KUALA LUMPUR: The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not send observers to army-ruled Myanmar’s ongoing three-stage election and will therefore not endorse the poll, Malaysia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military staged a coup against a civilian government in 2021. The election, which began in […]
Read MoreIn the dull glow of a single bulb lighting their tent on the outskirts of Kabul, Samiullah and his wife Bibi Rehana sit down to dry bread and tea, their only meal of the day, accompanied by their five children and three-month-old grandchild. “We have reached a point where we are content with death,” said […]
Read MoreTOKYO: A record number of tourists flocked to Japan in 2025, officials said Tuesday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on. Japan logged 42.7 million arrivals last year, according to the transport ministry, topping 2024’s record of nearly 37 million as the weak […]
Read MoreBy Stephen M. Bland | Vagit Ismailov President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used the fifth session of Kazakhstan’s National Kurultai on January 20 to propose creating a vice president’s post and embedding the new institution in the constitution, as part of a broader package of political reforms aimed at reshaping the country’s system of governance. Under the […]
Read MoreTürkiye’s expanding footprint in Central Asia has become a defining feature of Ankara’s foreign policy, drawing growing attention from regional observers and international media alike. As highlighted by TVP World, Ankara is pursuing an ambitious outreach strategy built on shared cultural ties, economic engagement, and security cooperation with the Turkic states of the region. Türkiye’s […]
Read MoreHANOI: Vietnam’s top leader promised to fight corruption in an address Tuesday to a twice-a-decade congress of the Communist Party, where he is seeking expanded powers similar to China’s political structure. In just 17 months as general secretary, To Lam has swept aside rivals and centralized authority in an aggressive reform drive officials describe as […]
Read MoreSEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fired his vice premier, compared him to a goat and railed against “incompetent” officials, state media said Tuesday, in a rare and very public broadside against apparatchiks at the opening of a critical factory. Vice Premier Yang Sung Ho was sacked “on the spot,” the state-run Korean […]
Read MoreMANILA: In Malacanang, the presidential palace of the Philippines, residents come and go usually every five years, but some are believed to have lingered for centuries, haunting its historical corridors with their mysterious presence. Built in 1750 as a summer house for a Spanish aristocrat, the palace was acquired by the Spanish government in 1825 […]
Read MoreBy Biman Mukherji Bangladesh’s student leaders, one of the main driving forces behind the mass protests that brought down former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024, now face an uncertain political future. Despite their central role in the uprising, the youth movement has been granted only a small share of parliamentary seats under a new […]
Read MoreIndia and the United Arab Emirates today (19 January) agreed to look at a strategic defence pact and explore bilateral collaboration in civil nuclear sectors as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with visiting UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan laying out a broad agenda to shore up ties. Modi welcomed Al […]
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