This satellite picture from Planet Labs Inc. shows Iran's underground Fordo nuclear facility outside of Qom, Iran, Oct 23, 2021. (PLANET LABS INC VIA AP) VIENNA – Iran has provided European powers involved in its tattered nuclear deal with drafts on sanctions removal and nuclear commitments, Iran's top nuclear negotiator said on Thursday, as world […]
A cyclist wearing a mask pauses along the waterfront in Auckland, New Zealand, on Aug 19, 2021. (MICHAEL CRAIG / NEW ZEALAND HERALD VIA AP) BEIRUT / JAKARTA / SEOUL / SYDNEY / TOKYO / WELLINGTON – As New Zealand prepares to ease its COVID-19 pandemic controls and global isolation after nearly two years, health […]
This photo taken on Nov 19, 2020 shows the skyline of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, with a view of Burj Al Arab (right) and Burj Khalifa (center), the world’s tallest building, in the background. (GIUSEPPE CACACE / AFP) Sweeping reforms to visa programs and labor laws will prove crucial for the United Arab […]
Country must step up inoculations to adopt 'new normal', receive tourists, experts say Medical staff administer doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine to a student between the age of 12 and 17 in Hanoi on Nov 23, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP) Vietnam must speed up its vaccination rollout even as it attempts to […]
This undated file photo shows Australia's education minister Alan Tudge. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG) Alan Tudge will stand aside as Australia’s education minister pending an investigation, after his former media adviser alleged she was abused by the Cabinet member during an extramarital affair. Rachelle Miller told reporters in Canberra’s Parliament House on Thursday that Tudge had […]
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, center, attends a meeting of the politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, on Dec 1, 2021 in this photo provided by the DPRK government. (KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY/KOREA NEWS SERVICE VIA AP) SEOUL – Kim Jong-un, leader of the […]
A general view of a large Philippine national flag being raised during the Independence Day celebration at the Rizal monument in Manila on June 12, 2019. (TED ALJIBE / AFP) Lops Calzado was three years old when former Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos was ousted after two decades, accused of plundering government coffers and killing thousands under […]
A youth rides his bicycle along a road in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Dec 1, 2021. (JAVED TANVEER / AFP) WASHINGTON – The World Bank's board has backed transferring $280 million from a frozen trust fund to two aid agencies to help Afghanistan cope with a brewing humanitarian crisis after the US withdrawal, two sources familiar […]
A man looks at damages in Honiara on Nov 27, 2021, as a tense calm returned after days of intense rioting that left at least three dead and reduced swathes of the city to smoldering ruins. (CHARLEY PIRINGI / AFP) WELLINGTON – New Zealand said on Wednesday that it will deploy military and police personnel […]
A bus driver sanitizes the interior of a bus before passengers' boarding at Larkin bus station in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Nov 29, 2021. ( VINCENT THIAN / AP) BEIRUT / CAIRO / KUALA LUMPUR / TEHRAN / SINGAPORE / TOKYO / WELLINGTON – Malaysia has temporarily banned the entry of travelers from countries that have […]
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pauses while speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Nov 17, 2021, in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON / AP) SEOUL – US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other top military officials were set to gather in the Republic of Korea on Wednesday to discuss the future of their […]
The giant Dalrymple coal loading terminal lies idle near Mackay, Australia on Jan7, 2011 as bulk carriers (top) wait to be loaded with coking coal. (TORSTEN BLACKWOOD / AFP) New research by the Australian National University has sounded a note of caution for Australia as the federal government put hydrogen at the center of its […]
Women line up to receive cash at a money distribution point organized by the World Food Program, in Kabul, Afghanistan on Nov 20, 2021. (PETROS GIANNAKOURIS / AP) The Taliban’s move to restrict women from working could immediately cost the Afghan economy up to $1 billion, or 5 percent of GDP, the United Nations Development Programme […]
This file photo taken on Oct 1, 2019 shows the logos of mobile apps Facebook and Google displayed on a tablet in Lille. (DENIS CHARLET / AFP) MANILA – Alphabet Inc's Google said on Wednesday it will ban political advertising on its platform in the run-up to Philippine elections in May next year to choose a […]
Police officers walk past the Sydney Opera House in Sydney on Oct 10, 2021, a day before the expected easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia's largest city. (STEVEN SAPHORE / AFP) Australia’s economy posted a smaller-than-forecast contraction, a result that’s likely to reinforce views the Reserve Bank will taper or potentially even scrap its bond […]
