An officer manages the flow of people into a market in an attempt to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Singapore on Oct 9, 2021. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) SYDNEY / MANAMA / PHNOM PENH / WELLINGTON / KUALA LUMPUR / NEW DELHI / VIENTIANE / ULAN BATOR -Singapore’s health ministry said an additional 100 beds in […]
People exercise in front the city skyline in Melbourne on Aug 29, 2021, as authorites announced the extension of an ongoing coronavirus lockdown in Australia's second-biggest city. (WILLIAM WEST / AFP) SYDNEY – After two years of stop-start COVID-19 lockdowns Australia is ready to party, but venues from restaurants to sporting stadiums are facing a […]
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Oct 14, 2021. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / POOL / AFP) KASHIWAZAKI – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's push to restart Japanese nuclear power plants idled after the Fukushima disaster faces stiff opposition ahead of a general election on […]
A South Korean soldier (center) stands guard at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on August 28, 2019. (KIM HONG-JI / POOL / AFP) SEOUL – In a last-ditch attempt to restart talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea before his term ends next year, the […]
In this Jul 20, 2021 file photo, Congress party workers shout slogans during a protest accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of using military-grade spyware to monitor political opponents, journalists and activists in New Delhi, India. India’s top court established a committee of experts to look into the accusations on Oct 27, 2021. (MANISH SWARUP/ […]
A child uses an umbrella to shelter from the rain in Seoul on Aug 24, 2021. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP) SEOUL – South Korea's childbirth logged the lowest tally in August, fueling worries about a so-called demographic cliff, statistical office data showed on Wednesday. The number of newborn babies stood at 22,291 in August, down […]
This file photo taken on July 15, 2017 and released by Turkey's Presidential Press Service shows an F-16 fighter jet flying on the wing of the Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plane, while travelling from Ankara to Istanbul, to attend the "July 15 Democracy and Unity Day" commemoration of first year anniversary of the 2016 […]
Lawmakers attend a session at the lower house to dissolve parliament in Tokyo on Oct 14, 2021. (STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP) TOKYO – Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is likely to lose seats in the House of Representatives in Sunday's general election but it will maintain a majority together with its coalition […]
In this photo released by the Lebanese government, Lebanese President Michel Aoun, left, meets with Prime Minister Najib Mikat at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Sept 10, 2021. (DALATI NOHRA / LEBANESE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT VIA AP) BEIRUT – Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that Lebanon will not give up […]
International experts discuss geopolitical and security implications of AUKUS on ASEAN at the New Inclusive Asia Dialogue on Oct 26, 2021. (SCREENSHOT VIA ZOOM) HONG KONG – The trilateral security partnership AUKUS will undermine regional peace and stability and create uncertainty in Southeast Asia, experts said in an online seminar on Tuesday. AUKUS, the military […]
A passenger on Singapore Airlines flight arrives, under the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL), at Changi Airport in Singapore on Oct 19, 2021. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP) SEOUL / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN / JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR / TEHRAN / ANKARA / WELLINGTON / SYDNEY / NEW DELHI / SINGAPORE – Singapore will allow quarantine-free entry to travelers […]
Paddlers row past the central business district, at Marina Bay in Singapore on October 3, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG) SINGAPORE – Southeast Asian nations are speeding up their plans to transmit renewable energy through a proposed regional power grid, with first trials set for 2022, as the area strives to meet climate change targets, government […]
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during a meeting with US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Sept 22, 2021. (Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) CANBERRA – Australia has committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2050 ahead of the climate change conference. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday […]
Japan's former princess Mako (right), the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her husband Kei Komuro (left), who she originally met while at university, speak during a press conference to announce they have married, at the Grand Arc Hotel in Tokyo on Oct 26, 2021. (STR / JIJI PRESS / JAPAN POOL […]
Village girls walk with bicycles they received from their school under a government scheme in Malancha, India, Oct 20, 2021. (BIKAS DAS / AP) India plans to expand a program aimed at boosting cycling infrastructure in its cities amid a national goal to promote a green lifestyle and curb air pollution. As part of the […]
