Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, Oct 14, 2021. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / POOL / AP) TOKYO – Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida launched a flagship council on Friday to work out a strategy to tackle wealth disparities and redistribute wealth to […]
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al-Saud speaks during a joint press conference with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (not pictured) at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on July 27, 2021. (AAMIR QURESHI / AFP) CAIRO – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken […]
An undated handout photo received on Oct 28, 2015, shows Palau's Rock Islands. (AFP PHOTO / THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS / MATT RAND) SYDNEY / DENPASAR / TEHRAN / VIENTIANE / BEIRUT / KUALA LUMPUR / YANGON / WELLINGTON / SINGAPORE / ANKARA – The tiny Pacific nation of Palau has the world's highest percentage […]
A phone box with numbers for suicide prevention support as well as a bible and messages of support, at Tojinbo cliffs in Japan. (CARL COURT / GETTY IMAGES) TOKYO – Child suicides in Japan are the highest they have been in more than four decades, local media have reported, citing the country's education ministry. As […]
Supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal movement arrive to a demonstration at the Justice Palace in the capital Beirut on Oct 14, 2021, during a gathering to demand the dismissal of the Beirut blast lead investigator. (JOSEPH EID / AFP) BEIRUT – Gunfire killed at least one person in Beirut on Thursday as supporters and […]
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a bilateral meeting with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the State Department in Washington, Oct 13, 2021. (ANDREW HARNIK / POOL / AFP) WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday the Biden administration intends to press ahead with […]
Lawmakers attend a session at the lower house to dissolve parliament in Tokyo on Oct 14, 2021. (STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP) TOKYO – Japan dissolved its parliament on Thursday, setting the stage for an election at the end of the month that will pit new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida against unpopular opposition in a […]
This file photo dated Feb 26, 2020 shows an image grab taken from a video released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) showing an explosion following an Israeli air strike on an undisclosed location in Syria. (PHOTO / AFP) DAMASCUS – One Syrian soldier was killed and three others wounded on Wednesday night […]
Deputy Secretary General/Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora speaks to journalists outside the 'Grand Hotel Wien' after the closed-door nuclear talks in Vienna on June 20, 2021. (JOE KLAMAR / AFP) PARIS – A pending visit to Tehran by the European Union's coordinator for talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal […]
In this May 24, 2019 file photo, then Lebanese finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil listens to Lebanese information minister Jamal Jarrah while he speaks to a journalist at the Government House in Beirut, Lebanon. On Oct 12, 2021, Lebanon's state news agency said the judge leading the investigation into last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s […]
Taliban fighters check commuters along a road in Kunduz on Oct 10, 2021. (HOSHANG HASHIMI / AFP) DOHA – There is no clear path for unfreezing Afghan government funds, Qatar's foreign minister told a conference on Wednesday, highlighting the economic challenges Afghanistan faces under its new Taliban rulers. Qatar is hosting talks between the Taliban […]
Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces helicopter carrier Izumo sails out its Yokosuka Base in Kanagawa prefecture on May 1, 2017. (JIJI PRESS / AFP) TOKYO – The Liberal Democratic Party included a goal of spending 2 percent of GDP – about $100 billion – or more on the military for the first time in its […]
China wishes all factions to strengthen solidarity and advance political process People celebrate on a street in Baghdad on Monday after preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary elections were announced. (HADI MIZBAN / AP) As apathy resulted in a low voter turnout in Iraq's parliamentary elections, the incoming leaders should focus on building on the gains […]
In this file photo taken on Mar 24, 2016, the current New Zealand flag flies over the parliament building in the central business district in Wellington. (MARTY MELVILLE / AFP) WELLINGTON – New Zealand Minister of Health Andrew Little said on Tuesday that the country's health system is ready for the implementation of the End […]
In this file photo taken on Aug 16, 2021, a health worker inoculates a woman with a dose of the Covishield vaccine against COVID-19 at an inoculation site in Amritsar, India.(NARINDER NANU / AFP) MANILA / SEOUL / NEW DELHI / ISLAMABAD / WELLINGTON/ SEOUL / ANKARA / YANGON – India is building up a […]
