Portal:Asia

Typhoon Maemi (pronounced [mɛ.mi]) or (pronounced [ma.emiː]), known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pogi, was the most powerful typhoon to strike South Korea since record-keeping began in the country in 1904. Maemi formed on September 4, 2003 from a disturbance in a monsoon trough in the western Pacific Ocean. It slowly intensified into Tropical Storm Maemi while moving northwestward, becoming a typhoon on September 8. That day, favorable conditions facilitated more rapid strengthening; the storm developed a well-defined eye and reached peak maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h (121 mph). While near peak intensity, Maemi decelerated and began turning to the north-northeast. Soon after, the eyewall passed over the Japanese island of Miyako-jima on September 10 and produced an air pressure reading of 912 mbar (26.9 inHg), the fourth-lowest recorded in the nation. Due to warm waters, Maemi was able to maintain much of its intensity before it made landfall just west of Busan, South Korea, on September 12. The typhoon became extratropical in the Sea of Japan the next day, although its remnants persisted for several days, lashing northern Japan with strong winds.

The typhoon first affected the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. On Miyako-jima, strong winds damaged 104 buildings and left 95% of residents without power. Maemi caused heavy rainfall there, with rates of 58.5 mm (2.30 in) in an hour and 402.5 mm (15.85 in) in 24 hours, the latter setting a record. One person died on Miyako-jima after being struck by airborne debris. Elsewhere in Japan, the storm caused flights to be canceled, and rainfall-induced landslides blocked roads. There were two other deaths in Japan, and damage totaled ¥11.3 billion yen (JPY, $96 million USD). Damage was heaviest in South Korea, particularly where it moved ashore. On Jeju Island, Maemi produced a peak wind gust of 216 km/h (134 mph) and a minimum pressure of 950 mbar (28 inHg), both setting records for the country; the pressure reading broke the longstanding lowest pressure set by Typhoon Sarah in 1959. Winds in Busan near the landfall location reached 154 km/h (96 mph), the second-highest on record. The port there sustained heavy damage, restricting exports in the months following the storm. Nationwide, the high winds destroyed about 5,000 houses and damaged 13,000 homes and businesses, leaving 25,000 people homeless. About 1.47 million households lost power, and widespread crop damage occurred, resulting in the poorest rice harvest in 23 years. Across South Korea, Maemi killed 117 people, and overall damage totaled ₩5.52 trillion won (KRW, US$4.8 billion). (Full article...)

Laos (/ˈlɑːoʊs/ (listen)), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or LPDR), is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.

Present-day Laos traces its historic and cultural identity to Lan Xang, which existed from the 13th century to the 18th century as one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. Because of its central geographical location in Southeast Asia, the kingdom became a hub for overland trade and became wealthy economically and culturally. After a period of internal conflict, Lan Xang broke into three separate kingdoms: Luang Phrabang, Vientiane and Champasak. In 1893, the three territories came under a French protectorate and were united to form what is now known as Laos. It briefly gained independence in 1945 after Japanese occupation but was re-colonised by France until it won autonomy in 1949. Laos became independent in 1953, with a constitutional monarchy under Sisavang Vong. A post-independence civil war began, which saw the communist resistance, supported by the Soviet Union, fight against the monarchy that later came under influence of military regimes supported by the United States. After the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the communist Pathet Lao came to power, ending the civil war. Laos was then dependent on military and economic aid from the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. (Full article...)

Alexander II's portrait on the obverse of a tetradrachm

Alexander II Theos Epiphanes Nikephoros (Ancient Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος Θεός Ἐπιφανής Νικηφόρος Áléxandros Theós Épiphanḗs Nikēphóros, surnamed Zabinas; c. 150 BC – 123 BC) was a Hellenistic Seleucid monarch who reigned as the King of Syria between 128 BC and 123 BC. His true parentage is debated; depending on which ancient historian, he either claimed to be a son of Alexander I or an adopted son of Antiochus VII. Most ancient historians and the modern academic consensus maintain that Alexander II's claim to be a Seleucid was false. His surname "Zabinas" (Ζαβίνας) is a Semitic name that is usually translated as "the bought one". It is possible, however, that Alexander II was a natural son of Alexander I, as the surname can also mean "bought from the god". The iconography of Alexander II's coinage indicates he based his claims to the throne on his descent from Antiochus IV, the father of Alexander I.

