Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have reached a boiling point, with fears of escalation to an all-out war after the Taliban deployed troops to the border in response to deadly strikes and rising hostilities. The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for launching devastating artillery attacks on Pakistani military positions along the contentious Durand Line, further inflaming […]
Read MoreThousands of people took to the streets of Islamabad, Pakistan, demanding an end to the war in Gaza. The rally was organized by the Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami on Sunday (December 29). The rally called on the Pakistani government to recognize Hamas as a legitimate military force in addition to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The participants […]
Read MoreNo one can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his New Year’s speech on Tuesday, laying down a clear warning to what Beijing regards as pro-independence forces within and outside of the island of 23 million people. In the past year, Beijing has stepped up military pressure near Taiwan, sending […]
Read MoreJapanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s cabinet on Friday approved a record $730 billion budget for the next fiscal year, while limiting new bond issuance to the lowest in 17 years on the back of record tax revenue. However, Ishiba’s minority government faces a tough political battle with opposition parties to pass the budget through parliament […]
Read MoreSyria’s new foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani on Monday urged Kuwait to reopen its embassy in Damascus and resume relations with Syria following the downfall of Bashar al-Assad. His call came during a visit to the Syrian capital by Kuwaiti foreign minister Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya and other diplomats that signalled an openness to establish relations […]
Read MoreThe Indian rupee weakened slightly on Tuesday, tracking modest declines in other Asian peers, while volumes were relatively muted on the last trading day of 2024. The rupee was at 85.59 against the U.S. dollar as of 09:45 a.m. IST, down from its close at 85.5350 in the previous session. The dollar index was little […]
Read MoreIndia launched its first space docking mission on Monday, on an Indian-made rocket, in an attempt to become the fourth country to achieve the advanced technological feat. The mission, called Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX), lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh state at 1630 GMT aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s […]
Read MoreThailand’s central bank and anti-money laundering agency said on Monday that they have not found any evidence to support a report from a U.N. expert that some of the country’s banks were used to help Myanmar’s junta acquire weapons. The report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in […]
Read MoreSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, several cabinet ministers, military commanders and police officials face indictments and criminal investigations over the president’s short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3. Yoon, who has been impeached, also faces a trial in the Constitutional Court that will decide whether to confirm his ouster from office or restore his […]
Read MoreIndonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday said a planned increase in value-added tax (VAT) rate by one percentage point to 12% effective Wednesday, Jan. 1, will apply only to luxury goods and services. Prabowo said the decision should end speculation over which items and services would be affected by the VAT increase. The decision also […]
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