This file photo taken on May 14, 2007 shows Dr Noeleen Heyzer, then executive director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. (YOAV LEMMER / AFP) UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday appointed Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore as his new special envoy on Myanmar, said his press office. Heyzer succeeds Christine […]
In this Dec 22, 1997, file photo former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo, with his wife Kim Ok-sook standing beside him, waves to his supporters and neighbors upon arrival at his home after he was released from the Seoul prison in a special amnesty. (YONHOP VIA AP) SEOUL – South Korean former president Roh Tae-woo, […]
Jay Y. Lee, co-vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co, is released from the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, South Korea on Aug 13, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG) A South Korean court fined Samsung Electronics Co Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee 70 million won ($60,000) for his illegal substance use, dealing another legal blow to the […]
Archaeologists stand near carvings discovered on the walls of an ancient irrigation canal near Faydeh in the Nineveh area of northern Iraq. (TERRA DI NINIVE / AFP) DOHUK, Iraq－Archaeologists in Iraq revealed on Sunday their discovery of a large-scale wine factory from the rule of the Assyrian kings 2,700 years ago, along with stunning monumental […]
This Oct 13, 2021 file photo shows construction in the Israeli settlement of Rahalim, located near the village of Yatma, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. Israel plans to build more residences for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, a government ministry said. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) The European Union on Monday […]
In this July 6, 2020 photo, a doctor displays a COVID-19 vaccine at Padjadjaran university educational hospital in Bandung, West Java in preparation for efforts to vaccinate volunteers in the community. (TIMUR MATAHARI / AFP) JAKARTA – Indonesia now feels more optimistic about producing its own coronavirus shots next year even as it pushes ahead […]
South Korea's President Moon Jae-in delivers speech on the government budget at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct 25, 2021. (JUNG YEON-JE / POOL / AFP) SYDNEY / SUVA / KUALA LUMPUR / ANKARA / SEOUL / TOKYO – South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that the country will begin returning to normalcy from the […]
Children play in a camp for internally displaced people in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sept 13, 2021. (FELIPE DANA / AP) DUBAI – Millions of Afghans, including children, could die of starvation unless urgent action is taken to pull Afghanistan back from the brink of collapse, a senior United Nations official warned, calling for frozen funds to […]
This photo taken on Sept 18, 2019 shows a man stacking up sacks of plastic items sorted from piles of thrash to be sold at recycling shops in Manila. (MARIA TAN / AFP) MANILA – A group of recyclers in the Philippines is trying to ease the country's worsening plastic waste crisis by turning bottles, […]
A picture taken on January 20, 2021 shows the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev (left), built in a suburb of the mostly Arab east Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp (right) behind Israel's controversial separation wall. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) AMMAN / RAMALLAH – Jordan on Sunday warned Israel against building new settlements in […]
Members of an election commission listen to the national anthem at a polling station during the presidential election in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Oct 24, 2021. (AP PHOTO) TASHKENT – Voting in Uzbekistan's presidential election ended with over 80 percent turnout on Sunday that was described by the country's Central Election Commission as a historic achievement for […]
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida who is also ruling Liberal Democratic Party president, attends a debate session with other leaders of Japan's main political parties ahead of Oct 31, 2021 lower house election, at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Oct 18 , 2021. (ISSEI KATO / POOL PHOTO VIA AP) New Japanese […]
In this July 20, 2021 photo, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech following a parade in the northern part of Cyprus' divided capital Nicosia, in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP) ANKARA- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said he instructed the Turkish foreign minister to declare […]
A woman casts her ballot during Uzbekistan's presidential election at a polling station in Tashkent on Oct 24, 2021. (VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP) TASHKENT – Uzbeks vote in a presidential election on Sunday with incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev running for a second term in office, the Uzbek Central Election Commission said Saturday. Over 19 million voters have […]
This June 30, 2020, file photo, shows a view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Efrayim in the Jordan Valley. (ODED BALILTY/AP) Israel is to push ahead with a plan to market land for building 1,500 new homes in the Jordan Valley by 2026. The plan would double the number of Israeli families […]