In this image provided by the Military True News Information Team, United Nations special envoy Noeleen Heyzer, (left) and State Administration Council Chairman Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing shake hands on Aug 17, 2022, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. (MYANMAR TRUE NEWS INFORMATION TEAM VIA AP) YANGON – The United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Myanmar Noeleen […]
Vanuatu Prime Minister Bob Loughman speaks at a panel discussion during the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on July 12, 2022. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP) Vanuatu's president dissolved the Pacific island nation's parliament on Thursday, state broadcaster VBTC reported, after an attempt by some politicians to oust the prime minister. Opposition leader Ralph Regenavu told […]
A worker tends cannabis plants at a farm in Chonburi province, eastern Thailand on June 5, 2022. (SAKCHAI LALIT / AP) BANGKOK – Thailand's health minister on Wednesday discouraged tourists from visiting the country only to smoke weed, just two months after new laws were passed that have largely decriminalized the drug. "We don't welcome […]
Unification Church followers hold signs during a rally in downtown Seoul, South Korea on Aug 18, 2022, protesting negative Japanese media coverage of their religion after the suspect in the assassination of former Japanese prime minster Shinzo Abe blamed the church for his family’s troubles. (LEE JIN-MAN / AP) SEOUL – Thousands of Unification Church […]
A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of an explosion in front of the Kabul International Cricket Stadium, in Kabul, Afghanistan on July 29, 2022. (EBRAHIM NOROOZI / AP) KABUL – A blast that tore through a Kabul mosque during evening prayers on Wednesday killed 21 people, Kabul police said on Thursday. Police spokesperson […]
This photo taken on Aug 17, 2022, shows a flood-inundated car and homes from the overflowing Maitai River in central Nelson on New Zealand's South Island. (SARA HOLLYMAN / ANDREW APP / AFP) WELLINGTON – Torrential rain slammed the west and north of New Zealand's South Island for a third straight day on Thursday, forcing […]
The logo of the Asian Development Bank is seen outside the lender's headquarters in Manila, Philippines, on Feb 17, 2009. (JAY DIRECTO / AFP) MANILA – Big data holds immense potential in fast-tracking post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Southeast Asia, with benefits in public health, social welfare and protection, and education valued at over $100 billion, […]
A man stands near Indian paramilitary troopers during the celebrations to mark India's 75th Independence Day in Srinagar on Aug 15, 2022. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP) SRINAGAR, India – India is expected to register as many as 2.5 million new voters in the Indian-controlled Kashmir region, a top official said late on Wednesday, in a […]
This file photo dated May 1, 2022, shows a Taliban fighter standing guard in a mosque in Kabul. (EBRAHIM NOROOZI / AP) KABUL – A huge explosion struck a mosque in Kabul during evening prayers on Wednesday, witnesses and police said, with many feared dead or injured. Police said there were multiple casualties but did […]
Arriving passengers leave a terminal at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on Dec 1, 2021. (PUNIT PARANJPE / AFP) HANOI / SINGAPORE / MANILA / NEW DELHI / YANGON – Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India, wearing face masks has been once again made mandatory throughout the journey by air, said an […]
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on Aug 14, 2022. (MAYA Alleruzzo / POOL / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel and Türkiye have agreed to reinstate full diplomatic ties and will return ambassadors and consuls general to each other, the Israeli prime minister said Wednesday. "The resumption of relations […]
TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced Iran's readiness for "immediate" implementation of the existing agreement with the United States on prisoners. Nasser Kanaani, the ministry's spokesman, made the remarks in response to reporters' questions about the US comments on the issue of prisoners, according to the ministry's website. By implementing this agreement, […]
Construction workers in the central business district of Sydney, Australia on Oct 7, 2021. (MARK BAKER / AP) SYDNEY – Australia's peak union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has joined calls to increase the nation's cap on overseas workers to help address widespread labor shortages, a problem drawing attention across industry and government. […]
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (right) and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas hold a joint press conference at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on Aug 16, 2022. (JENS SCHLUETER / AFP) BERLIN/JERUSALEM – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced disgust on Wednesday at remarks by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the German leader said diminished the importance of […]
In this Nov 18, 2019 file photo, the logo of Google is displayed on a carpet at the entrance hall of Google France in Paris. (MICHEL EULER / AP) SYDNEY – Australia's highest court overturned on Wednesday a ruling that had found Google engaged in defamation by supplying a link to a contested newspaper article, […]
