TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to appoint Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda to a position outside the Cabinet, while retaining his current finance and foreign ministers in a reshuffle expected this week, media said. Mr Koichi Hagiuda, the minister of economy, trade and industry, is likely to be appointed chairman of […]
BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Nearly two-thirds of people in Thailand want Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to leave office this month, according to an opinion poll, which comes amid growing debate about how long the 2014 coup architect should stay in power. Thailand’s opposition plans to petition the constitutional court to decide whether Mr Prayut’s time as […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will reshuffle his Cabinet next week to address mounting issues, including the coronavirus, inflation, Taiwan and the economy, he said Saturday (Aug 6). “We need to set off a new formation as soon as possible, considering the various issues,” he told a news conference in Hiroshima after […]
SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Tonga should determine its future, not China or any other country, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said during a multi-leg trip to Pacific nations amid growing geopolitical tensions. At a televised event with university students in the Tonga capital Nuku’alofa on Saturday (Aug 6), Ms Sherman said the United States […]
SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Australia’s Covid-19 winter outbreak fuelled by the new Omicron sub-variants BA.4/5 may have peaked early, Health Minister Mark Butler said on Thursday (Aug 4), as hospitals reported a steady fall in admissions over the past week. Australia is battling one of its worst flare-ups of the coronavirus driven by the fast-moving new […]
YANGON (AFP) – Russia’s foreign minister arrived in Myanmar on Wednesday (Aug 3) for talks with junta leaders, stopping off on his way to a regional meeting that has snubbed the military over its refusal to halt its bloody crackdown on dissent. Mr Sergei Lavrov arrived at the military-built capital Naypyidaw “for a working visit”, […]
Contender to become the country's next Prime minister and leader of the Conservative party British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss cheers prior to the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 final football match between England and Germany at the Wembley stadium, in London, on July 31, 2022. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) LONDON – The frontrunner to become British […]
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez addresses a press conference to present his government's results since the beginning of the year, at La Moncloa Palace in Madrid, on July 29, 2022. (JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) MADRID – Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asked his ministers, public officials and private sector employees on Friday to stop wearing […]
Alvaro Leyca (center), the designated foreign minister of Colombia appointed by next president Gustavo Preto, delivers a speech next to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faria (left) and Tachira Governor Freddy Bernal (right), after a meeting at the border city of San Cristobal, Venezuela, on July 28, 2022. (JOHNNY PARRA / AFP) SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela – […]
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi addresses senators on the government crisis following his resignations last week, at the Senate in Rome on July 20, 2022. (ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP) ROME- The party with the most votes in Italy's centre-right coalition will choose the prime minister if the bloc wins the coming election, the alliance said […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan’s industry minister Koichi Hagiuda has taken on the additional role as Green Transformation minister, leading the country’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the government’s spokesman said on Wednesday (July 27). “Minister Hagiuda is expected to manage administrative processes to realise the transformation of Japan’s economy, society and industrial structure […]
KUALA LUMPUR – Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz will be appointed Treasurer of Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) at a ceremony graced by the Umno-led coalition’s top state leaders on Sunday (July 31), confirming months of rumours that he is being groomed to be among the next generation of leaders for Malaysia’s grand old party. The […]
PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied the allegation of receiving political donations from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) for Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia after the 14th General Election. “I didn’t receive (the money). If he can show proof, I accept it, this is easy to […]
A handout picture released by the BBC, taken and received on July 25, 2022, shows Conservative politicians and candidates to be the Leader of the Conservative Party, and Britain's next Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak (left) and Liss Truss (center), as they appear on the BBC's 'The UK's Next Prime Minister: The Debate', in Victoria Hall […]
BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Saturday (July 23), emerging on top in his last major test ahead of a general election due within 11 months. The 68-year-old former army chief, in power since a coup he led in 2014, secured the required votes to guarantee […]
Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi reacts during the debate on the government crisis following his resignation the week before, at the Senate in Rome on July 20, 2022. (ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP) ROME – Italy's government crumbled on Wednesday when three of Prime Minister Mario Draghi's main coalition partners snubbed a confidence vote he had […]
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts as he leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on July 20, 2022 to head to the Houses of Parliament for his last weekly Prime Minister's Questions session. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) LONDON – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson bowed out of his final showpiece parliamentary appearance with […]
The four Conservative Party candidates that went into the latest round of voting on Tuesday are (from left) Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt. Badenoch was eliminated in the race to become the UK's next prime minister. (PHOTO / AFP) The race for the Conservative Party leadership that will also decide the […]
BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha fended off accusations of corruption and economic mismanagement in a televised session of parliament on Tuesday (July 19), as a censure debate got under way seeking to dent his credibility with an election due within 11 months. Prayut, 68, a retired army chief who first came to […]
A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking during a debate ahead of a confidence vote in the ruling Conservative government, in the House of Commons in London on July 18, 2022. (ANDY BAILEY / UK PARLIAMENT / AFP) LONDON – Lawmakers in the House of Commons, the […]