Travelers arrive at the departure hall in Singapore Changi airport in Singapore on March 31, 2023. A disruption at automated immigration clearance counters on the same day led to rare delays at Singapore's Changi airport, affecting hundreds of travelers. (PHOTO / AFP) SINGAPORE – A technical glitch at entry points into Singapore led to rare […]
People view the damage in a residential neighborhood after an early morning Israeli airstrike in the capital city of Damascus, Syria, Feb 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) DAMASCUS – Israel carried out an air strike near the Syrian capital early Friday, Syrian state media reported, the second attack near Damascus in the last two days. […]
A man lights a smoke at the Galle Face Beach in Colombo on Mar 20, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) COLOMBO — Sri Lankan authorities are exploring options for domestic debt optimization aimed at liquidity relief while preserving financial stability in order to avoid further eroding of the country's repayment capacity, according to Central Bank of […]
Rescue and security personnel carry a devotee on a stretcher who was injured after the floor covering a stepwell collapsed at a temple in Indore on March 30, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) LUCKNOW, India – At least 35 people were killed and 16 were injured after the roof of a stepwell in a temple complex […]
TOKYO – The Japanese antitrust watchdog on Thursday slapped a record-high fine on four power-related companies for forming cartels over electricity sales to forestall competition in the liberal power market. A total of 101 billion yen ($763 million) in penalty will be collected from the four major power suppliers, which are Chugoku Electric Power Co, […]
Tirana Hassan, then Acting Executive Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and current Executive Director, speaks during an interview with AFP TV, in central London, on Jan 11, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) GENEVA – Israel's government is "on a rampage" against human rights, the new head of Human Rights Watch said on Thursday and urged […]
Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak (center) waves as he arrives at the federal court in Putrajaya on Aug 23, 2022. (MOHD RASFAN / AFP) KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia's top court on Friday dismissed a bid by jailed former prime minister Najib Razak to review his corruption conviction over the multi-billion dollar scandal at state […]
Women wait to collect free bags of flour at a government distribution point in Peshawar on March 29, 2023, following an announcement by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide free flour to people in need during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. At least five people have been killed in recent weeks and […]
This file photo dated Dec 11, 2019 shows the general view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands. (PHOTO / REUTERS) THE HAGUE – In a partial victory for Iran, judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday ruled Washington had illegally allowed courts to freeze assets of some […]
In this file photo dated to May 8, 2019, children from a nursery school walk in a street in Tokyo. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will lead a panel of experts to reverse the country's critical decline in birthrate, which dropped to its lowest level ever in 2022, local media said on March 30, 2023. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU […]
A handout screengrab photo from Isabela City Disaster Risk Management Office taken on March 30, 2023, shows people walking towards the burnt passenger ferry Lady Mary Joy 3 after it was towed to the shores of Hadji Muhmatad, Basilan province, southern Philippines. (PHOTO / AFP) MANILA – The death toll from the fire that broke […]
People shovel debris at the scene of a reported Israeli missile strike in Damascus, on Feb 19, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) CAIRO — Israel launched "a number of missiles" from the Golan Heights targeting the vicinity of Syria's capital Damascus that left two soldiers wounded and "some material damage," Syrian State Media reported early on […]
This file photo taken on Nov 2, 2021 shows Bayswater Power Station, a coal-powered thermal power station near Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley, Australia. (PHOTO / AP) SYDNEY – New rules that cap total Australian greenhouse gas emissions and curb some new gas and coal investments in the country will come into effect on 1 […]
Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov delivers a speech at the leaders summit of the COP27 climate conference at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Convention Centre on Nov 7, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) ALMATY — Kazakhstan's ruling Amanat party nominated Alikhan Smailov, prime minister since January 2022, for the same position on Thursday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's office […]
The Australian flag flies at half-mast over Parliament House in Canberra on Sept 9, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) SYDNEY — Australia on Thursday passed legislation requiring firms with more than 100 employees to publish their gender pay gap from early next year, as part of the Labor government's attempts to improve working conditions for women. […]
ADEN, Yemen – Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes as the fighting between the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia continues to escalate in the country's oil-rich province of Marib, a military official said on Wednesday. Key areas in Marib have been engulfed in armed confrontations over the past few days, leading […]
The Twitter application is seen on a digital device April 25, 2022, in San Diego, United States. (PHOTO / AP) Twitter has blocked the Pakistan government's account from being viewed in India in response to a legal demand, according to a notice on the social media platform on Thursday. The company's guidelines compel it to […]
A woman poses with the newly set up logo of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as Indonesia officially assumes the group's chairmanship following a ceremony in Jakarta on Jan 29, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) MANILA – Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economies must strengthen their positions in global value chains to bolster […]
This file handout photo taken and released on May 23, 2022 from the Philippine Coastguard shows people throwing buckets of water onto a smouldering ferry which had caught fire near Real town, Quezon province, the Philippines. A ferry carrying more than 200 people caught fire in southern Philippines at late night on March 29, 2023, […]
This handout image provided by the UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs shows UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at Abu Dhabi's al-Bateen Airport on Nov 24, 2022 awaiting the arrival of the visiting King of Jordan. (PHOTO / UAE'S MINISTRY OF PRESIDENTIAL AFFAIRS / AFP) DUBAI – United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed […]
Australia's black, red and yellow Aboriginal flag (left) flies beside Australia's national flag over the Harbour Bridge in Sydney on July 11, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) SYDNEY – The Australian government on Thursday took the first formal step towards holding a referendum to recognize Indigenous people in the constitution and set up an Indigenous "Voice […]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdoulahian hold a joint press conference following their talks in Moscow on Mar 29, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) TEHRAN — Iranian foreign minister said on Wednesday that Teheran and Moscow are taking the final step toward the signing of a long-term cooperation agreement. Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, […]
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a joint press conference with Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki(not pictured) following a meeting in Warsaw, March 22, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday said he has no plans in the near future to dissolve the lower house of parliament and call […]
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a ceremony of the 104th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day against Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, March 1, 2023. (PHOTO / AP） SEOUL – A top security adviser for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday he had offered to step down. […]
In this file photo dated Mar 11, 2022, a worker fills petrol in an auto rickshaw at a Lanka IOC fuel station in Colombo. (PHOTO / AFP) COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said on Wednesday that fuel prices will be reduced in the country from March 29 at midnight. The […]
A picture taken on Dec 3, 2020, shows the world trade centre (right) and the skyline of the Bahraini capital Manama. (PHOTO / AFP) CAIRO – Bahrain's foreign ministry has summoned Iraq's Chargé d'Affaires Moayad Omar Abdul Rahman for breaching diplomatic norms, the Bahrain state news agency said on Tuesday. State media also reported that […]
In this file photo dated Dec 12, 2019, New Zealand's police minister Stuart Nash leaves after meeting with the family of Hayden Marshall-Inman at the Mataatua Marae in Whakatane. (PHOTO / AFP) WELLINGTON — New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has asked the Cabinet secretary to review communications between former Police Minister Stuart Nash and […]
In this July 18, 2018 file photo, a plume of ash rises from Anak Krakatau volcano are seen in Lampung province, Indonesia. (PHOTO / AFP) JAKARTA – Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia's Lampung province has erupted four times as of Tuesday afternoon, spewing ash columns up to the height of 2,500 meters above the crater, […]
This file photo taken on Sept 12, 2012 shows the logo of the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, capital of the United States. South Asia is home to nine of the world's 10 cities with the worst air pollution, and Dhaka is one of them, said a World Bank report presented in the capital […]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) sits at the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, on March 27, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel is a sovereign country that does not make decisions based on pressures from abroad, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday in response to comments by US President […]