Tag Archives: Asia

A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking off Sri Lanka’s west coast, the country’s government and navy said on Wednesday, in one of Sri Lanka’s worst-ever marine disasters. The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, along with other chemicals and cosmetics, …

Three bomb explosions have rocked the Afghan capital city of Kabul, claiming the lives of at least 10 people and plunging the city into darkness, according to Afghan government officials. Hamid Roshan, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said two bombs exploded in separate locations in a west Kabul neighborhood …

The head of NATO says the military organization’s pullout from Afghanistan is going well after an 18-year presence in the country NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military organization’s pullout from Afghanistan is going well, as at least six people were killed Tuesday in a series of attacks that plunged …

North Korea’s ruling party has amended its rules to create a de facto second-in-command under leader Kim Jong Un as he looks to revamp domestic politics, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday. Citing an unidentified source familiar with North Korea, the agency said the holder of the new …

A mortar bomb fired by the Taliban struck a wedding ceremony in a province north of the Afghan capital, killing at least six people including women and children, officials said on Sunday. The incident happened late Saturday in Kapisa province when a shell aimed at an army checkpoint hit a …

Vietnam’s business hub Ho Chi Minh City will begin social distancing measures for 15 days starting from May 31 in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the country’s government said on Sunday. The city has seen a spike in cases related to a religious mission that has recorded …

A large ferry with nearly 200 people on board caught fire Saturday while traveling to a remote island in northeastern Indonesia, forcing passengers and crew to jump into the sea but causing no casualties, officials said. The KM Karya Indah was in the Molucca Sea heading for Sanana, a port …

Sri Lanka is facing its worst beach pollution crisis as tons of plastic waste from a burning container ship wash ashore, a senior environment official said Saturday. Fishermen have been banned from an 80-kilometer (50-mile) stretch of coast near the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl as an international firefighting operation went …

Manila lodges diplomatic protest against the ‘incessant and prolonged’ presence of Chinese vessels near Thitu Island. The Philippines has protested China’s “continuing illegal presence and activities” near islands it holds in the South China Sea. In a statement on Saturday, the Philippines’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged …

Malaysia is battling a rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak that has strained the country’s healthcare system. Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has announced a nationwide “total lockdown” starting in June as coronavirus infections in the country surged to record levels. Muhyiddin said the stricter lockdown from June 1 to 14 was …

Taliban, on Tuesday, pledged to provide a “safe environment” to foreign diplomats, after Australia announced it would shutter its embassy over security concerns. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan assures all foreign diplomats and staff of humanitarian organizations that (we) will not pose any threats to them,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem …

Rescuers have evacuated all crew from a container ship off the coast of Sri Lanka as a fire onboard intensified and two people were injured, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan Navy said on Tuesday. An explosion was reported from within the vessel, Navy spokesman Indika De Silva said, adding …

More than 200 people were injured in Malaysia on Monday when two metro light rail trains collided in an underground tunnel close to the Petronas Twin Towers in the capital Kuala Lumpur, officials said. The incident occurred at around 8.45 p.m. (1245 GMT) when one of the trains, which was …

A bomb blast on Friday killed six people at a pro-Palestinian rally in Southwest Pakistan, police said. The bomb, which was attached to a motorcycle, targeted the vehicle of the leader of the hardline religious party that had organized the event, local police chief Jafar Khan told Reuters by phone. …

Roadside bombings in southern and central Afghanistan killed 13 people, including nine members of one family, officials said Thursday. Meanwhile, militants stopped a bus in western Afghanistan, ordered three men to get out, and shot and killed them. No one has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. The three men …

A speeding bus overturned on a highway in southern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 13 passengers and injuring 29 others, police said. The bus was traveling from the port city of Karachi to Peshawar in the northwest when the accident took place in the district of Sukkur in southern …

China said on Thursday a US warship had illegally entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea, the latest salvo in the two nations’ dispute over Beijing’s territorial claims in the busy waterway. In a statement, the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command said the USS Curtis Wilbur entered the …

Chinland Defence Force, an anti-junta armed group made up of civilians, says six of its fighters were killed in Mindat town of western Chin state during an attack on the military. Six opposition rebels have been killed after days of clashes in Myanmar, an anti-junta defence force made up of …

The president of the Philippines has vowed not to withdraw his country’s ships from waters contested by China as a long-running dispute between the two nations over sovereignty of South China Sea territory heats up. Speaking in a televised address aired on Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte said he would not …

At least seven people were killed and one reported missing after a landslide at an Indonesian gold mine, the authorities said on Tuesday (May 11). Torrential rain triggered a landslide on Monday, inundating the mine with mud mixed with stones and debris in South Solok regency, West Sumatra, said the …