Watch live updates from around seven locations in Asia here:https://www.facebook.com/events/511970869171863/ 

7:00-11:30 AM (UTC + 8, Beijing and Manila time)

6:00-10:30 AM (Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and Jakarta time)

5:00-9:30 AM (Dhaka time)

4:30-9:00 AM (Delhi time)

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A diplomatic source said the envoy wanted to make a low-key visit to update Thailand as a treaty ally on the situation after the latest North Korean missile test and the US reaction without putting more pressure on Bangkok.

Yun will reportedly meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Veerasak Futrakul tomorrow but was unlikely to meet Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, according to the source.

However, there has been some confusion about his schedule after South Korea’s Yonhap news reported on Tuesday that he would be in Thailand today and tomorrow for a meeting of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific in Chiang Mai.

Four officials from North Korea were expected to attend the same conference in the Thai northern province, Yonhap said.

However, the US Embassy in Bangkok denied the report, saying Yun did not plan to attend the Chiang Mai meeting.

“He will meet with a variety of Thai government stakeholders in Bangkok on December 14-15,” said US Embassy spokesperson Jillian Bonnardeaux.

The Thai Foreign Ministry has yet to clarify the agenda and has cancelled a weekly press briefing normally held every Thursday.

The US State Department said last week that Yun would visit Japan and Thailand this week to discuss the North Korea issue with officials in the two countries, but did not provide any details of his plans.

Thailand has stated clearly it will comply with United Nations resolutions on the issue, but take no further action.

Bangkok so far has suspended permits for Air Koryo flights to Thailand, prohibited North Korean coal imports and inspected “suspicious” ships.

Trade between Thailand and North Korea has dropped substantially. During the first nine months of 2017, it amounted to US$1.61 million (Bt52 million), a 94-per-cent drop from the same period in 2016, and a tiny 0.0004 per cent of Thailand’s total trade. Thai companies no longer have investments in North Korea.

The Global AgeWatch Index 2015 by HelpAge International assessed 96 countries to determine the best places for older adults to live. These countries include more than 90 per cent of the world’s population aged 60 and over.

Globally ranked 8th, Japan is the only Asian country that figures amongst the top ten countries favourable for growing old.

With aging as a critical societal issue, Japan has prepared well for it. Nursing homes, home helpers, welfare schemes for old, benefits for retirees, universal health insurance and social pensions  are some of the many measures in place in the country that contribute to the enabling environment for its aging population.

Australia is ranked 13 out of 96 countries. Another Asian country Thailand is ranked 34, as the country has revised and upgraded policies on aging in line with the Madrid Plan of Action for Aging.

Vietnam, Philippines and China ranks 41, 50 and 52 respectively on the list of best countries to live in over the age of 60. China has the largest population of older people in the world at 209 million people. The country established National Commission on Aging people that facilitates focus on the growing older population. Pension coverage and health insurance coverage has gone up to 75 per cent and 90 per cent respectively.

South Korea is ranked 60 out of 96 countries.

Sri Lanka has outperformed its South Asian neighbours at number 46. Bangladesh is ranked 67. Nepal is ranked one place above India at 70 due to the government’s social investment.

India is ranked at 71 out of 96 countries.​ India’s ranks low in income security domain with pension coverage to only 28% of its aging population. With projections stating that the aging population numbers will grow three fold from 100 million to 300 million by 2050, India needs to revise polices on its aging people. The older women in India are more vulnerable as they outlive men with meagre income or no income sources.

Mongolia and Indonesia ate ranked 72 and 74 respectively.

Cambodia is ranked 80. Laos introduced policies on aging in mid-2000s but the country still has lot to do to improve care for older people. It is ranked ​low at ​83.

With no firm policy in place for its growing population, Pakistan is ranked the worst with global rank of 92 out of 96 countries.

There are approximately 901 million people worldwide who are 60 and over​ and globally Switzerland is ranked the best country ​to ​live in if you’re 60 or older.

But even as Washington stressed the importance of a negotiated end to the standoff, Kim Jong-un vowed to make his nation “the strongest nuclear power and military power in the world.”

President Donald Trump has promised that Kim will not be allowed to complete his effort to develop nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching mainland US cities.

To this end, Tillerson has overseen a global diplomatic effort to isolate Pyongyang and stifle its economy through UN sanctions and, ultimately, the threat of US military force.

On Tuesday, in two public appearances, he warned that these efforts would continue until “the first bomb drops” and that Washington “simply cannot accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”

But he said the door to talks with Kim’s regime was open, and left the opening wider than he had before, backing away from his former insistence that Pyongyang accept in principle to disarm.

“We’re ready to have the first meeting without preconditions,” Tillerson told a meeting of the Atlantic Council policy forum.

“Let’s just meet and let’s talk about the weather if you want and talk about whether it’s going to be a square table or a round table if that’s what you’re excited about.

“But can we at least sit down and see each other face-to-face and then we can begin to lay out a map, a road map of what we might be willing to work towards,” he said.

“It’s not realistic to say we’re only going to talk if you come to the table ready to give up your program. They have too much invested in it.”

