TAIPEI – Taiwanese teenager Chou Rei-chi cannot wait for the day when she can finally cast her vote in the local elections. The 17-year-old high school student is still three years shy of Taiwan’s legal voting age of 20, but she has been closely following the twists and turns of every election since learning about […]
UN rights chief in Bangladesh, to visit Rohingya camps
DHAKA (AFP) – United Nations rights chief Michelle Bachelet arrived in Bangladesh on Sunday (Aug 14) for a four-day visit that will include a trip to squalid camps housing nearly a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The exodus of Rohingya was sparked by a 2017 Myanmar army offensive against the mostly Muslim minority, with the […]
Tropical Depression Mulan triggers flash floods at Thai-Myanmar border towns
BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Heavy rains from Tropical Depression Mulan caused flash floods on Saturday (Aug 13), with towns at the Thai-Myanmar border submerged after rising water levels breached an earthen dam in Myanmar’s Shan State, local media reported. The flood water, which had mostly receded on Sunday, inundated more than 2,000 households in Mae Sai […]
Indonesia deploys over 20 helicopters to fire-prone provinces after hot spots appear
JAKARTA – Indonesia has deployed more than 20 helicopters to six fire-prone provinces in Sumatra and Kalimantan as a pre-emptive measure, after small-scale forest and plantation fires appeared in the past week. The fires, which have prompted fears of haze returning to the region, have not spread, thanks to rain and fire-fighting efforts on the […]
Split families still suffer after 75 years of India-Pakistan partition
KARACHI/NEW DELHI (REUTERS) – Ali Hasan Baqai and Syed Abid Baqai, brothers split for 75 years by the partition of India and Pakistan, talk with their families on a video call, words and tears binding them but with no hope of a reunion. Thousands of families like the Baqai brothers’ remain divided three-quarters of a […]
Australian police say man detained over shots fired at Canberra airport
SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Australian capital Canberra’s airport was evacuated and a man arrested after gunshots were heard in the main terminal building, police said on Sunday (Aug 14). One person has been taken into custody and a firearm was recovered, the police said in a statement. There have been no reported injuries, it added. Police […]
Indian billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala dies at 62
MUMBAI (REUTERS) – Stock investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, dubbed India’s Warren Buffett with an estimated net worth of US$6 billion (S$8 billion), died on Sunday (Aug 14) morning at the age of 62, media said. A chartered accountant by profession from the desert state of Rajasthan, Mr Jhunjhunwala started dabbling in stocks while in college and went […]
Vietnam considers $80b high-speed railway
HANOI (REUTERS) – Vietnam is considering building a high-speed railway that runs along the country’s length with a possible price tag of up to US$58.7 billion (S$80.5 billion), the government said on Sunday (Aug 14). The South-east Asian country’s Transport Ministry will, next month, submit a proposal to build the 1,545km railway to the Politburo, […]
UN-chartered ship in Ukraine readying for journey to Africa
In this file photo taken on Aug 7, 2022, a man takes a picture as the Glory bulk carrier makes its way from the port in Odesa, Ukraine. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure, the ship under the Marshall Islands' flag is carrying 66 thousand tons of Ukrainian corn. (NINA LYASHONOK / AP) ODESA, Ukraine […]
Ethiopia announces completion of third filling of mega-dam
In this file photo taken on Feb 20, 2022 A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia. (AMANUEL SILESHI / AFP) ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia announced the successful completion of the third filling of its mega-dam on the Blue Nile. "It is with great pleasure, I announce the successful completion […]
UN troop rotations in Mali to resume on Monday
This file photo taken on Aug 2, 2018 shows a German soldier from the parachutists detachment of the MINUSMA (United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali) searching for IED (improvised explosive device) during a patrol on the route from Gao to Gossi, Mali. (SEYLLOU / AFP) DAKAR – Troop rotations by the UN peacekeeping […]
Odinga ahead in Kenya’s presidential race, results show
Recently elected MPs and governors from Azimio party, led by presidential candidate Raila Odinga, gather at their campaign headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, Aug 13, 2022. (MOSA'AB ELSHAMY / AP) NAIROBI – Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga led Kenya's presidential race, official election results showed on Saturday, pushing Deputy President William Ruto into second place. With […]
Salman Rushdie still hospitalized as attack suspect pleads not guilty
Hadi Matar, 24, center, listens to his public defense attorney Nathaniel Barone, left, addresses the judge while being arraigned in the Chautauqua County Courthouse in Mayville, NY, Aug 13, 2022. (GENE PUSKAR / AP) Acclaimed author Salman Rushdie remained hospitalized on Saturday with serious injuries a day after he was repeatedly stabbed at a public […]
China renews red alert for high temperatures
BEIJING (XINHUA) – China’s national observatory on Sunday (Aug 14) renewed a red alert for high temperatures, the most severe warning in its four-tier weather warning system, as scorching heatwaves hit many regions of the country. During the day on Sunday, parts of Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, […]
Shanghai to reopen all schools on Sept 1 with daily Covid-19 testing
SHANGHAI (REUTERS) – China’s financial hub Shanghai said on Sunday (Aug 14) that it will reopen all primary, middle and high schools, as well as kindergartens and nurseries, on Sept 1 after months of Covid-19 closures. The city will require all teachers and students to take nucleic acid tests for the coronavirus every day before […]
Beijing’s pet lovers turn to acupuncture to treat their furry friends
BEIJING (AFP) – Strapped in tight, the prone poodle nervously eyes the vet as he gently sticks fine needles into its back and paws, summoning the ancient art of acupuncture to treat the pet’s aches and pains. Duniu is just one of a growing number of animals being signed up for traditional medicine in China […]
Survivors of South Asia’s Partition seek closure through an unlikely source: YouTube
FAISALABAD, Pakistan (NYTIMES) – Nasir Dhillon, a former police officer, sells houses in a Pakistani city about 160km from the Indian border. His real estate company has four locations and he drives a Toyota SUV, a local marker of affluence. But Dhillon, 38, is better known for his sideline: reuniting people separated from their relatives […]
China removes 3 Tibet health officials from posts over Covid-19
BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China removed three health officials in Tibet from their posts for failing to prevent the spread of the recent Covid-19 outbreak. The sacked officials include the party secretary and director of the municipal health commission of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, as well as the party secretary of the city’s centre for […]
North Korea criticises UN chief over denuclearisation call
SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea on Sunday (Aug 14) criticised UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his “dangerous words” after he called for the complete and verifiable denuclearisation of Pyongyang during a visit to Seoul. Guterres, who was in South Korea on a two-day visit, expressed his “clear commitment” to North Korea’s denuclearisation. He called it […]
Four Latin American nations back Peru’s Castillo amid crisis
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo delivers a speech during a meeting with members of the self-defense committees, the so called "peasant patrols" who act as law-and-order enforcers in parts of rural Peru, at the Government Palace in Lima on Aug 10, 2022. (ERNESTO BENAVIDES / AFP) LIMA – The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia […]