Tag Archives: asia

18 confirmed dead after landslides hit Indonesia's Sulawesi island

A search and rescue team found 18 people killed by landslides on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island and are still looking for two missing, officials said Monday. Rescuers found about 14 bodies in Makale village on Sunday afternoon and four in South Makale, said Mexianus Bekabel, the chief of Makassar Search and Rescue. “We are still looking for two more victims, but …

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Singapore PM to step down after 2 decades, handing power to his deputy

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday that he will step down on May 15 after two decades at the helm, and hand power to his deputy Lawrence Wong. Lee, 72, will formally advise the city-state’s president to appoint Wong, who is currently deputy prime minister and finance minister, to succeed him, his office said in a brief statement. …

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Top Chinese official visits North Korea to discuss boosting cooperation in highest-level meeting in years

A top Chinese official arrived in North Korea and held talks on how to boost their cooperation, North Korea’s state media reported Friday, in the countries’ highest-level meeting in about five years. Zhao Leji, who is chairman of China’s National People’s Congress and considered the No. 3 official in the ruling Communist Party, arrived in North Korea on Thursday. China’s …

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10 suspected illegal migrants busted for child pornography at Texas human smuggling 'stash house'

A group of 10 suspected illegal migrants from Asia and Guatemala have been arrested for allegedly possessing child pornography at a Texas house, police say, while Homeland Security tells Fox News Digital that the premises was being used as a “stash house for human smuggling activities.” The 10 suspects were taken into custody Thursday morning following a search of a …

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US, Japan and South Korea run military drills in disputed East China Sea

A U.S. carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has held a three-day joint exercise with its allies Japan and South Korea as U.S. President Joe Biden met for talks with leaders from Japan and the Philippines at the White House. The dueling military and diplomatic maneuvers are meant to strengthen the partners’ solidarity in the face of …

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What to know about the real estate tycoon sentenced to death in Vietnam's largest fraud case

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Vietnamese real estate tycoon was sentenced to death Thursday in the country’s biggest ever financial fraud case, a shocking development in an intensifying anti-corruption drive in the southeast Asian nation. Truong My Lan, a high-profile businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022. The …

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Almost 12,000 houses flooded along Russia's Kazakh border

Nearly 12,000 houses have been flooded in a Russian region bordering Kazakhstan as water levels in the Ural River keep rising and threatening more deluge, authorities said Thursday. The floods sparked evacuations of thousands in the Orenburg region, located some 745 miles, southeast of the capital of Moscow after a dam on the river burst last week under the pressure …

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Japanese PM Kishida to address Congress, discuss Asia-Pacific tension

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will head to Capitol Hill on Thursday for an address to U.S. lawmakers meant to underscore the importance of keeping a strong partnership between the two countries at a time of tension in the Asia-Pacific and skepticism in Congress about U.S. involvement abroad. Kishida was in Washington this week visiting President Joe Biden as the …

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Taiwan war games to simulate China turning a military drill into an attack: report

Taiwan’s annual war game exercises this year will feature simulating a scenario in which China turns one of its frequent military drills around the island into an actual attack, a report says. Tung Chih-hsing, the head of the joint combat planning department of Taiwan’s defense ministry, made the announcement during a news conference Tuesday, according to Reuters. He reportedly added …

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Chinese ambitions for US allies prompts Washington security summit with Japan, Philippines

President Biden will meet this week with his Philippine counterpart as the nation continues to face increasing tension over territorial disputes with China, with plans to discuss joint patrols of the region. “Joint patrols are something that we’ve already discussed extensively with Japan and the United States,” Philippines Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters in a briefing …

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