Some in Washington will see this as a climbdown.

Sanctions expert Anthony Ruggiero, of the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said talks should not begin until the US has a way to verify nuclear testing is not continuing.

“The Trump administration should insist that North Korea commit to denuclearization upfront to avoid the failed negotiations of the past,” he warned.

– Devastating conflict –

Earlier, in an end-of-year speech to State Department staff and US diplomats, Tillerson stressed the importance of the sanctions regime in forcing North Korea to the table.

Despite hopes that China will do more to cut off oil supplies, international action has forced North Korea’s fuel prices up by around a half and cost it $2.3 billion in lost exports, he said.

And Tillerson added that he would see it as a personal failure if his efforts came up short and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is forced to take military action to deny the North its arsenal.

But even if Tillerson remains “confident” that the US strategy is paying off, there was little sign of this in Pyongyang, where Kim gave a typically bellicose speech to workers.

According to North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, Kim said his country “will victoriously advance and leap as the strongest nuclear power and military power in the world.”

His latest boast came after the November 29 launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM, a missile which the North claimed could deliver a “super-large heavy warhead” anywhere on the US mainland.

Outside experts agree the rocket appears to have the range but some are skeptical that Pyongyang has the technology to allow the rocket to survive re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.

But US officials have been warning privately for months that Pyongyang is on the verge of a breakthrough, and Tillerson’s public confidence appears aimed at much at Trump as at Kim.

Both the US and North Korean leaders have a penchant for warlike rhetoric and personal invective that risks plunging east Asia into a devastating conflict that could leave millions dead.

– ‘Fire and fury’ –

Trump habitually refers to Kim as “Little Rocket Man” and has threatened to utterly destroy his regime with “fire and fury.” North Korea has branded Trump a mentally disturbed “dotard.”

In October, after Tillerson revealed he had open diplomatic channels to contact Pyongyang, Trump tweeted that his top diplomat was “wasting his time” trying to talk to Kim.

Further inflaming tensions, in the last week, the US and South Korea launched their biggest-ever joint air exercise, despite calls from China and Russia for a freeze in maneuvers.

Pyongyang slammed the drills as a provocation, accusing Washington of “revealing its intention to mount a surprise nuclear pre-emptive strike” on Kim’s administration.

The North has rattled the international community with a flurry of missile launches and its largest ever nuclear test in recent months in its bid to develop a warhead capable of striking the United States.

Kim told workers behind the recent test of a new missile Pyongyang said was capable of that feat, that his country “will victoriously advance and leap as the strongest nuclear power and military power in the world,” in a ceremony on Tuesday, according to state news agency KCNA.

His comments come as global powers scramble for a response to the crisis, with the US backing stringent economic and diplomatic sanctions on Kim’s regime to halt its nuclear drive.

But the North has continued to lob missiles, posing a major challenge to US President Donald Trump.

Fears of a catastrophic conflict with the nuclear-armed regime have spiked as the leaders have taunted each other, with the US President pejoratively dubbing his rival “Little Rocket Man.”

Tension flared anew in the flashpoint peninsula after the November 29 launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM, which the North claimed could deliver a “super-large heavy warhead” anywhere on the US mainland.

Many analysts suggest that the rocket is capable of reaching the US mainland but voice scepticism that Pyongyang has mastered the advanced technology needed to allow the rocket to survive re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.

Last month’s launch was the first test of any kind since September 15, and quashed hopes that the North may have held back in order to open the door to a negotiated solution to the nuclear standoff.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he was confident that Washington is doing all it can to force North Korea to discuss nuclear disarmament.

“As I’ve told people many times, I will continue our diplomatic efforts until the first bomb drops,” he said in a speech to the Atlantic Council policy forum.

But he also warned that the US military stands ready to act if necessary.

Washington has ramped up the pressure on the North and last week the United States and South Korea launched their biggest-ever joint air exercise.

Pyongyang slammed those manoeuvres as a provocation, accusing the drills of “revealing its intention to mount a surprise nuclear pre-emptive strike.”

“An explosion occurred at 8:45 am (0745 GMT), followed by a fire. Things are under control but according to preliminary reports there are several people injured,” police spokesman Edmund Tragschitz told AFP.

The Kronen-Zeitung daily reported on its website that 60 people were hurt and that several fire brigades from the surrounding area were called in.

The cause of the incident was not immediately clear.

The Baumgarten gas hub is Austria’s largest reception point and the main distribution hub for natural gas imports from Russia, Norway and other countries.

Located near Austria’s eastern border with Slovakia, it is also one of Europe’s most important gas hubs, handling some 40 billion cubic metres per year.//AFP

Police said Wu Yongning fell to his death from the Huayuan Centre, the tallest building in Changsha, on Nov 8.

The South China Morning Post reported on Monday (Dec 11) that Wu had stopped posting videos abruptly on microblogging site Weibo for more than a month.

Wu’s family told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald on Saturday (Dec 9) that he had taken part in a “rooftopping challenge” that promised 100,000 yuan (RM61,527) in prize money.

