North Korea reaches for familiar playbook in talks with Japan
Within the span of just two days, North Korea went from raising the prospect of a leaders summit with Japan to dismissing it outright, with leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister saying Pyongyang will refuse “any contact and negotiations” with Tokyo in the future.
Kim Yo Jong’s remarks on Tuesday, just a day after she revealed that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had requested a summit with her brother, were widely seen as part of a familiar playbook employed by the North as it seeks the upper hand in negotiations Tokyo hopes could eventually resolve the long-festering abductee issue and ease strained tensions, including over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
In remarks carried by state-run media Kim Yo Jong, a key adviser to her brother, said North Korea will refuse “any contact and negotiations” with Japan.
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China faces US$50 billion shortfall in Southeast Asia as belt and road funds miss their mark
A sizeable sum of infrastructure funding China has allocated to Southeast Asia has gone unfulfilled thanks to political instability in recipient countries, poor engagement with local stakeholders and a declining appetite for energy projects powered by fossil fuels, a new study from the Lowy Institute has found.
The gap between what Beijing has committed to and what it has delivered has raised “uncertainty” about the future of the China-led Belt and Road Initiative, where Southeast Asian nations are key participants, the Australian think tank said on Wednesday.
“This difference amounts to US$50 billion in unfulfilled project financing, with more than half allocated to projects that have been cancelled, downsized, or otherwise seem unlikely to proceed,” said Alexandre Dayant and Grace Stanhope, who co-wrote the report.
LG to invest $74.2 billion in AI, bio, batteries, Hyundai Motor Group pledges $50.4 bil. to future mobility
LG Group revealed plans to invest 100 trillion won ($74.21 billion), while Hyundai Motor Group pledged to invest 68 trillion won into new growth businesses, according to the two conglomerates, Wednesday.
Their plans reflect a determined effort to maintain a competitive edge in the increasingly challenging technological landscape marked by escalating threats of trade protectionism and geopolitical instability.
Under its ambitious drive, LG Group has unveiled an extensive investment roadmap for the next five years.
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As Julian Assange's legal saga drags on, the solution to it could lie outside court
Julian Assange's supporters have described his ongoing incarceration as "punishment by process".
And once again, the WikiLeaks founder — whose physical and mental health has deteriorated during the five years he's spent inside Belmarsh Prison in London — has seen the legal process to appeal his extradition to the US drawn out even further.
While Assange has not run out of options in the UK justice system yet, Tuesday's decision means a political solution for Assange's situation is more pressing than ever.
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$3b money laundering accused gets 6 new charges for submitting forged statements to Swiss bank
Vang Shuiming, one of the 10 accused in Singapore’s largest money laundering case, was handed six more charges on March 27.
Vang, 42, also known as Wang Shuiming, allegedly submitted forged financial statements from two companies – Xiamen Yetian Trading and Xiamen Likanghang Trading – to Bank Julius Baer & Co’s Singapore branch on July 19, 2022, as supporting documentation.
Bank Julius Baer & Co is a Swiss private bank that offers financing, investment advisory, custodial and wealth management services.
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News bits collected and drafted by:
Deepanjali Singh (BA IR 2nd year) (Region Head)
Gungun Thakur (BA IR 1st year)
Published by: Varsha Das (BA IR 2nd year)
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