began in 1951 that so many storms have been present in the Pacific basin during November.