Members of the Taliban delegation Shahabuddin Delawar (left), Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Khairullah Khairkhwa (right) meet with foreign diplomats in Qatar's capital Doha, on Oct 12, 2021. (KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) WASHINGTON – The United States and the Taliban had "productive discussions" on the issue of humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan during meetings in Qatar over […]
Rescuers search for victims in a house buried by a landslide caused by tropical storm Kompasu in Baguio city, northern Philippines on Oct 12, 2021. (AP) MANILA – Nine people have been killed in the Philippines and 11 were missing on Tuesday due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rain from tropical cyclone Kompasu, […]
This picture taken on Aug 4, 2021 shows an aerial view of the damaged grain silos at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on the first anniversary of the blast that ravaged the port and the city. (PHOTO / AFP) BEIRUT – A probe into the catastrophic Beirut port explosion was frozen on Tuesday for […]
A health worker prepares a dose of Covaxin in the COVID-19 vaccination room at the Super Speciality Hospital Hospital in Srinagar, India, on Jan 29, 2021. (PHOTO / BLOOMBERG) ISTANBUL / SYDNEY / DHAKA / NEW DELHI / TEHRAN / KUALA LUMPUR / ULAN BATOR / YANGON / WELLINGTON / ISLAMABAD / SINGAPORE / SEOUL […]
Pursue gains achieved by the past government to alleviate people’s sufferings, say analysts Followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr celebrate holding his posters, after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections in Tahrir Square, Baghdad, Iraq, Oct 11, 2021. (HADI MIZBAN / AP) Despite the apathy that resulted in low voter turnout […]
Samsung conglomerate leader Jay Y Lee (center) arrives to court for his trial on charges of illegally using the anaesthetic propofol, at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul on Oct 12, 2021. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP) SEOUL – Samsung conglomerate chief Jay Y Lee pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday to a charge of unlawful […]
The city skyline is seen at dusk from the Tokyo Skytree observation deck in Tokyo on Oct 10, 2021. (PHILIP FONG / AFP) TOKYO – Japan's stock market has surged and luxury cars are selling fast in Tokyo after eight years of economic stimulus under Abenomics, but that new wealth is concentrated in a small […]
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers his first policy speech during an extraordinary Diet session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan, Oct 8, 2021. (EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP) TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) unveiled on Tuesday its manifesto for an Oct 31 election with a focus […]
In this Sept 7, 2021 photo, an Afghan fruit vendor waits for customers along a street in Kabul. (HOSHANG HASHIMI / AFP) UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for the injection of liquidity to keep the Afghan economy afloat. Since their takeover, the Taliban have – at various times – promised […]
A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency on Oct 8, 2021, shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, southeast of the city of the same name, during the visit of the country's president. (IRANIAN PRESIDENCY / AFP) TEHRAN – The speaker of Iran's parliament said here on Monday that any dialogue regarding the 2015 nuclear […]
This picture taken on Oct 11, 2021, and released from the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Oct 12 shows DPRK leader Kim Jong-un (center) attending the defence development exhibition "Self-Defence-2021" at the Three-Revolution Exhibition House in Pyongyang. (STR / KCNA VIA KNS / AFP) SEOUL – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's […]
This picture taken from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on June 5, 2020 shows the border fence with the south-western Syrian governorate of Quneitra. (JALAA MAREY / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel will keep the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in a 1967 war, even if international views on Damascus change, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali […]
This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies on March 10, 2021, shows the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, on Feb 28, 2011, nearly 10 years after an earthquake and tsunami hit the area causing a nuclear disaster. (HANDOUT / SATELLITE IMAGE ©2021 MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES […]
Singapore Airlines Ltd aircraft stand on the tarmac at Changi Airport in Singapore on Dec 13, 2018. (NICKY LOH / BLOOMBERG) Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s website was temporarily down over the weekend and travel agencies are seeing a surge in demand for flights after the city-state announced a plan to start quarantine-free travel with more countries […]
In this file photo taken on July 1, 2021, an international passenger reacts after a medical worker gave him a COVID-19 swab test following his arrival for the “Phuket Sandbox” tourism scheme that allows the entry of vaccinated visitors, at Phuket International Airport in Phuket, Thailand. (LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP) SYDNEY / BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN […]