Jhelum, Kashmir Family members and relatives of boat accident victims mourn near the accident site, as a rescue operation continues in Jhelum, the outskirts of Srinagar. At least four people drowned as a boat carrying minors capsized, with several passengers still missing Photograph: Farooq Khan/EPA The Guardian
Tag: South Korea
The Guardian view on global women’s rights: Saudi Arabia isn’t the only problem | Editorial
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing declaration, a landmark blueprint for advancing women’s rights. It marked the mainstreaming of feminist concerns, with 189 states signing up to the text at a conference in China, where Hillary Clinton, then first lady of the US, declared that “women’s rights are human rights”. Yet when the United Nations celebrates that achievement, its commission for promoting and evaluating progress on gender equality will be steered by Saudi Arabia. A country known for its abysmal record on women’s rights was chosen…
The Many Challenges Facing Apple
For more than a decade, Apple could do almost no wrong. The iPhone made it the world’s most valuable company. The App Store helped launch businesses such as Uber and Airbnb. And the company’s new products made it a player in health, Hollywood and finance. Now, the difficulties are piling up. The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday for giving its own products advantages that it deprived rivals of having. The suit is the latest in a series of actions brought against the company by regulators…
China’s Exports Surge Are Drawing a Global Backlash
China’s factory exports are powering ahead faster than almost anyone expected, putting jobs around the world in jeopardy and setting off a backlash that is gaining momentum. From steel and cars to consumer electronics and solar panels, Chinese factories are finding more overseas buyers for goods. The world’s appetite for its goods is welcomed by China, which is enduring a severe downturn in what had been the economy’s biggest driver of growth: building and outfitting apartments. But other countries are increasingly concerned that China’s rise is coming partly at their…
Visualised: how all of G20 is missing climate goals — but some nations are closer than others
Not a single G20 country has policies in place that are consistent with the Paris agreement’s goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C and meeting their “fair share” of emissions reduction. The assessment, based on data up to 5 December provided by the Climate Action Tracker, comes as leaders gather in Dubai for the Cop28 conference. It assesses each country against its “fair share” contribution to the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, taking into account considerations such as the historical emissions of higher-income countries, which may increase their responsibility…
China, Japan and South Korea, amid regional rivalries, line up leaders’ summit
The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea will meet, possibly next year, in the latest attempt to ease regional tensions heightened by North Korea’s weapons programme and a more visible US military presence. During a meeting in the South Korean port city of Busan on Sunday, the three Asian countries’ foreign ministers agreed to step up cooperation in key areas, including security, and to lay the groundwork for what would be the first leaders’ summit in four years. The weekend’s trilateral meeting – the first between the neighbours’ foreign…
South Korea Sentences Dissident Who Fled China on a Jet Ski
After being held for months on an immigration violation, a Chinese dissident who traveled from China to South Korea on a Jet Ski-type vehicle in August was given a suspended sentence on Thursday. His prospects remain unclear. The district court in Incheon, South Korea, handed the activist, Kwon Pyong, 35, a suspended jail term of one year with a two-year probation period, effectively ending his custody. For the past three months, Mr. Kwon has been in detention in Incheon. After Mr. Kwon made the dangerous trip, crossing around 200 miles…
Xi critic who fled on jetski to South Korea will die if sent back to China, says father
The father of a Chinese dissident detained in South Korea said his son will die if he is sent back to China, a country he escaped from on a jetski in a life-threatening journey in August. A court in South Korea will decide on Thursday the fate of Kwon Pyong, who is charged with violating the immigration control act. Kwon, 35, pleaded guilty and appealed for leniency as prosecutors requested a sentence of two and a half years, which experts say is unusually harsh. In the first public comments by…
Samsung and SK Hynix Get U.S. Waivers From Export Curbs
The South Korean government said on Monday that the country’s semiconductor manufacturers have secured waivers from U.S. government rules that threatened to limit their businesses in China. At issue is the continuation of licenses granted last year by the U.S. Commerce Department to Samsung and SK Hynix, the two dominant South Korean chip makers. The licenses effectively suspended 2022 controls on exports of semiconductors and chip making equipment to China. South Korea, an ally in America’s chip war with China, relies heavily on its semiconductor sector for jobs and revenue.…
What the U.S.-China Chip War Means for a Critical American Ally
Samsung and SK Hynix, the semiconductor titans of South Korea, have spent over $52 billion to build up their operations in China. Business with China has long made up a sizable portion of their sales. But the ties between South Korea’s chip companies and China are under strain from geopolitics. South Korea, which relies heavily on its semiconductor sector for jobs and revenue, is wedged between China and the United States, South Korea’s longstanding ally, in their trade war over technology. To curb China’s access to advanced chips that could…