BEIJING: China said yesterday it had lodged a formal complaint with the United States after the US Senate passed a resolution expressing concern about Chinese actions in the disputed East and South China Seas. The US resolution, passed on Monday, listed several examples of worrying Chinese behavior, including China’s issuing of an official map defining the contested South China Sea as within its national border and of Chinese surveillance ships entering waters disputed with Japan in the East China Sea. China has repeatedly urged the United States not to get involved in either dispute.
Flood hits ski resort project
SEOUL: Severe floods in North Korea have crippled a ski resort seen as a pet project of leader Kim Jong-Un, as workers rushing to repair the site ignored nearby towns, according to reports. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo daily on Wednesday said several buildings at the Masik resort had been buried in a landslide triggered by torrential rains that have killed 28 people nationwide according to the International Federation of the Red Cross Crescent Societies (IFRC). According to news site Daily NK, large swathes of farmlands and towns near the resort site were inundated as water and mud flowed down the ski slope which had been shorn of its trees.
Bird flu cases in Nepal
KATHMANDU: Nepal yesterday banned the sale of chicken after health workers found cases of bird flu at several poultry farms on the outskirts of the capital Kathmandu, officials said. Officials at Kathmandu District Animal Health Office said the government had imposed a week-long ban on the supply and sale of poultry products to prevent the H5N1 virus from spreading to humans. He said authorities could extend the ban unless the virus was under control within a week, adding that security forces had been deployed in markets to enforce the restrictions.
Vietnam to ban bloggers
HANOI: Communist Vietnam is to ban bloggers and social media users from sharing news stories online, under a new decree seen as a further crackdown on online freedom. Blogs or social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter — which have become hugely popular over the last few years in the heavily-censored country — should only be used “to provide and exchange personal information”, according to the decree. Many citizens prefer to use social media and blogs to get their information rather than the staid official press. AGENCIES
