Tag Archives: asia

11,000 ordered to evacuate as volcanic eruptions, tsunami warnings rock Indonesian island

Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday after eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high. Officials ordered more than 11,000 people to leave the area. The volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five large eruptions in the past 24 hours, Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said. Authorities raised their …

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Azerbaijan urges top UN court to throw out Armenia's accusations of racial discrimination

Armenia insisted Tuesday that the top United Nations court has jurisdiction to hear its case accusing Azerbaijan of breaching an international convention that aims to stamp out racial discrimination. At a preliminary hearing Monday, Azerbaijan had urged the International Court of Justice to toss out for lack of jurisdiction the case Armenia filed in 2021 that accuses Azerbaijan of a …

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Singapore's outgoing PM to stay on as senior minister, his successor says

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will stay on in the government as senior minister after he steps down next month, his successor said Tuesday. Lee, 72, announced Monday that he will end his 20-year rule and hand over to his deputy Lawrence Wong on May 15. Lee is the eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister …

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Navy expects to miss recruiting goal by more than 6,000 amid worldwide threats from China, Russia

The U.S. Army and Air Force are expected to reach their most recent recruitment goals, but the Navy seems like it will fall short. Originally aiming for approximately 40,600 individuals onboarding in the current recruiting year, the U.S. Navy now says it is likely going to end up about 6,700 recruits short. “We continue to face challenges in the current …

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World Bank 'ringing alarm bells' as income gap between riches and poorest countries widens

Half of the world’s 75 poorest countries are experiencing a widening income gap with the wealthiest economies for the first time this century in a historical reversal of development, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. The differential between per capita income growth in the poorest countries and the richest has widened over the past five years, according …

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Burmese rebels guard border town against junta attempt to reclaim it

A resistance group fighting Burma’s military rule said on Sunday its fighters had repelled an attempt by junta troops to advance on the key town of Myawaddy along the Thai border that was seized by the rebels last week. Reinforcements of junta forces have been trying to advance on Myawaddy for days, but were pushed back in a battle about …

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Philippine president rejects further US military access to additional army camps

The Philippine president said Monday his administration has no plan to give the U.S. military access to more Philippine army camps and stressed that the American military presence was sparked by China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in 2022, allowed American forces and weapons access to four additional Philippine military …

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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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