Asia

Taiwan needs to be on alert for China’s “over the top” military activities which are violating regional peace, Premier Su Tseng-chang said on Tuesday, after 56 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwan’s air defense zone on Monday, the highest ever. Taiwan has reported 148 Chinese air force planes in the southern …

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will “prepare for my defense” against an International Criminal Court probe into his deadly drug war after he retires from politics. “I will prepare for my defense in the ICC,” Duterte said in a pre-recorded speech released late Monday, in his first public …

New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday that he received a “strong” message from President Joe Biden about the US commitment to defending the disputed East China Sea islets known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan. In phone talks on Tuesday morning that lasted roughly 20 minutes, the …

Malaysia late Monday summoned Beijing’s envoy to the Southeast Asian country in protest after Chinese vessels entered its maritime economic zone in the disputed South China Sea. Kuala Lumpur summoned Chinese ambassador Ouyang Yujing “to convey Malaysia’s position and protest against the presence and activities of Chinese vessels, including a …

Taliban government forces destroyed an Islamic State cell in the north of Kabul late on Sunday in a prolonged assault that broke the calm of a normally quiet area of the capital with hours of explosions and gunfire, officials and local residents said. With Afghanistan’s economy close to collapse and …

Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s health has suffered from her frequent appearances before a court run by the military junta that deposed her government, her lawyer said Monday. Suu Kyi went on trial in June, four months after she was taken into custody in a coup that plunged …

North and South Korea restored a stalled communication hotline after weeks of a hiatus in a small, fragile reconciliation step Monday, as the North pushes hard to win outside concessions with a mix of conciliatory gestures and missile tests. Liaison officials from the two Koreas exchanged messages over a cross-border …

The Chinese military flew 16 warplanes over waters south of Taiwan on Sunday as the US expressed concern about what it called China’s “provocative military action” near the self-governing island that China claims. China sent 38 warplanes into the area on Friday and 39 aircraft on Saturday, the most in …

Children are dying of starvation in Afghanistan, local and international sources said Saturday, following warnings that a million youngsters there could face life-threatening malnutrition by the end of the year. In Ghor, one of the affected provinces, at least 17 children among those who made it to hospital have died …

Taiwan sharply criticized China on Saturday after Beijing marked the founding of the People’s Republic of China with the largest ever incursion by the Chinese air force into the island’s air defense zone. Taiwan, a democratically governed island that is claimed by China, has complained for more than a year …

Bangladesh’s foreign minister vowed “stern action” on Saturday against the killers of Rohingya refugee leader Mohib Ullah as calls grew to investigate his shooting. Mohib Ullah, who was in his late 40s, was killed by unknown gunmen in a camp in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday night. He led one of …

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday he was retiring from politics, a surprise move that fuelled speculation he was clearing the way for his daughter to run to succeed him. “Today, I announce my retirement from politics,” Duterte said, accompanying loyalist Senator Christopher “Bong” Go from their ruling PDP-Laban …

Taipei says it scrambled its combat aircraft after over two dozen Chinese fighter jets entered its airspace on the same day that Beijing marked its national day. According to the Taiwan ministry, 22 Chinese fighters, two nuclear-capable bombers and one anti-submarine aircraft entered the island’s southwest Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Friday. The ministry described the …

China sent 25 fighter jets toward self-ruled Taiwan in a large display of force on China’s National Day Friday. The People’s Liberation Army flew 18 J-16 fighter jets as well as two H-6 bombers, among other planes. Taiwan deployed air patrol forces in response and tracked the Chinese aircraft on …

Seven people were killed in a landslide triggered by torrential storms on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said, as they warned continuing rainfall could cause further ground movement on Friday. A day after the landslide hit two adjacent houses in Padang Pariaman district on Wednesday, seven bodies were pulled …

North Korea warns the United States that amid the absence of all change in Washington’s hostile policy towards Pyongyang, it is sure to power through with its weapons development programs. “As the actions of the past eight months of the new US administration have clearly shown, the US military threat …

A prominent Rohingya Muslim leader has been fatally shot in a refugee camp in southern Bangladesh following months of deteriorating violence in the world’s largest refugee settlement. Mohib Ullah, who was in his late 40s and led the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARPSH), died on Wednesday evening …

Fumio Kishida, the man soon to become Japan’s prime minister, says he believes raising incomes is the only way to get the world’s third-largest economy growing again. Kishida says he wants to promote a “new capitalism” that would be more equitable, with fairer distribution of national wealth — the only …

China put on an extravagant display of once-secret high-end military technology at its largest air show this week while broadcasting its growing ambitions in space exploration and for self-sufficiency in commercial aircraft. Pandemic-related travel restrictions meant Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai was a largely domestic affair, but …

An international representative of ethnic Rohingya refugees was shot to death in a camp in Bangladesh by unknown gunmen late Wednesday, police said. Mohibullah, who is in his 40s, was a teacher who emerged as a key refugee leader and a spokesman representing the Muslim ethnic group in international meetings. …