HIROSHIMA, Japan -- The Japanese city of Hiroshima on Wednesday held a ceremony at the Peace Memorial Park to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing, while citizens gathered at the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome to criticize the government's ongoing military buildup policies.
Since Tuesday evening, large crowds have gathered at the bombing site, holding banners that read "The Japan-U.S. alliance is a war alliance" and "Stop nuclear war," expressing grave concerns about Japan's continued military buildup and calling for concrete efforts to prevent a repeat of past wars. (Japan-Hiroshima-Protest)
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SEOUL -- South Korea will grant visa-free entry to Chinese group tourists for nine months beginning in late September as part of efforts to boost local tourism, the prime minister's office said Wednesday.
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok presided over a meeting to revitalize domestic tourism, deciding to allow Chinese group tourists to be exempted from visas from Sept. 29 this year to June 30 next year. (South Korea-China-Visa)
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KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could be impacted by zero-duty access for over 1,300 industrial products from the U.S., a business group representing the country's SMEs warned on Wednesday.
The country's long-term interests must be taken into account when opening the domestic market to foreign products without duties, the president of the Small and Medium Enterprises Association, William Ng, said in an interview with local media. (Malaysia-U.S. Tariffs-Impact)
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PHNOM PENH -- Thailand's legal action against Cambodia for using military forces and weapons to violate its sovereignty is baseless and politically motivated and lacks incredible basis, a Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Cambodian Foreign Ministry's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Chum Sounry said this legal measure is entirely baseless and represents a deliberate attempt to divert both domestic and international public attention from Thailand's hostile policy against Cambodia. (Cambodia-Thailand-Conflict) Enditem
