North Korea holds rallies denouncing US, warns of nuclear war - CNA

SEOUL: North Korea held mass rallies in Pyongyang where people shouted slogans vowing a "war of revenge" to destroy the United States, as it marked the 73rd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, state media reported on Monday (Jun 26).

About 120,000 working people and students took part in the rallies held across the capital on Sunday, state news agency KCNA reported.

Photos released by state media showed a stadium crowded with people holding placards reading "The whole US mainland is within our shooting range" and "The imperialist US is the destroyer of peace".

Sunday's anniversary came amid concerns Pyongyang could soon conduct another launch of its first military spy satellite to boost monitoring of US military activities after its first attempt ended in failure on May 31.

North Korea now had "the strongest absolute weapon to punish the US imperialists" and the "avengers on this land are burning with the indomitable will to revenge the enemy," KCNA said.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has been testing various weapons including its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile, ramping up tension with the South and the South's main ally, the United States.

In a separate foreign ministry report, North Korea said the US was "making desperate efforts to ignite a nuclear war," accusing Washington of sending strategic assets to the region.

North and South Korea remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty.

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2023-06-26 00:54:36Z
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Russia crisis reveals 'real cracks' in Putin's authority: Blinken - CNA

While 16 months ago Russian forces were on Kyiv's doorstep, "now, over this weekend, they've had to defend Moscow, Russia's capital, against mercenaries of Putin's own making", Blinken told ABC News show This Week.

He said the Prigozhin drama has shown just how deep of a "failure" the invasion of Ukraine has been for Russia, and how much Putin, whose grip on power had appeared absolute in recent years, is "being challenged from within".

"Prigozhin ... has raised profound questions about the very premises of Russia's aggression against Ukraine in the first place, saying that Ukraine or NATO did not pose a threat to Russia, which is part of Putin's narrative."

Putin on Saturday accused Prigozhin of treason and vowed tough punishment, but then accepted an amnesty deal in which the Wagner chief would avoid prosecution and leave for neighbouring Belarus.

Blinken said that Moscow being "distracted" over the revolt may "help the Ukrainians on the battlefield" in the midst of Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces.

But "we can't speculate" on how the Wagner crisis will play out in Russia, he said.

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2023-06-25 14:55:00Z
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Singaporeans advised to defer all non-essential travel to Russia: MFA - CNA

“In past months, there have been incidents of shellings in Belgorod, drone attacks in Moscow, and a bombing in St Petersburg,” MFA said, adding that Singaporeans in Russia should avoid inter-state travel for the time being.

Given the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, MFA said it continues to advise Singaporeans to defer all travel to Ukraine.

The Singapore embassy in Moscow on Saturday had also advised Singaporeans in Russia to remain indoors amid an "unstable" security situation.

"In light of these developments, the Singapore Embassy advises all Singaporeans in Russia to remain indoors until the situation is clearer," said the Singapore embassy in Moscow.

"We also reiterate our earlier travel advisory of 25 October 2022 for Singaporeans to defer all travel to Russia’s Krasnodar Territory and regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov," it added.

MFA said Singaporeans are strongly advised to remain vigilant and monitor local news closely.

They should take necessary precautions for their personal safety and immediately eRegister with MFA if they have not done so.

Singaporeans in Russia who require consular assistance should contact the Singapore embassy in Moscow at +7 499 241 37 02 during office hours or via its 24-hour emergency hotline at +7 906 009 00 69.

MFA's 24-hour duty office can be contacted at +65 6379 8800/6379 8855.

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2023-06-25 14:28:51Z
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China's university exams: Self-made millionaire fails to make the cut for 27th time - CNA

BEIJING: After failing to achieve a high enough score on China's dreaded college entry exam for the 27th time, 56-year-old Liang Shi is beginning to wonder if he will ever make it to his dream university.

Liang, a self-made millionaire, has taken the gruelling "gaokao" exam dozens of times over the past four decades, hoping to earn a place at top-tier Sichuan University and fulfil his ambition of becoming "an intellectual".

By most measures, Liang has had a successful life - he worked his way up from a menial job on a factory floor to establishing his own construction materials business, making millions of yuan in the process, but his university dreams have so far eluded him.

In his quest for a prestigious higher education, he has put in 12-hour study days, abstained from drinking and playing mahjong, and endured the media mocking him as the "gaokao holdout", as well as online suspicion that it is all a publicity stunt.

But despite months of living like "an ascetic monk", this year Liang was 34 points short of the provincial baseline for getting into any university.

"Before I got the result, I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to get a high enough score to enter an elite university," he told AFP.

"But I didn't expect to not make it into the ordinary ones."

Shortly before 10pm (10pm, Singapore time) on Friday - along with hundreds of thousands of high-school students across southwestern Sichuan province - the grey-haired businessman carefully typed in his exam identification information and nervously waited to find out how he'd done.

Several local media reporters live streaming the scene were also avidly checking for updates - and from their disappointed expressions, Liang knew before he even saw the screen himself that the result was not ideal.

"It's all done for again this year," he said to himself. "It's very regrettable."

In the past, Liang's repeated misses failed to deter him.

Every time he fell short, he vowed to try again the next year.

Now, for the first time in decades, he is wondering if his hard work will ever lead to anything.

"If I truly can't see much hope for improvement, there is no point doing it again. I really did work very hard every day," he said tiredly.

"It's hard to say whether I will keep on preparing for the gaokao next year," he admitted.

But a life without gaokao preparation is almost unthinkable to him.

"It's a hard decision to make. I am not willing to give up either," he mused.