Raeesah Khan was issued a stern warning from police for her social media posts in the past, which allegedly promoted enmity between different racial groups. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG) First-time Singaporean lawmaker Raeesah Khan resigned from the opposition Worker’s Party on Tuesday after admitting last month she lied in parliament about details of a sexual assault […]
A Taliban fighter stands guard as women wait in line during a World Food Programme food distribution in Kabul on Nov 6, 2021. (HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP) WASHINGTON – A US delegation led by the special representative for Afghanistan, Thomas West, held talks with senior Afghan Taliban representatives in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday, the […]
Yemenis inspect a damaged factory following reported bombardment by the coalition forces in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on Nov 23, 2021. (PHOTO/ AFP) SANAA – Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on military camps controlled by the Houthi militia in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday early morning, local media reported. The Houthi-controlled Saba […]
One of Japan's opposition parties leaders Kenta Izumi, policy chief of the Democratic Party for the People, takes part in a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Sept 9, 2020. (PIERRE-EMMANUEL DELETREE / POOL / AFP) Japan’s main opposition party picked Kenta Izumi to be its new leader, as it bids to […]
Japan's Princess Mako bows before leaving her home in Akasaka Estate in Tokyo on Oct 26, 2021. (KOKI SENGOKU / KYODO NEWS VIA AP) TOKYO – Japan's crown prince criticized the media on Tuesday for falsities and "terrible things" in its coverage of the engagement of his daughter, former princess Mako, who relinquished her royal […]
Scott Morrison, Australia's prime minister, attends a news conference at the Parliament House, Canberra, Australia, on Feb 6, 2020. (MARK GRAHAM / BLOOMBERG) A landmark report aimed at cleaning up a toxic workplace culture in Australia’s parliament and other government offices found that one in three employees had suffered sexual harassment. Just over a quarter […]
Flight crews walk through the terminal at Sydney Airport, Australia, Nov 29, 2021. (MARK BAKER / AP) ANKARA / BANGKOK / JAKARTA / SEOUL / SYDNEY / TOKYO – Australian authorities on Tuesday confirmed a person with COVID-19 had the new Omicron variant after disclosing that the person had been active in the community, but […]
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (left) raises the hand of senator Christopher 'Bong' Go after he filed his candidacy for president in the 2022 elections before the Nov 15 deadline at the Commission on Election in Manila on Nov 13, 2021. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP) MANILA – Philippine Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, the preferred successor […]
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pauses while speaking during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Nov 17, 2021, in Washington. (ALEX BRANDON / AP) WASHINGTON – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a four-star general to review a 2019 strike in Syria that caused civilian casualties, the Pentagon said on Monday. READ MORE: US military's […]
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani arrives at the venue of the new round of Iranian nuclear deal talks in Vienna, Austria, Nov 29, 2021. (GUO CHEN / XINHUA) TEHRAN – Talks aimed at salvaging the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal resumed on Monday in Austria's capital Vienna after a five-month pause, where uncertainty appears […]
In this file photo dated Oct 8, 2020, Kuwaiti crown prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah (centre) speaks as he takes the oath at the parliament in Kuwait City. (PHOTO/ AFP) KUWAIT – The biggest task facing Kuwait's octogenarian crown prince after unexpectedly stepping in for the emir this month will be to tackle the […]
Travelers have their documents processed at the Woodlands temporary bus interchange before boarding a bus that will transport them to Malaysia from Singapore, Nov 29, 2021. (TOH EE MING / AP) BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / ISLAMABAD / MALE / MANILA / NEW DELHI / SEOUL / SINGAPORE / SYDNEY / WELLINGTON / ULAN BATOR – […]
Farmers and activists of local political parties take part in a rally to pay tribute to farmers who lost their lives in protests against the central government's agricultural reform laws in Mumbai on Nov 27, 2021. (SUJIT JAISWAL / AFP) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government moved to repeal controversial farm laws as parliament reconvened […]
Afternoon rush hour traffic in the central business district of Jakarta, Indonesia, June 24, 2021. (DIMAS ARDIAN / BLOOMBERG) Indonesia will need to secure $148 billion in additional funding to meet its goal of reducing carbon emissions through 2030. Southeast Asia’s largest economy needs $365 billion in overall green investments to cut emissions by 29 […]
In this file photo taken on March 1, 2021, the Iranian national flag is seen outside the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters during the agency's Board of Governors meeting in Vienna. (JOE KLAMAR / AFP) VIENNA – World powers and Iran will gather in Vienna on Monday to try to salvage their 2015 nuclear deal, […]