A man sitting on a push cart checks his mobile phone as his colleagues push the cart through a street in Dhaka on January 4, 2022. (JEWEL SAMAD / AFP) DHAKA – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that Bangladesh is not at risk of a Sri Lanka-like crisis. Bangladesh's external position is "very different […]
This picture shows a convenience stores damaged after an attack, in Cho-airong district in southern Thailand's Narathiwat province on Aug 17, 2022. (MADAREE TOHLALA / AFP) BANGKOK – Explosions and fires ripped through at least 17 locations in southern Thailand on Wednesday, authorities said, in what appeared to be multiple coordinated attacks that injured seven […]
This file photo taken on Jan 25, 2022 and released from the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan 28 shows what the DPRK says is a long-range cruise missile test-fire conducted by the Academy of Defence Science of the DPRK at an undisclosed location. (STR / AFP / KCNA VIA) SEOUL- The […]
Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port, as seen on Aug 3, 2022, has been busy. Indonesia recorded GDP growth of 5.44 percent year-on-year in the second quarter. (WILLY KURNIAWAN / Reuters) Strong in commodities, Indonesia, Malaysia lifted as global prices rise Amid rising global commodity prices, Indonesia and Malaysia have expanded their exports, which has helped with […]
Australia's former prime minister Scott Morrison speaks to media during a press conference in Sydney on August 17, 2022. (STEVEN SAPHORE / AFP) SYDNEY – Australia's former prime minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday he decided to be secretly sworn in to five key ministries during the coronavirus pandemic because he felt responsibility for the […]
ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during his news conference to mark his first 100 days in office at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug 17, 2022. (CHUNG SUNG-JUN / POOL / AFP) SEOUL – Talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should not be for political show but contribute to establishing […]
ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a speech during his news conference to mark his first 100 days in office at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug 17, 2022. (CHUNG SUNG-JUN / POOL / AFP) SEOUL – Talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should not be for political show but contribute to establishing […]
In this May 24, 2021 file photo, the flag of Iran waves in front of the International Center building with the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. (FLORIAN SCHROETTER / AP) TEHRAN – A top Iranian security official reaffirmed on Tuesday that Iran did not and will not back down from […]
Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi meets with the US president during a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on July 16, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN / AFP) BAGHDAD – Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday invited rival political parties to a Wednesday meeting to seek a […]
Passengers wait for transportation outside the arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on March 15, 2022, as Vietnam announced the return of a visa exemption policy for 13 countries in an effort to kickstart its tourism sector. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP) HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / MANILA – Vietnam recorded 2,983 new COVID-19 cases […]
Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service, speaks to reporters after a meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria, on Dec 3, 2021. (GUO CHEN / XINHUA) BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON – The European Union is assessing Iran's response to what the bloc has called its "final" proposal to […]
Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves the International Court of Justice after the first day of three days of hearings in The Hague, Netherlands, on Dec 10, 2019. (PETER DEJONG / FILE / AP) YANGON – Myanmar's former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to six more years in jail for […]
This file photo taken on June 4, 2021 shows a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a pharmacy in Paris, France. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP) MANILA / HANOI / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / YANGON / SEOUL / WELLINGTON / SYDNEY / KUALA LUMPUR – Australia will soon have the first manufacturing plant in the Southern […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo gestures during his annual speech at the parliament in Jakarta on Aug 16, 2022, on the eve of the country's Independence Day celebrations. (TATAN SYUFLANA / POOL / AFP) JAKARTA – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday hailed his country's growing stature on the global stage and reiterated calls for the […]
Malaysia former prime minister Najib Razak arrives for a press conference at the federal court in Putrajaya on Aug 16, 2022. (MOHD RASFAN / AFP) PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – Malaysia's top court on Tuesday denied a request by former Prime Minister Najib Razak to introduce new evidence in his final appeal against a 12-year jail sentence […]