Asia

Hundreds of protesters chanted anti-government slogans and called on the debt-ridden nation’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign, as anxiety and anger over shortages simmered. Sri Lankan protesters have occupied the entrance to the president’s office for a second day, demanding Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign over the debt-ridden country’s worst economic crisis …

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has been unseated after losing a no-confidence vote in the parliament. The vote came after hours of impasse that even resulted in the resignation of the speaker of the lower house. Now, a caretaker government will lead the country until new general elections are held. …

North Korea is demolishing a South Korean-owned hotel at a North Korean resort that was one of the last symbols of inter-Korean engagement, according to Seoul officials who called for the North to stop the “unilateral” destruction. South Korea built dozens of facilities at North Korea’s Diamond Mountain resort to …

Japan and the Philippines agreed Saturday to start talks toward a possible defense agreement that would allow closer cooperation between their militaries amid regional tensions with China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi and their Philippine counterparts, Teodoro Locsin and Delfin …

Prime minister would have to step down if 172 members of the 342-member House vote against him Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan faces a no-confidence motion in the national assembly – a major challenge to his political career – on Saturday as political uncertainty deepens in the country. The parliament …

China’s President Xi Jinping commended the country’s “tested Zero-Covid” strategy on Friday even as Shanghai prepared nearly 130,000 beds for new coronavirus patients. At an event to honor Olympic athletes, Xi lauded the country’s efforts to hold the recent Winter Games which he said showed the country’s virus policy “once …

Imran Khan had tried to sidestep a no-confidence vote, saying it was a foreign conspiracy. The supreme court has said the vote must proceed. Imran Khan again faces being turfed out of power after the nation’s supreme court ruled Pakistan’s parliament should be restored so that he can face a …

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s suspension of Russia’s membership will set a dangerous precedent, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday. The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution suspending Russia’s membership in the Geneva-based UNHRC over reports of “gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” …

Sri Lanka’s main opposition party on Friday asked the government to take effective action to resolve an economic crisis or face a no-confidence motion, as business leaders from garments, tea and other industries warned exports could fall 20 to 30 percent this year. The heavily indebted country has little money …

Meta Platforms Inc on Wednesday suspended a network of over 400 accounts, pages, and groups ahead of general elections in the Philippines as the Facebook parent moves to crack down on hate speech and misinformation. Concerns about online hate speech have increased as candidates and supporters increasingly turn to social …

China warned on Thursday it would take strong measures if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and said such a visit would severely impact Chinese-U.S. relations, following media reports she would go next week. China considers democratically ruled Taiwan its own territory and the subject is a …

China has denounced the “provocative” passage of the US destroyer Ralph Johnson through the strategically-sensitive Taiwan Strait, which separates the self-ruled island from mainland China. According to reports, a Chinese military spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday that the sail-through was a “very dangerous” act and sent the “wrong …

China reported its first two COVID-19 deaths in more than a year, the National Health Commission said Saturday, both coming in the northeastern province of Jilin as the country faces its worst case upsurge since the pandemic’s outset. The deaths were the first reported in China since January 26, 2021. …

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his American counterpart, Joe Biden, that the ongoing war in Ukraine has to end as soon as possible. During a nearly two-hour-long video conference, Xi said Washington and its NATO allies needed to hold dialog with Moscow to solve the “crux” of the Ukraine crisis …

In a veiled warning, the US government has asked India to consider its place in “history books” as the Narendra Modi government in New Delhi mulls Russia’s offer for discounted crude oil. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said India’s plan to purchase cheaper crude …

China has placed millions of people under lockdown to stem a surge in coronavirus infections, following a two-fold rise in the number of cases nationwide to nearly 3,400. According to Press TV, the southern tech hub of Shenzhen was put under a citywide lockdown on Sunday after it reported 66 …

Pakistan on Saturday demanded a joint probe into a missile India said it accidentally fired into its territory, rejecting New Delhi’s decision to hold an internal inquiry into the incident and calling on the international community to play a role. “Such a serious matter cannot be addressed with the simplistic …

North Korea tested a “relatively new” intercontinental ballistic missile system on Feb. 26 and March 4 test-firings, according to a senior Biden administration official. “After careful analysis, the US government has concluded that the DPRK’s two ballistic missile tests on Feb. 26 and March 4 of this year involved a …

North Korea says it will launch a number of reconnaissance satellites in the coming years to collect information on military actions by the United States and its allies. According to the state news agency KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said while visiting the country’s National Aerospace Development Administration, “A lot of …

Opposition conservative Yoon Suk-yeol has been elected South Korean president, after rival Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party conceded defeat. “With 98 percent of the vote counted, Yoon had 48.59 percent of the vote against Lee of the liberal Democratic Party (DP)’s 47.79 percent,” the official Yonhap news agency …