Tag Archives: Asia

China downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania on Sunday, expressing strong dissatisfaction with the Baltic State after Taiwan opened a de facto embassy there, escalating a row that has sucked in Washington. China views self-ruled and democratically governed Taiwan as its territory with no right to the trappings of a …

Myanmar’s military junta sentenced a close aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 20 years in prison for treason on Friday, his lawyer said. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February 1 coup, with nationwide protests and more than 1,100 people killed by security forces, according …

A Russia-led post-Soviet security bloc started its largest military drills near the Tajik-Afghan border in years on Monday amid cross-border tensions ahead of talks between Afghanistan’s new Taliban leaders and major regional powers. Unlike Afghanistan’s other northern neighbors who have de facto acknowledged the Taliban leadership and started building working …

A Southeast Asia summit this month will invite a non-political representative from Myanmar, Brunei said on Saturday, sidelining the leader of the military junta in an unprecedented move for the group. The decision by foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at an emergency meeting on Friday …

The US is offering two $1million cash rewards to bring Pakistani national and human smuggler Abid Ali Kahn to justice and to crackdown on his people-smuggling network that operates across the Middle East and Asia, the Department of State announced on Thursday. Ali Khan allegedly operates a Pakistani-based smuggling network …

Indonesia’s parliament approved a law on Thursday for one of the country’s most ambitious tax overhauls, including raising VAT next year, a new carbon levy and cancelling a planned corporate tax cut. The law is aimed at optimising revenue collection and improving tax compliance after state coffers took a big …

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 …

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 Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister has been appointed to the country’s top government body, the official KCNA news agency reported Thursday. Kim Yo Jong, a key adviser to her brother, was promoted to a position on the State Affairs Commission, amid a raft of changes approved by …

North Korea could consider participating in an inter-Korean summit if mutual respect can be assured, state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday, citing Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The comment comes just a day after North Korea urged the United States and South …

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday accepted his party’s nomination to run for vice president in next year’s election, forging ahead with a plan criticized by rivals as a cynical move to maintain his political power. The mercurial leader, 76, is barred by the constitution from seeking a second term …

Pro-democracy protesters vented their anger in Bangkok’s heavy rain Saturday after Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. More than 300 demonstrators marched in central Bangkok’s main shopping mall district carrying red flags and wearing ponchos in the downpour. “The government should be gone. If things …

China is banning children from playing online games for more than three hours a week, the harshest restriction so far on the game industry. Minors in China can only play games between 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, weekends, and on public holidays starting September 1, according to a …

Malaysia’s new prime minister missed the inauguration of his own cabinet Monday after coming into contact with someone infected with the coronavirus and being forced to self-isolate, his office said. Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s ministers headed to the national palace for a swearing-in ceremony before the king, two weeks after the …

The death toll from explosions at an arms depot in southern Kazakhstan climbed to 13, authorities in the ex-Soviet country said Saturday, adding that three people were still missing. The blasts occurred at a defense ministry ammunition depot in the southern Jambyl region, leaving dozens injured and forcing the evacuation …

Blasts triggered by a fire at a Kazakh munitions storage facility killed nine servicemen and firefighters and wounded 90 others, authorities in the central Asian nation said on Friday. Four people remained missing, the government said. It is unclear what caused Thursday’s fire at the military base in the southern …

Hundreds of children have staged a protest rally at refugee camps in Bangladesh to commemorate the fourth anniversary of Myanmar’s crackdown on the Rohingya Muslims that forced thousands to flee across the border into the neighboring country. Community leader Mohammad Osman said between 3,000 and 4,000 children participated in the …

About 1 billion children – nearly half the world’s 2.2 billion children – live in 33 countries classified as “extremely high-risk” of the impacts of climate change, according to a report of the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) launched on Friday. These children face a deadly combination of exposure to multiple …

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will resign on Monday, news portal MalaysiaKini reported after he lost his majority due to infighting in the ruling coalition. The resignation, if confirmed, would end a tumultuous 17 months in office for Muhyiddin but also bring more uncertainty to Malaysia as the country grapples …

A Malaysian serviceman shot dead three fellow air force personnel at a military base before killing himself on Friday, police said, a rare case of gun violence in the Southeast Asian nation. The serviceman, who was supposed to be undergoing a coronavirus quarantine, snatched the firearms from a guard post, …