Police take up positions along a road in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Jan 29, 2021, ahead of the reopening of the parliament on Feb 1 following the November, 2020 election which Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won in a landslide. (THET AUNG / AFP) YANGON – Myanmar members of parliament are […]
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Jan 28, 2021, in Washington. (PHOTO / AP) WASHINGTON / KABUL – The Biden administration believes it is hard to see a way forward for a negotiated settlement with the Taliban unless the militant group meets its commitments under a 2020 deal, although […]
Then Kyrgyz presidential candidate Sadyr Zhaparov addresses supporters at Bishkek's Ala-Too Square on January 11, 2021, a day after the presidential election. (VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP) BISHKEK – Sadyr Zhaparov officially took office as the new Kyrgyz president on Thursday, becoming the sixth president of Kyrgyzstan. Zhaparov took the oath at an inauguration ceremony at […]
SEOUL – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States should seek an initial denuclearization deal that includes a halt to DPRK's nuclear activity and a cut in its program in exchange for some sanctions relief, the Republic of Korea's (ROK) prime minister said on Thursday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, in his […]
A health worker prepares to inoculate a private hospital staff with a COVID-19 vaccine in Hyderabad on Jan 28, 2021. (NOAH SEELAM / AFP) SYDNEY / ANKARA / JERUSALEM / NEW DELHI – India’s health minister on Thursday declared its COVID-19 epidemic contained as, with most of the country’s active patients concentrated in two states, […]
In this June 19, 2020 photo, Palestinians cross a bridge at Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem. (ODED BALILTY / AP) UNITED NATIONS－US President Joe Biden's administration announced on Tuesday it was restoring relations with the Palestinians and renewing aid to Palestinian refugees, a reversal of his predecessor Donald Trump's […]
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh's father Saeed Sheikh (left) leaves the Supreme Court building in Islamabad on Jan 28, 2021, after the court dismissed a series of appeals against the acquittal of the British-born militant convicted of masterminding the kidnap and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, paving the way for his release along with three […]
This handout picture released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on April 15, 2019 shows US soldiers standing next to an F-35A Lightning II stationed at the Emirati Al-Dhafra base, about 32 kilometers south of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. (US CENTRAL COMMAND / AFP) The United States put a temporary hold on some […]
NEW DELHI – Boeing has received a licence from the US government to offer its F-15EX fighter jet to the Indian air force, a senior executive said on Thursday. Boeing will compete with the Swedish Gripen and the French Rafale among others for the IAF’s plan to buy 114 multirole aircraft to replace its Soviet […]
This Jan 7, 2021 photo, shows a vial and a syringe of the Pfizer/BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine at the Bordeaux CHU hospital. (MEHDI FEDOUACH / AFP) A piece of "great news" has finally reached Diego Silva, a lecturer in bioethics at the University of Sydney's School of Public Health. The Australian government has secured more than […]
This photo taken on Dec 11, 2015 shows a general view of the Cairn India, Oil and Gas exploration plant at Barmer in Rajasthan, India. (MONEY SHARMA / AFP) India is about to join countries including Venezuela in being threatened by asset seizures across the world. Cairn Energy Plc will push authorities to impound Indian […]
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to reporters during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, Jan 27, 2021. (PHOTO / AP) WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday stuck to his stance that Tehran must resume complying with the Iran nuclear deal before Washington, which abandoned the pact under […]
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (left) receives his second injection of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Jan 27, 2021. (PHOTO / XINHUA) CANBERRA / BEIRUT / YANGON / JAKATA－ Indonesian President Joko Widodo, 59, received his second dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine made by […]
In this May 15, 2020 photo, a man rests along Merlion park in Singapore. (Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) Singaporean authorities detained a teenager under internal security laws for planning to kill Muslims at two mosques in the city-state on the March 15 anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. The 16-year-old student is the youngest to […]
In this June 1, 2018 photo, flags of the Group of Seven (G7) nations and the European Union flag fly over the Fairmont Le Manoir Richelie hotel, the location for the G7 summit, in La Malbaie, Quebec. (ALICE CHICHE / AFP) Japan has raised concerns about British proposals to invite Australia, India and South Korea […]
