South Korea Offers Talks with Rival North Over Winter Olympics

South Korea is offering to hold high-level talks with bitter rival North Korea over the possibility of the North participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics being held in South Korea.

Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Tuesday Seoul wants to meet North Korean diplomats in exactly one week in the truce village of Panmunjom, located in the demilitarized zone that separates the North and South. The meeting would be the first high-level talks between Seoul and Pyongyang since December 2015.

Seoul's offer comes one day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used his annual New Year's Day address to announce he is considering sending a team to take part in next month's Olympic games in Pyeongchang.

​South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed Kim's suggestion to hold talks late Monday, but said any improvements in North and South relations must occur in tandem with Pyongyang abandoning its nuclear weapons program.

Kim Jong Un also used his speech to warn the United States that North Korea's nuclear program is a reality, and that a nuclear button is on his desk if his country is attacked.

Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump engaged in an escalating war of words last year amid Pyongyang's continued testing of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, including a sixth nuclear test and a new intercontinental ballistic missile that could potentially reach the U.S. mainland.

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Trump: US Aid to Pakistan Got Nothing but 'Lies and Deceit'

ISLAMABAD — 

U.S. President Donald Trump is again accusing Pakistan of sheltering terrorists whom American forces are fighting in neighboring Afghanistan. In his first Twitter message of 2018, he threatened to stop aid to Pakistan.

Washington has long accused Islamabad, particularly its security institutions, of turning a blind eye or covertly helping the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network to stage cross-border attacks against Afghan and U.S.-led forces.

It is not immediately clear whether Trump is threatening to cut financial assistance to Pakistan.

The United States suggested in August it would hold up $255 million in military assistance until Pakistan cracks down on extremists.

The U.S. Congress has authorized up to $700 million in a Coalition Support Fund to reimburse Pakistan for activities carried out in support of U.S. operations in Afghanistan.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif told the local Geo News television station, "We have already told the U.S. that we will not do more, so Trump's "no more" does not hold any importance."

He tweeted that Pakistan will make details public of the U.S. aid it has received.

Islamabad denies allegations it is harboring Afghan insurgents and instead complains anti-state militants are using the neighboring country for terrorist attacks against Pakistan.

Trump unveiled his new South Asia policy last August, in which Pakistan was blamed for providing "safe haven" to terrorists.

American officials have also warned that if Islamabad does not take actions against terrorist havens on Pakistan soil, Washington will do so unilaterally.

The Pakistan military last week warned Washington against any unilateral military action on its soil, saying U.S. allegations of terrorist sanctuaries in the country are "unfounded" and "no more valid" because "indiscriminate" security operations have targeted all terrorist groups.

"We have paid a huge price both in blood and treasure. We have done enough and we cannot do anymore for anyone," said the chief military spokesman, Major-General Asif Ghafoor.

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After Tough Year, Hong Kong Democracy Protesters Warn China on New Year's Day

HONG KONG — 

After a year that saw democracy advocates in Hong Kong jailed and ousted from public office, thousands marched through the streets of Hong Kong on New Year's Day to warn China not to meddle further in the city's affairs and undermine its autonomy.

Over the past year, Hong Kong, a former British colony which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, has experienced what critics and pro-democracy activists describe as an intensifying assault on its autonomy by China's Communist Party leaders.

This is despite Beijing's promises to grant the city wide-ranging freedoms including an independent judiciary, under a so-called "one country, two systems" framework.

Besides the controversial jailing of several prominent young activists for unlawful assembly over the massive 2014 "Occupy" pro-democracy protests, authorities also ejected six pro-democracy lawmakers from the legislature for failing to take proper oaths of office.

The city's reputation as one of Asia's most robust legal jurisdictions has also come under a cloud amidst accusations of a politicization of certain legal cases.

The protesters, who included many middle-aged and elderly citizens, held up banners and chanted the march's main theme to "Protect Hong Kong" during a walk of several kilometers to the city's government headquarters.

Others decried an unprecedented move by China's parliament last week that said part of a high-speed railway station being built in Hong Kong would be regarded as mainland territory governed by mainland laws.

"We are here to tell the government that we will not give up," said Joshua Wong, one of the democracy activists jailed last year, but who is now out on bail pending an appeal.

"We have encountered many difficulties last year, including some of us being sued and jailed, but we will stand with Hong Kong people. We will fight for the rule of law, fight for Hong Kong, fight for the future, fight for the next generations."

Two protesters who dressed up as People's Liberation Army soldiers said they were concerned about the reach of China's security apparatus. Others called for full democracy as the only lasting means to safeguard the city's way of life.

The organizers of the march said some 10,000 people had showed up. Police, however, put the figure at 6,200.

The demonstration was largely peaceful, though some protesters who tried to later gather in a forecourt of the government's headquarters skirmished briefly with security guards.

The so-called "Civic Square" was where the 2014 pro-democracy protests first kicked off when a group of protesters stormed over a fence and faced off with local police.