“He planned to propose to his girlfriend (the day after the challenge),” said Feng. “He needed the money for the wedding, and for medical treatment for his ailing mother.”

Wu, who was from Ningxiang in Hunan province, worked as a film extra before he turned to a career in rooftopping.

Wu attempting a stunt atop a skyscraper. PHOTO: WEIBO.

Wu was regularly featured in social media advertisements and live-streaming platforms. PHOTO: WEIBO.

In February this year, he started posting about his exploits on Weibo, amassing over a million followers. He regularly featured in social media advertisements and live-streaming platforms.

Wu relied only on “martial arts training and careful planning”, according to one of his posts on Weibo. PHOTO: WEIBO.

The Beijing News had reported that Wu’s girlfriend called the police on Nov 9, after he failed to return. The South Morning Post reported that Wu was known for attempting his daredevil feats without any safety equipment.

The rooftopping daredevil had stopped posting videos abruptly on microblogging site Weibo for more than a month. PHOTO: WEIBO.

He relied only on “martial arts training and careful planning”, according to one of his posts on Weibo. He had shared nearly 300 videos of his adventures atop various buildings in China.

According to the Asahi Shimbun daily, his daughter found him collapsed outside their house on Monday and called the emergency services. He later died of heart problems at a hospital in the northern city of Sado, according to the local government.

He deserted during a drunken night in 1965, crossing the heavily fortified border into North Korea from the South. He said later he was scared of being sent to Vietnam and thought North Korea would send him home.

Instead, he spent 39 years in Pyongyang, where he taught English to spy cadets in his North Carolina drawl and played a Yankee villain in propaganda films.

In 1980, he married Hitomi Soga, who was kidnapped by North Korean agents in the Cold-War era.

She was allowed to leave North Korea for Japan in 2002 and Jenkins followed her two years later with their two Korean-born daughters.

The Japanese government granted him permanent residency and he lived in Soga’s hometown on Sado, a picturesque island in the Sea of Japan.

Soga said in a statement released by the city government on Tuesday she was “very surprised” by his death and “cannot think of anything”.

Sado mayor Motohiro Miura expressed condolences in a statement, saying that Jenkins “worked at a souvenir shop and contributed to local tourism”.

After heading to Japan, Jenkins was court-martialled by the US military for deserting but given only a 30-day confinement.

North Korean agents kidnapped Soga and a number of other ordinary Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s in order to train its spies in the Japanese language and culture.

In 2002, North Korea admitted kidnapping 13 Japanese civilians but the government in Tokyo believes at least 17 were taken.

A month later, five including Soga were allowed to return to Japan. Pyongyang insists the other eight are dead but has not produced cast-iron evidence.

The issue sours already strained Japan-North Korea relations and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe often wears a blue ribbon to remind him of their abduction.

Last month, during a trip to Tokyo, US President Donald Trump met Soga and the now elderly families of those abducted.

There are strong suspicions in Japan that dozens of other citizens were also snatched by the North.

James Joseph Dresnok, the only US soldier known still to have been living in North Korea after defecting more than five decades ago, died in November 2016, his sons confirmed in August.//AFP

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the bombing an “attempted terrorist attack,” and identified the 27-year-old man identified as Akayed Ullah.

The blast took place at the height of morning rush hour in the subway station at the new York Port Authority bus terminal, not far from the city’s iconic Times Square, sparking commuter panic and travel disruptions.

Subway trains were bypassing the Port Authority and Times Square stations as the investigation continued.

The bomber was in custody and sent to a hospital with burns and wounds on his body.

The explosion rattled a city still scarred by the devastating September 11 attacks, and a truck attack on October 31 that left eight dead on a bike path.

“This is New York. The reality is that we are a target by many who would like to make a statement against democracy, against freedom,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters.

“This was an attempted terrorist attack,” Mayor Bill de Blasio added. “Thank god the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goals.”

New York police commissioner James O’Neill said the 27-year-old suspect had strapped the explosive device, which resembled a crude pipe bomb, to his body. He suffered burns to the hands and abdomen, and other injuries.

Photos circulating on social media shoed the man on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back and injuries to his torso.

Former New York police chief Bill Bratton told MSNBC television that he had been told the suspect was originally from Bangladesh and may have been acting in the name of the Islamic State group.

Police quickly evacuated the Port Authority station and closed roads in the area, which were filled with police cars and ambulances with flashing lights.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the explosion, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on Twitter.

– ‘One of our worst nightmares’ –

The city remains constantly on edge as a target of possible terror attacks, and is on high alert ahead of the holidays, which culminate every year with the giant New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square, attended by hundreds of thousands of revelers.

On October 31, Sayfullo Saipov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan, drove a rented truck down a busy bike and pedestrian path, killing eight people and injuring 12.

It was the first deadly terror attack in New York since 9/11, though several plots since then have been disrupted.

Monday’s attack highlighted one of New York City’s greatest vulnerabilities — its underground transit system.

A bomb in a subway station “is in many ways one of our worst nightmares,” Cuomo said.

“We have the Statue of Liberty in our harbor, and that makes us an international target. We understand that,” he added.//AFP