Myanmar’s authorities will free around 700 prisoners from Yangon’s Insein jail on Wednesday, prison chief Zaw Zaw told Reuters, in a release that is expected to include some of the thousands of people detained for opposing military rule. The prison chief said he did not have a list of those …
Read More »Afghanistan: Taliban fighters launch attack on Ghazni
Fighting with government forces in central Afghan cities comes as foreign troops continue to withdrawal from the country. Taliban fighters have launched an attack on Ghazni, clashing with Afghan forces and using explosives in an attempt to seize the central Afghan city, local officials have said. Tuesday’s assault on Ghazni, …
Read More »Myanmar army ‘tightens grip’ on multibillion jade trade: Report
Coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing’s son implicated in the importation of dynamite used in open pit jade mines. Myanmar’s military has further tightened its grip on the country’s jade trade, using the industry to finance the February 1 coup that plunged the country into turmoil, a new report released …
Read More »China says Japanese official calling Taiwan a ‘country’ is serious violation
China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the recent characterization of Taiwan as a “country” by a senior Japanese official was erroneous and a serious violation. Japan’s deputy defense minister on Monday warned of a growing threat posed by Chinese and Russian collaboration and said it was necessary to “wake …
Read More »At least Seven Dead In Bangladesh Blast; Cause Unknown
The explosion took place in the evening at a building in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area, and rescuers reached the scene, said Faisalur Rahman, a fire control room official.
Read More »North Koreans worry over ’emaciated’ Kim Jong Un, state media says
Everyone in North Korea is heartbroken over leader Kim Jong Un’s apparent weight loss, said an unidentified resident of Pyongyang quoted on the country’s tightly controlled state media, after watching recent video footage of Kim.
Read More »Ten cabin cruisers sunk in Hong Kong marina fire, no serious casualties
A fire swept through a marina in Hong Kong in the early hours of Sunday, igniting fuel tanks as it passed along a line of closely moored cabin cruisers, and resulting in at least 10 sinkings before firefighters extinguished the blaze.
Read More »A Coronavirus Epidemic Hit 20,000 Years Ago, New Study Finds
Over the past two decades, coronaviruses have been responsible for three major outbreaks – SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2, according to the new research findings.
Read More »Pakistan bomb blast kills four, 14 wounded.
A bomb attack in a residential area of Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore killed four people on Wednesday, including a child, and wounded 14, police said, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Read More »Nepal’s top court removes most of cabinet in blow to caretaker PM
Nepal’s Supreme Court delivered a fresh blow to embattled communist Prime Minister K.P.Sharma Oli by removing 20 recently appointed ministers, pending a ruling on whether a caretaker premier can make such sweeping cabinet changes.
Read More »Hong Kong police arrest Apple Daily columnist under security law
Hong Kong police arrested on Wednesday a columnist for pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily on suspicion of conspiring to collude with a foreign country or foreign forces, in another hit to the besieged newspaper.
Read More »Myanmar army clashes with anti-junta militia in Mandalay city
Myanmar security forces backed by armoured vehicles clashed on Tuesday with a newly formed militia group in the second-biggest city of Mandalay, according to social media posts from the group and media reports.
Read More »South Korean Navy submarine-builder hit by hackers, investigation underway – government
Unidentified hackers have attacked one of South Korea’s largest shipbuilders, the government has confirmed. Media reports earlier said that cybercriminals from Pyongyang were hunting for information on navy submarines.
Read More »Myanmar junta leader leaves for Russia conference, second trip abroad since coup
Myanmar’s junta leader has flown out of the country to attend a conference in Moscow, state media reported on Sunday, his second trip abroad since seizing power in February.
Read More »Flower protests in Myanmar for Suu Kyi’s 76th birthday
Supporters of Myanmar’s detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi wore flowers in their hair and paraded with them at street demonstrations on Saturday as she marked her 76th birthday locked up by the generals who overthrew her. Protests have been held almost daily in Myanmar since Suu Kyi was ousted …
Read More »Afghanistan’s media: 100 Taliban militants, 80 Afghan soldiers killed in 24
Afghanistan’s local media report that at least 100 members of the Taliban militant group and about 80 Afghan soldiers have been killed during clashes in a time span of 24 hours across the country. The TOLO News reported on Tuesday that fighting erupted in 70 districts across several provinces, including …
Read More »Refugees in India, elsewhere hit hard by COVID-19 impact -rights report
At least 200,000 refugees are among the worst affected by India’s COVID-19 outbreak as they have no access to welfare schemes or free healthcare, a report by an international consortium of rights groups said on Wednesday. “The stateless in India have not received economic relief packages provided by the government…they …
Read More »Giant Buddhist goddess in Japan gets face mask to pray for end of COVID-19
Workers scaled a giant statue of a Buddhist goddess in Japan on Tuesday to place a custom-made mask on her face, an act meant to be a prayer for the end of the coronavirus pandemic. It took four workers three hours to carry the massive mask on ropes up the …
Read More »Macau follows Hong Kong with suspension of its Taiwan office
Macau’s government said on Wednesday it would suspend operations at its representative office in Taiwan, following in the footsteps of Hong Kong, which made a similar move last month in response to Taipei’s support for pro-democracy activists there. The gambling hub’s government said that The Macao Economic and Cultural Office …
Read More »After massed plane incursion near Taiwan, China says must respond to ‘collusion’
China does not tolerate foreign forces intervening in Taiwan issues and has to make strong responses to such acts of “collusion”, the government said on Wednesday after the island reported the largest incursion to date of Chinese aircraft. Twenty-eight Chinese air force aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered Taiwan’s …
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