Asia News

  • Pakistan court orders jail for wife of former PM Imran Khan, lawyer says
    on May 8, 2024 at 8:37 am

    ISLAMABAD — A court in Pakistan granted on Wednesday (May 8) a request by the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan to shift to jail, her lawyer said, instead of house arrest ordered by the government because of security concerns. Bushra Bibi, detained at Khan's hilltop mansion in Islamabad since the […]

  • North Korean propaganda chief who served all 3 leaders dies
    on May 8, 2024 at 2:44 am

    SEOUL — Kim Ki-nam, one of the longest-serving North Korean officials who served all three generations of its leaders cementing their political legitimacy and heading the propaganda apparatus for the dynastic state, has died, official media said on Wednesday (May 8). North Korea leader Kim Jong-un visited […]

  • Taliban say order restored after Afghan opium poppy protests
    on May 8, 2024 at 2:34 am

    KABUL — The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday (May 7) they have quelled protests in a northern province over security forces' attempts to eradicate opium poppy cultivation which generates income for many impoverished farmers. Taliban authorities were holding meetings in Badakhshan, spokesman Zabihullah […]

  • Cambodia says it will cut shipping through Vietnam by 70% with new China-funded Mekong canal
    on May 7, 2024 at 9:00 am

    PHNOM PENH/HANOI — Cambodia plans to cut shipping through Vietnamese ports by 70 per cent as a result of a US$1.7 billion (S$2.29 billion) China-funded upgrade of a canal connecting the Mekong River basin to the Cambodian coast, the country's deputy prime minister told Reuters. Sun Chanthol downplayed […]

  • Vietnam marks 70th anniversary of the 'historic' Dien Bien Phu victory
    on May 7, 2024 at 5:11 am

    HANOI — War veterans, party leaders and diplomats gathered in Vietnam's Dien Bien Phu province on Tuesday (May 7) for an event to mark the 70th anniversary of the country's victory over French colonial forces. The bloody, 56-day battle in the northwestern, remote valley ended on May 7, 1954, precipitating […]

  • Indonesia proposes cutting payments for South Korea fighter jet project: Report
    on May 6, 2024 at 5:37 am

    SEOUL — Indonesia has proposed to cut its share of payments for a joint fighter jet development project with South Korea to about one-third of the originally agreed amount, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on May 6. Indonesia recently suggested to the South Korean government that it would pay about […]

  • North Korea bolsters leader Kim Jong-un with birthday loyalty oaths
    on May 6, 2024 at 5:30 am

    SEOUL — For the first time since leader Kim Jong-un took power in 2011, North Koreans were asked to take loyalty oaths on his birthday, said a South Korean research institute, amid other steps the country is taking to solidify his rule. The loyalty oaths were administered on what is believed to have been […]

  • Philippines, US repel mock foreign invaders in annual military exercises
    on May 6, 2024 at 5:22 am

    LAOAG, Philippines — US and Philippine armed forces fired missiles and artillery to thwart a simulated invasion in the Philippines' northern waters facing Taiwan on Monday, in a show of military force and strengthening ties as regional tensions rise.  About 200 soldiers took turns defending the shores […]

  • Indonesia to permanently relocate nearly 10,000 people after Ruang volcano eruptions
    on May 6, 2024 at 3:21 am

    JAKARTA — The Indonesian government will permanently relocate almost 10,000 residents after a series of explosive eruptions of the Ruang volcano has raised concerns about the dangers of residing on the island in future, a minister said on Friday (May 3). About 9,800 people live on Ruang island, in the […]

  • New groups monitoring sanctions on North Korea will fail, says its UN envoy
    on May 5, 2024 at 5:03 am

    SEOUL — Efforts led by the US and other Western countries to form new groups to monitor sanctions on North Korea will fail, the country's UN envoy said on May 5, according to state media KCNA. Ambassador Kim Song made the comment in response to a joint statement the US and its allies issued this week in a […]