Despite the defiance on show, some said they feared Hong Kong would continue to be squeezed by Beijing.

"Everyone's doing what they can," said Andy Lau who was among the marchers. "If we have the right to demonstrate then we should. But I'm not feeling positive. I think things will get worse."

The Hong Kong government, in a statement, said it "fully respects the right of Hong Kong people to take part in processions and their freedom of expression."

China's leader Xi Jinping has said that while Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy under "one country, two systems," Beijing still holds supreme authority over the city and won't tolerate any challenge to its authority.

Additional reporting by Chermaine Lee; Writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Adrian Croft.

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China's 2017 Movie Ticket Sales Rise 13.5 Percent

China's total domestic movie ticket sales rose 13.5 percent in 2017 to 55.9 billion yuan ($8.6 billion), a state news agency said Monday.

The top-grossing title was the mainland-made action picture "Wolf Warrior 2," which took in 5.7 billion yuan ($875 million), the Xinhua News Agency said, citing data from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

China is the second-largest global film market and is narrowing the gap with the United States, where last year's domestic box office is estimated to have declined 2.6 percent from 2016 to $11.1 billion.

Mainland-made movies accounted for 54 percent of 2017 ticket sales, or 30.1 billion yuan ($4.6 billion), according to Xinhua.

The No. 2-grossing title was the Hollywood action movie "The Fate of the Furious," which earned 2.7 billion yuan.

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At Least 8 Dead as Speedboat Capsizes Off Indonesia's Borneo

A speedboat carrying 51 people capsized off Indonesia's part of Borneo island on Monday, killing at least eight passengers, an official said.

The accident happened when the boat, called the Anugrah Express, was traveling from Tanjung Selor, the capital of North Kalimantan province, to Tarakan in the same province.

Manangap Djumala, a search and rescue official in Tarakan, said that in addition to the deaths, several other people were believed to be missing. Unconfirmed reports said 40 people were rescued.

According to the boat's manifest, the boat was carrying 48 passengers, including five children, and three crew members, Djumala said, adding that infants were usually not listed in the manifest.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

Boat accidents are common in Indonesia because of poorly enforced safety regulations in the world's largest archipelago nation, where ships are a popular and relatively cheap form of transportation.

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Kim Says US Should Know North Korean Nuclear Force a Reality

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Monday the United States should be aware that his country's nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat. But he also struck a conciliatory tone in his New Year's address, wishing success for the Winter Olympics set to begin in the South in February and suggesting the North may send a delegation to participate.

Kim, wearing a Western-style gray suit and tie, said in his customary annual address his country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added he has a nuclear button on his desk.

"The U.S. should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table," he said during the speech, as provisionally translated by the AP. The official transcript of his address was expected to be released shortly. "The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range. ... The United States can never start a war against me and our country."

Kim also called for improved relations with the South, an idea mentioned in speeches more often than it is met. He said the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics would be a good opportunity to showcase the status of the Korean nation.

He said the North and South could meet urgently to discuss the North sending a delegation.

"The Winter Olympic games that will be held soon in the South will be a good opportunity to display the status of the Korean nation and we sincerely wish that the event will be held with good results," he said.

South Korea's presidential office says it welcomes the proposal to hold talks between government officials over the issue of North Korea sending a delegation to the Olympics. The office of President Moon Jae-in says the successful hosting of the Pyeongchang Olympics will contribute to peace and harmony not only on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia but in the entire world.

The New Year's address is an annual event in the North and is watched closely for indications of the direction and priorities Kim may adopt in the year ahead.

This year's speech was seen as particularly important because of the high tensions over Pyongyang's frequent missile launches and its nuclear test in 2017. The tests were the focus of fiery verbal exchanges between the North and U.S. President Donald Trump, who has derisively called Kim, "little rocket man."

Kim also stressed North Korea's economic achievements during the speech, and noted the importance of improving the nation's standard of living.

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Seaplane Crash in Australia Kills British Family

Australian officials say a seaplane crashed during a 20-minute entertainment ride in Sydney on New Year's Eve, killing six people.

Five of the victims were British nationals, including the CEO of Compass Group Plc Richard Cousins, his two sons, fiancée and her daughter were among the victims.

The pilot also died in the crash.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull offered his condolences to the crash victims' families.

Compass Chairman Paul Walsh expressed condolences to the family in a statement Monday, adding that “Richard was known and respected for his great humanity and a no nonsense style that transformed Compass into one of Britain's leading companies.”

Compass Group Plc is the world's biggest catering firm.

Cousins, who led Compass over the past 11 years and was due to step down in March, had been named as one of the world's best-performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review.

Police are working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to recover the wreckage of the plane, which is submerged in 13 meters of water near Cowan, north of Sydney.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has begun, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days.

The aircraft belonged to Sydney Seaplanes, which has been offering passengers the chance to see some of Sydney's most popular sights for 80 years, according to the company's website.

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