Asia

A North Korean official warned the United States against interfering in inter-Korean affairs on Thursday, threatening that it would “experience horrible thing[s]” and suggesting that November’s elections could be at risk. Kwon Jong Gun, director-general of the Department of U.S. Affairs in North Korea’s foreign ministry, made the remarks after …

Rescuers in Pakistan have recovered nine more bodies from beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed earlier this week in the southern port city of Karachi, bringing the death toll to 22, officials said. There are fears there may be more bodies at the site as it is unclear …

The Chinese government has removed pangolin scales from its 2020 list of approved ingredients used in traditional Chinese medicine, a move campaigners describe as a “critical step” towards saving the world’s most trafficked mammal. Pangolins are scale-covered insectivores, about the size of a house cat, that is highly valued in …

A massive fire has erupted at an oil well in northeastern India after it leaked gas for two weeks straight, forcing thousands to evacuate and causing serious environmental damage in the area. The Baghjan oil field in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district suffered a blowout a fortnight ago and has been …

A court has denied an arrest warrant request for Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, after he was accused of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. The ruling provides at least temporary relief for the de facto head of the South Korean conglomerate. But Mr Lee isn’t completely in the clear yet as …

North Korea is severing all official communication links with the South, it announced Tuesday in a move analysts said was aimed at manufacturing a crisis on the divided peninsula. Since last week the North has issued a series of vitriolic denunciations of the South over activists sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets over …

Indian forces have killed at least five pro-independence fighters in gunfire in Indian-controlled Kashmir, sparking protests by local residents in the restive disputed valley. The latest bout of violence started after the Indian forces cordoned off Reban village in the southern Kashmir valley early Sunday on suspicions that several fighters …

Japan has reportedly decided not to join the United States, the United Kingdom and some other countries in “condemning” China over a recently-passed law to safeguard national security in Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. According to a report by Japan’s Kyodo news agency on Sunday, Tokyo refused to be …

Be it quake tremors jolting countries, cyclones storming cities, or the mysterious deaths of bats, these occurrences are sending some people into a frenzy, blaming everything on the “ominous 2020” ever since the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected seven million people across the world. An unidentified flying object was reportedly …

China reported four new confirmed and two asymptomatic Covid-19 cases in the mainland as of end-June 7, the country’s health commission said on Monday. The National Health Commission said the four new confirmed cases were so-called imported cases involving travelers from overseas. The commission a day earlier reported six confirmed …

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolted Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province Monday, the country’s meteorological agency said. The epicenter of the quake was around 29 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of Bolaang Mongondow Regency at a depth of 105 kilometers (65.2 miles), according to the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency. The agency has …

The de facto leader of Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, appeared before a South Korean court on Monday, awaiting a ruling on whether new allegations including accounting fraud and stock manipulation will send him back to jail after more than two years of freedom. Prosecutors on Thursday asked the court …

The government has moved slowly to permanently stop the sale and consumption of wild animals in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, raising fears the practice may continue. Bamboo rats lifted Mao Zuqin out of poverty. Now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, poverty threatens again. Mr. Mao has over the …

Malaysia will lift most coronavirus restrictions on businesses on Wednesday, including a ban on travel between its states, after lockdown of nearly three months although its international borders will remain closed. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced in a televised address the novel coronavirus outbreak was under control and Malaysia would …

Senior Chinese officials, releasing a lengthy report on the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, defended their government’s actions and said that China provided information in a timely and transparent manner. National Health Commission Chairman Ma Xiaowei said Sunday that a recent news media report that the Chinese government didn’t …

The high-level talks to ease the tense situation along the Line of Actual Control come a day after Indian and Chinese diplomats discussed the boundary flare-up via videoconference. Analysts say the meeting alone is unlikely to resolve the crisis but would help New Delhi to determine the reasons behind Chinese …

An Indonesian army helicopter crashed in Central Java province on Saturday, killing three of the nine passengers on board, a TV report said. There was no immediate confirmation from the army on the incident. There were nine passengers aboard the helicopter, Kompas TV reported. Six passengers were injured and evacuated …

North Korea’s foreign minister met with the Chinese ambassador to express support for China’s measures in Hong Kong, North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said on Friday. “The Hong Kong issue is China’s internal affairs and external interference violates China’s sovereignty, and North Korea will actively support the Chinese party …

As many as 128 houses were damaged in Thursday’s powerful earthquake in Indonesia’s North Maluku province. The quake measuring 6.8 rattled Morotai Islands Regency. The National Disaster Management Agency said these damaged houses were located in six regencies namely South Morotai, East Morotai, Morotai Jaya, South West Morotai, and Rao …

The last three coronavirus patients in Wuhan, the first epicenter of the COVID-19, have been discharged and the central Chinese city has recorded zero cases of the virus after mass testing of about 10 million people, state media reported on Friday. According to China’s National Health Commission (NHC), five imported …