New Delhi went into a weekend lockdown on Saturday as India faces a ferocious new coronavirus wave, with daily cases hitting another record increase of 234,692 nationwide and families clamouring for drugs and hospital beds. The health ministry said the latest number is the eighth record high in the last nine days. Total cases reached … Read more
Top intelligence officers from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in January in a new effort to calm military tension over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, people with close knowledge of the matter have told the Reuters news agency in New Delhi. Ties between the nuclear-armed rivals have been on ice since … Read more
Taipei, Taiwan – For the first time in more than half a century, the United States and Japan are expected this week to make a joint statement on the security of the Taiwan Strait following a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. While largely symbolic, the statement would be an … Read more
The administration of US President Joe Biden has told Congress it is proceeding with more than $23bn in weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, armed drones and other equipment, congressional aides said on Tuesday. A State Department spokesperson said the administration would move forward with the proposed sales to the … Read more
United States President Joe Biden will leave US troops in Afghanistan past the current May 1 deadline but will withdraw them by September 11, US officials said on Tuesday. “After a rigorous policy review, President Biden has decided to draw down the remaining troops in Afghanistan and finally end the US war there after 20 … Read more
Japan says it will release more than one million tonnes of contaminated water from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power station back into the sea, in a decision that drew swift condemnation from South Korea and environmental groups and is likely to anger the fishing industry. The work to release the water will begin in about … Read more
The police shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in a Minneapolis suburb appeared to be an “accidental discharge” by an officer who drew her gun rather than a Taser during a struggle, the city’s police chief said on Monday. The shooting on Sunday that led to the death of Wright, who was Black, took place after traffic police … Read more
Former banker Guillermo Lasso has declared victory in the Ecuadorean presidential election, after his challenger, left-wing economist Andres Arauz, conceded defeat in a poll that took place against a COVID-19 pandemic that has devastated an already struggling economy. Lasso said he accepted the “challenge” of governing after winning the runoff with 52.5 percent of the … Read more
Myanmar’s ambassador to Britain accused a Yangon military-linked figure of occupying the embassy and barring him access, in an extraordinary diplomatic standoff a month after the envoy called for the military to release deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The latest development comes as the violence in Myanmar continues with at least 20 more … Read more
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party has suffered devastating defeats in elections for the mayors of the country’s two biggest cities, results showed on Thursday, amid political scandals and policy blunders. The election on Wednesday was widely seen a key barometer for potential political shifts for Moon’s progressive party with less than one year left … Read more