"(If I were to) stop taking the gaokao, every cup of tea I drank for the rest of my life would taste of regret."

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2023-06-25 12:33:00Z
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North Korea expresses support for Moscow over mutiny - CNA

It is the latest message of support from Pyongyang to Moscow since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which it has described as a US "proxy war" to destroy Russia.

As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has long held the line against increasing pressure on North Korea, which is under wide-ranging UN and Western sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine threatens the "stability of the Russian state".

"There will be implications for the Russia-China-North Korea bloc, and officials in Beijing and Pyongyang are no doubt taking notes to avoid repeating Moscow's mistakes," he added.

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2023-06-25 10:58:50Z
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Russian mercenary leader's exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin's power - CNA

Moscow had braced for the arrival of the Wagner forces by erecting checkpoints with armored vehicles and troops on the city’s southern edge. About 3,000 Chechen soldiers were pulled from fighting in Ukraine and rushed there early Saturday, state television in Chechnya reported. Russian troops armed with machine guns put up checkpoints on Moscow's southern outskirts. Crews dug up sections of highways to slow the march.

Wagner troops advanced to just 200km from Moscow, according to Prigozhin. But after the deal was struck, Prigozhin announced that he had decided to retreat to avoid “shedding Russian blood”.

Prigozhin had demanded the ouster of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whom Prigohzhin has long criticised in withering terms for his conduct of the 16-month-long war in Ukraine. On Friday, he accused forces under Shoigu's command of attacking Wagner camps and killing “a huge number of our comrades”.

If Putin were to agree to Shoigu’s ouster, it could be politically damaging for the president after he branded Prigozhin a backstabbing traitor.

The US had intelligence that Prigozhin had been building up his forces near the border with Russia for some time. That conflicts with Prigozhin’s claim that his rebellion was a response to an attack on his camps in Ukraine on Friday by the Russian military.

In announcing the rebellion, Prigozhin accused Russian forces of attacking the Wagner camps in Ukraine with rockets, helicopter gunships and artillery. He alleged that General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff, ordered the attacks following a meeting with Shoigu in which they decided to destroy the military contractor.

The Defence Ministry denied attacking the camps.

Congressional leaders were briefed on the Wagner buildup earlier last week, a person familiar with the matter said. The person was not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The US intelligence briefing was first reported by CNN.

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2023-06-25 05:29:29Z
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Couple sever ties with son who borrows from loan sharks 2 days after they clear his $10000 debt - AsiaOne

Enough is enough.

After helping to clear her son's $10,000 debt, a mother was horrified to learn that her son, surnamed Xiao, soon borrowed from five different groups of loansharks, who began harassing her and her husband as well as other relatives.

Both her and her husband have since declared their intention to sever ties with Xiao, indicating that they no longer have the ability to help him, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Speaking to reporters from the Chinese evening daily, Huang, 57, who was born in Malaysia, shared how Xiao is her son from a previous marriage, along with two other daughters. Her ex-husband died 22 years ago.

She later met and married her current husband, surnamed Su, 68, and moved to Singapore.

Huang indicated that Xiao was born and raised in Malaysia, but had previously worked illegally in New Zealand for several years. However, he became unemployed during the pandemic.

Xiao unexpectedly arrived in Singapore in June 2022, living alone while working at a recreation club as a server.

However, Huang found out that he had borrowed money from loan sharks in March this year, owing $11,000. Huang and her husband decided to cough up the sum to help Xiao.

[[nid:628063]]

"We helped him pay off about $10,000 on April 17, but who knew that two days later he would go on to borrow $1,000 each from five other groups of moneylenders," said Huang.

The couple shared that they took over Xiao's bank account after paying his debt, indicating that he had to go through them for any expenses required. It was an arrangement he agreed to, said Huang.

However, Xiao then lied to the bank that he lost his ATM card and requested for a new card. Thereafter, he withdrew the remaining thousands of dollars in his account.

Huang shared that both she and Su have no source of income and are no longer able to help Xiao, who has since become uncontactable.

The last time that she was in touch with Xiao was on June 13, said Huang. She added that in the past, he would always contact her to borrow money, without ever paying her back.

"He has disappeared for several days now and deleted all his social media accounts. He's already 33 years old and still has so many issues," Huang chided.

Huang stated that Xiao had denied having a gambling addiction, but never once gave them a reason for borrowing money.

"Whenever we asked him he would keep quiet. When we asked if it is because of gambling, he said no," the couple shared.

[[nid:634013]]

Sister, cousins and colleagues harassed

Not only have the couple been affected by Xiao's actions, Huang indicated that even his cousins in Malaysia and China, as well as his sister living in the UK have received threatening text messages from loan sharks.

Huang's son-in-law also claimed to have seen a post online with Xiao's face, indicating that he was a debtor.

Huang added that Xiao's colleagues have also been the receiving end of harassment by loan sharks. The manager of the restaurant he works at has also informed the couple that if her son continues to be uncontactable, his work permit will be revoked.

Huang described her son as a "frequent customer" of illegal moneylenders since the age of 18, sharing that he had borrowed from them at the time when he came to Singapore for work.

"He was renting a flat in Bedok with several others and the loan sharks went over and locked their gate. The other residents could not leave the flat and called me. That's when I found out he had borrowed from loan sharks," said Huang.

Su shared that he'd received incessant harassment calls from the loan sharks at the time and vaguely recalled helping Xiao pay off the debt of at least $1,200.

[[nid:629421]]

candicecai@asiaone.com

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2023-06-25 05:29:00Z
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