Asia

Kim Jong-un hailed Pyongyang’s new ICBM as the strongest strategic weapon on the planet North Korea seeks to have the most powerful nuclear capability in the world, the nation’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said on Sunday. He also ordered the promotion of military officials and scientists involved in the recent successful …

Footage shows demonstrators in Shanghai, Wuhan, and other cities demanding an end to harsh zero-Covid policies Protests broke out in China this weekend, with demonstrators in Shanghai, Wuhan, Beijing, and other locations demanding an end to the government’s stringent Covid restrictions. Videos shared on social media purportedly show some protesters …

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday after her strategy to frame local elections as showing defiance of China’s rising bellicosity failed to pay off and win public support. The elections for mayors, county chiefs, and local councilors are ostensibly about …

Urumqi residents were angered after a blaze killed 10 in a residential building under lockdown due to China’s zero-COVID policy. A fire that killed 10 people in China’s Xinjiang region has sparked anger at the zero-COVID policy as Beijing faces increasing public disapproval over its hardline approach to stopping the …

The death toll from an earthquake that struck Indonesia’s Java island has risen to 310 after rescuers found more bodies under landslides, an official said. At least 24 people are still missing. In devastated towns in western Java, residents gathered near badly damaged mosques for Friday prayers. Others held prayers …

Record spike in COVID infections for the second day in a week forces mass testing in Nanjing amid sweeping restrictions. China has ordered mass testing in the eastern city of Nanjing in Jiangsu province, the latest measure as the country for the second day in a row reported a record …

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accused the South Korean government of being a “faithful dog” of the United States for mulling sanctions on Pyongyang for recently conducting a series of test missile launches. “As soon as the US spoke of ‘independent sanctions’ against the Democratic …

Almost 31,500 people were diagnosed with the disease on Wednesday, according to official data China on Wednesday registered its highest number of daily coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic almost three years ago, official data has shown. There were 31,444 new cases of the disease in the country …

Long-time opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sworn in as Malaysia’s prime minister Thursday in a victory for political reformers who were locked in a battle with Malay nationalists for days after a divisive general election produced a hung Parliament. Anwar took his oath of office in a simple ceremony at …

The death toll from a strong earthquake hitting west Indonesia rose to 271 on Wednesday with 40 others still missing, officials said. “The number of casualties is recorded at 271 people and 40 others went missing,” head of the National Disaster Management Agency Suharyanto told a joint press conference on …

In a fresh blow to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government, scandal-tainted minister for internal affairs and communications has tendered his resignation following reports of his involvement in a funds-related scandal. Minoru Terada became the third Japanese cabinet minister to leave the office in less than a month. Terada had been under …

North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has called the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “a puppet of the United States” for joining the US-led condemnation of the country’s recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test. “I often take the UN secretary-general for a member of the US White House or its State Department,” …

The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou locked down its largest district Monday as it tries to tamp down a major COVID-19 outbreak, suspending public transit and requiring residents to present a negative test if they want to leave their homes. The outbreak is testing China’s attempt to bring a more …

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed at least 36 people and injured about 700 others in Cianjur town, Indonesia’s West Java province on November 21 afternoon, according to the town’s authorities. Herman Suherman, a government official in Cianjur, said that some residents were trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings. News channel …

Pakistan has reopened a major Afghan border crossing that was shut for trade and transit after security forces clashed last week, officials from both sides said on Monday. As the crossing opened on Monday, three people were wounded in another clash reported on a northwestern border with Afghanistan, an Afghan …

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that China would consider hosting the third Belt & Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2023. The Chinese Belt & Road Forum for International Cooperation initiative has been presented by Xi as the revival of the ancient Silk Road for trade between the East …

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has firmly warned to respond to US threats with nuclear weapons amid Washington’s ramped-up military activities in the region, including joint exercises with Seoul and Tokyo. North Korea’s official news agency KCNA said on Saturday that Kim made the warning after he personally oversaw Pyongyang’s …

Japan’s inflation surged by 3.6 percent in October from the previous year, marking a 40-year high, amid weakening yen and soaring energy prices, the government said in a report on Friday. The government data showed the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes …

The latest missile launched fell into Japanese waters and flew around 6,000km, according to South Korean and Japanese estimates, but has the capacity to go much further – approx. 15,000km – which “could cover the entire mainland United States,” the Japanese Defense Minister said. The US scrambled to “all necessary …

South Korea says North Korea has test fired a short-range ballistic missile into the East Sea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Thursday that the North had fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) into the East Sea from the Wonsan area in Kangwon Province at …