A handout picture released by the Israeli Intelligence Ministry shows Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen (L) elbow-bumping Sudanese Defence Minister Yassin Ibrahim in Sudan's capital Khartoum on January 25, 2021. (ARYE SHALICAR / ISRAEL INTELLIGENCE MINISTRY/ AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel and Sudan will finalize a diplomatic deal to normalize relations at a signing ceremony in […]
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a meeting at the COVID-19 coronavirus infection control headquarters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on January 22, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / POOL / AFP) TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga apologized on Wednesday after lawmakers from his ruling coalition visited night clubs despite his government’s […]
Indonesia is expanding programs to mitigate the impact from climate change following a recent spate of natural disasters that has added pressure to economic recovery. A mangrove planting campaign to boost the ecosystem and landscape resilience will target areas of 600,000 hectares across the nation, a jump from 15,000 in 2020, Environment and Forestry Minister […]
Protesters shout slogans in front of the Red Fort as farmers continue to protest against the central government's recent agricultural reforms in New Delhi on Jan 26, 2021. (SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP) NEW DELHI – Hundreds of police guarded the historic Red Fort in the heart of the Indian capital on Wednesday following violent clashes […]
This file photo shows Google's headquarters in Mountain View, California. (PHOTO / AP) SYDNEY – Google is reviving plans to launch its own news website in Australia within weeks, according to a local media outlet contracted to provide articles for the venture, as the search giant fights world-first proposed laws on content payments. The launch […]
Houthi supporters chant slogans as they attend a demonstration against the United States over its decision to designate the Houthis a foreign terrorist organization, in Sanaa, Yemen, Jan 25, 2021. (HANI MOHAMMED / AP) WASHINGTON－The administration of US President Joe Biden on Monday suspended some of the "terrorism sanctions" that former US secretary of state […]
Israeli army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Aviv Kohavi delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the arrival of the first of four new German-built Saar 6 naval vessels purchased by the navy, in the northern Haifa city naval base, on Dec 2, 2020. (PHOTO / AFP) JERUSALEM – Israel’s top general said on Tuesday that […]
Foreign passengers wearing protective suits line up for their flight to China at Manila's International Airport, Philippines, Jan 18, 2021. (PHOTO / AP) BEIRUT / JERUSALEM / BAGHDAD / MELBOURNE – Of the 428,000 people who were eligible for a “green passport” — meaning at least a week had passed after their second dose of […]
Myanmar's military spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun speaks during a press briefing at the DefenSe Service Museum in Naypyidaw on January 26, 2021. (THET AUNG / AFP) NAYPYITAW, Myanmar – Myanmar’s army warned on Tuesday it would “take action” if an election dispute was not settled and declined to rule out staging a coup if […]
A farmer throws back a tear gas shell towards police during a tractor rally as farmers continue to protest against the central government's recent agricultural reforms in New Delhi on Jan 26, 2021. (SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP) NEW DELHI – One person was killed as protesting farmers Tuesday marched in huge numbers and drove their tractors inside […]
This handout aerial photo taken on Jan 24, 2021 and released by the Indonesia Coast Guard shows a seized Iranian tanker and Panamanian vessel suspected of illegally transferring oil in Indonesian waters. (HANDOUT / INDONESIA COAST GUARD / AFP) JAKARTA – The Iranian and Panamanian-flagged vessels seized by Indonesian authorities for suspected illegal oil transfers […]
This general view shows shows members in the chamber during the opening session of the lower house of parliament in Tokyo on Jan 18, 2021. (KAZUHIRO NOGI / AFP) TOKYO – Japan’s powerful lower house of parliament is expected to pass on Tuesday this year’s third extra budget despite criticism it focuses too much on […]
In this file photo, a technician works at the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran. (PHOTO / AP) TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday that if the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iranian 2015 nuclear deal, do not adhere to their commitments, Iran […]
An Iranian cleric walks past a mural painting of the national flag in the capital Tehran on August 27, 2019. (ATTA KENARE / AFP) TEHRAN – The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Iran will re-embrace its nuclear commitments if the United States removes sanctions against it. Following the US exit from the nuclear […]
People clad in face masks meet in the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane on Jan 8, 2021. (PHOTO / AFP) JERUSALEM / ANKARA / BEIRUT / WELLINGTON / JAKARTA – The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 9,994 within one day to 999,256, with the death toll adding by 297 to 28,132, the Health Ministry […]