This handout photo taken on June 21, 2022 and provided by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute shows South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri launching from the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung. (PHOTO / AFP) SEOUL – Firefighters have extinguished a fire at a South Korean space center during a test […]
Eyewitness footage shows what is said to be the moment of an explosion at a military site in Isfahan, Iran, Jan 29, 2023, in this still image obtained from a video. (PHOTO / POOL / WANA VIA REUTERS) TEHRAN – Iran said on Sunday the unsuccessful attack on a military plant in the central province […]
This undated file photo shows wellwishers wearing headscarves hold Turkish flags as they gather near the Adlon Hotel, near to the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. (PHOTO / AFP) ANKARA – Türkiye warned its citizens on Saturday against "possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe after its Western allies cautioned their […]
Afghan female students walk near Kabul University in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec 21, 2022. (ALI KHARA / REUTERS) KABUL- The United Nations' aid chief visited Kabul on Monday and raised concerns over women's education and work with the Taliban administration's acting minister of foreign affairs, an Afghan ministry statement said. The Taliban-run administration last month ordered […]
In this file photo taken on Aug 21, 2015, Iranian men walk past the then closed British embassy in the capital Tehran. (ATTA KENARE / AFP) TEHRAN — Iran's judiciary announced on Wednesday that a death sentence was handed down to a former Iranian Defense Ministry official on the charge of espionage against the country. […]
A member of Taliban security force stands guard on a blocked road after a suicide blast near Afghanistan's foreign ministry at the Zanbaq Square in Kabul on Jan 11, 2023. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP) KABUL – A bomb blast that rocked Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Wednesday inflicted casualties, Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said. "A […]
A general view of the Kabba at the Grand Mosque is seen during the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on July 6, 2022. (AMR NABIL / AP PHOTO) RIYADH – Saudi Arabia will remove COVID-19 restrictions for the 2023 hajj season and host pre-pandemic numbers of pilgrims, the kingdom's […]
A person wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands in front of a public awareness notice for COVID-19 protection in Shinjuku district on July 14, 2022, in Tokyo. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP) NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA / TOKYO / KUALA LUMPUR […]
A health worker administers Covishield vaccine for COVID-19 at a vaccination center in Hyderabad, India on July 15, 2022. (MAHESH KUMAR A. / AP) NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / HANOI / MANILA – India's vaccine maker Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced the price of newly-developed COVID-19 nasal vaccine iNCOVACC on […]
People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk near a landmark lion statue of a department store that also wears a mask in the Ginza shipping area of Tokyo on July 28, 2022. (SHUJI KAJIYAMA / AP) TOKYO / HANOI / MANILA / SINGAPORE – Japan's health ministry and local […]
A currency trader passes by screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (left) and the exchange rate of South Korean won against the US dollar at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on Dec 6, 2022. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP) SEOUL – South Korea's economic […]
This handout photo taken on Aug 25, 2019 and provided by the ROK Navy shows the ROK Navy's Aegis-equipped destroyer, Sejong the Great, participating in a military drill near the Dokdo islets. (HANDOUT/ ROK NAVY / AFP) SEOUL – The Republic of Korea issued a strong protest against Japan's territorial claim over disputed islands made […]
Foreign tourists walk on a beach in Seminyak, Badung regency on Indonesia resort island of Bali, on Dec 7, 2022. (SONNY TUMBELAKA / AFP) JAKARTA – Indonesia summoned a United Nations official on Monday after the organization expressed concerns over threats to civil liberties posed by the newly-ratified revisions to its criminal code, its foreign […]
British Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch walks outside Downing Street in London, Britain Dec 6, 2022. (PETER NICHOLLS / REUTERS) LONDON – British trade minister Kemi Badenoch will hold her first face-to-face meeting with her Indian counterpart on Monday in New Delhi in an effort to spark life into talks over a […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) ISLAMABAD / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / WELLINGTON / NEW DELHI – The Australian government has revealed its plan to continue fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in 2023, focusing support […]
People return to shopping at Newmarket in Auckland, New Zealand as some COVID-19 restrictions were eased on Nov 10, 2021. (ALEX BURTON / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP) ISLAMABAD / MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / YANGON / WELLINGTON – New Zealand recorded 40,098 new community cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths from the pandemic over […]
In this photo released on Aug 11, 2022 by the Iranian foreign ministry, ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani speaks in Tehran, Iran. (IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY VIA AP) TEHRAN – Iran on Saturday condemned Australia's sanctions on Iranian individuals and institutions, saying they represent the country's interference in Iran's internal affairs. The Australian government "has for years […]
A health worker speaks to arrivals at a COVID-19 vaccination hub at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane on Aug 17, 2021. (PATRICK HAMILTON / AFP) MANILA / HANOI / SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / KUALA LUMPUR – Health authorities of Australia's state of Queensland on Friday urged residents to get […]
Medical staff transport a patient from the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne on Oct 9, 2021, as Victoria state recorded 1965 new COVID-19 cases, its highest daily infection number since the start of the pandemic, putting more pressure on the state's struggling health system. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP) SYDNEY / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI […]
A Bangladeshi man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan 30, 2022. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP) CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI / KUALA LUMPUR / COLOMBO / NEW DELHI / DHAKA / ISLAMABAD – The Bangladeshi government has said that everyone aged 60 or above will be offered a […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI – A leading infectious diseases expert has predicted that up to 500,000 Australians are currently infected with COVID-19. Peter Collignon, an infectious […]
Saudi Arabia flags surround an object representing the globe at a square in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Oct 26, 2018. (AMR NABIL / AP) RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire and build multi-mission combat ships for the kingdom's navy, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Thursday. The MoU was […]
Members of the Cargo Truckers Solidarity union stage a rally against the government's return-to-work order on cement truckers in Uiwang, South Korea on Nov 29, 2022. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP) SEOUL – South Korea will meet striking truckers for more negotiations on Wednesday as concerns rose over shortages of petrol, pricier groceries and economic damage, […]
This general view shows members in the chamber during the opening session of the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan 18, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP) TOKYO – Japan's second supplementary stimulus budget for this fiscal year, amounting to 29 trillion yen ($210 billion), cleared the lower house of parliament on Tuesday, […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / SINGAPORE / MANILA / HANOI / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / KUALA LUMPUR – Australia's largest state will withdraw or refund tens of thousands of fines issued during […]
Members of the Public Service and Transport Workers Union stage a rally to support the ongoing trucker strike outside the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea on June 14, 2022. (AHN YOUNG-JOON / AP) SEOUL – South Korea's transport ministry plans to meet with the striking truckers union on Monday for negotiations, a ministry official […]
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP) CANBERRA / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / SINGAPORE / ISLAMABAD – Australia has reported a small uptick in active COVID-19 cases as the country nears the peak of its fourth wave […]
People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk near a landmark lion statue of a department store that also wears a mask in the Ginza shipping area of Tokyo on July 28, 2022. (SHUJI KAJIYAMA / AP) TOKYO / YANGON / SINGAPORE / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Japan's health ministry granted emergency […]
In this photo provided by South Korean Defense Ministry, a US Air Force B-1B bomber (sixth from top left) South Korean Air Force F-35 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets (left) fly over South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill in South Korea on Nov 19, 2022. (SOUTH KOREAN DEFENSE MINISTRY […]
People walk along the Cheonggye stream in Seoul on May 2, 2022. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP) SEOUL / WELLINGTON / KUALA LUMPUR / YANGON / SINGAPORE – South Korea reported 23,091 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Sunday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 26,581,856, the health authorities said Monday. […]