Alexander II's rise is connected to the dynastic feuds of the Seleucid Empire. Both King Seleucus IV (d. 175 BC) and his brother Antiochus IV (d. 164 BC) had descendants contending for the throne, leading the country to experience many civil wars. The situation was complicated by Ptolemaic Egyptian interference, which was facilitated by the dynastic marriages between the two royal houses. In 128 BC, King Demetrius II of Syria, the representative of Seleucus IV's line, invaded Egypt to help his mother-in-law Cleopatra II who was engaged in a civil war against her brother and husband King Ptolemy VIII. Angered by the Syrian invasion, the Egyptian king instigated revolts in the cities of Syria against Demetrius II and chose Alexander II, a supposed representative of Antiochus IV's line, as an anti-king. With Egyptian troops, Alexander II captured the Syrian capital Antioch in 128 BC and warred against Demetrius II, defeating him decisively in 125 BC. The beaten king escaped to his wife Cleopatra Thea in the city of Ptolemais, but she expelled him. He was killed while trying to find refuge in the city of Tyre. (Full article...)

• ... that a few months after Lü Peijian was appointed China's auditor general, he announced the discovery of more than US$1.6 billion worth of tax evasion, fraud, and waste?
• ... that comedian Atsugiri Jason became the first non-Japanese finalist on the R-1 Grand Prix in 2014?
• ... that a collection of kimono assembled by Nasser Khalili covers four periods of Japanese history?
• ... that the anandalahari is an Indian chordophone musical instrument used by religious singers of the Baul faith?
• ... that Liang Baibo and Yu Feng were among China's first female cartoonists?
• ... that the yawara is a Japanese weapon that is used for martial arts and was used by American police?
• ... that Gongnyong Ridge in Seoraksan National Park, South Korea, acquired its name (lit. 'Dinosaur Ridge') from its peaks looking as "vigorous and dynamic as a dinosaur rising from the ground"?
• ... that students participating in the 1968–69 Japanese university protests were known for ruthlessly interrogating and verbally abusing professors, sometimes for days on end?
• ... that the death of Uyghur writer Nurmuhemmet Tohti has been linked to mistreatment in the Xinjiang internment camps, a claim China denies?
• ... that Pennsylvania Treasurer-elect Stacy Garrity was nicknamed "The Angel of the Desert" in the Iraq War?

Updated: 1:33, 20 March 2022

8 April 2023 –

Police in Iran announce the installment of cameras in public places to identify and penalize women who do not observe dressing codes for hijab, while urging citizens to confront unveiled women. (Reuters)

7 April 2023 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict

An Italian tourist is killed and seven others are injured in a vehicle-ramming attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. The perpetrator is shot dead by police. (BBC News)

Two British-Israeli women are killed and their mother is injured in a drive-by shooting at their vehicle near the Hamra settlement in the occupied West Bank. (AP)

7 April 2023 – Insurgency in Balochistan

Pakistan announces the arrest of the founder of the Baloch Nationalist Army in the country's southwest. (AP via The Washington Post)

6 April 2023 – 2023 Israel–Lebanon shellings

At least 34 rockets are fired, four of which landed, from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel, injuring three people. Israel later fires artillery toward two Lebanese villages and the Gaza Strip, wounding a Palestinian child. (MENAFN)

6 April 2023 –

The Japanese Coast Guard reports that a Black Hawk military helicopter carrying ten crew members crashed near Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture. (Reuters)

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