Reuters Asia Top

By Joyce Zhou and Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -About 170 people were evacuated from a Hong Kong shopping area after a fire broke out in a skyscraper late on Thursday night, the government said. Firefighters battled the blaze at a redevelopment project in the Tsim Sha Tsui district throughout the early hours of Friday, …

Scores evacuated as fire erupts in Hong Kong skyscraper Read More »

MANILA (Reuters) – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said during a visit to the Philippines that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must prove it is “relevant” in helping to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. In a pre-recorded interview with Philippine news channel ANC aired on Friday, Anwar said that ASEAN, which is leading …

Malaysia’s Anwar says ASEAN must be tougher in bid to resolve Myanmar crisis Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not meet China’s foreign minister on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in India as the two sides had already had extended talks in Munich last month, the U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Thursday. Speaking at a regular briefing, Ned Price said he expected there …

US expects calls, engagements with China in coming weeks Read More »

MANILA (Reuters) – A decision by the Philippines to grant the United States greater access to its military bases was “not for engaging in war” but meant to enhance its ability to defend itself against external threats, its defence chief said on Thursday. “The geopolitical situation is becoming more precarious by the day,” Carlito Galvez, …

Expanded US access to Philippines bases “not for aggression”, defence chief says Read More »

By Ananda Teresia and Stefanno Sulaiman JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia’s poll body on Thursday vowed to forge ahead with organising next year’s presidential election, defying a surprise ruling by a district court to halt all election processes for more than two years. The election commission, or KPU, said it would appeal Thursday’s ruling by the Central …

Indonesia poll body to push ahead with 2024 elections despite court ruling Read More »

By Miranda Murray and Matthias Williams BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday urged China not to send weapons to help Russia’s war in Ukraine and instead asked Beijing to exert pressure on Moscow to pull back its forces. In a speech to the German parliament, Scholz said it was disappointing that Beijing had …

Scholz urges China not to arm Russia as U.S. explores sanctions Read More »

JAKARTA (Reuters) – One of Indonesia’s leading presidential candidates on Thursday pledged to continue President Joko Widodo’s flagship $32 billion new capital city if he wins a 2024 election, giving a boost for an ambitious project hit by delays and investor uncertainty. Anies Baswedan, a popular former Jakarta governor who is backed by three political …

Indonesia presidential candidate pledges to deliver Jokowi’s new capital if elected Read More »

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of India and China discussed bilateral “challenges” on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, India said. “Our discussions were focused on addressing current challenges to the bilateral relationship, especially peace and tranquility in the border areas,” Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said on …

India, China foreign ministers discuss border peace on G20 sidelines Read More »

JAKARTA (Reuters) – The rematch of an Indonesian soccer game that ended in one of the sport’s worst stadium stampedes has been postponed due to the risk of further crowd trouble, police said on Thursday. The October 2022 derby match in Malang, East Java, between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya saw 135 spectators killed, many …

Soccer-Indonesia delays ‘risky’ rematch of game hit by deadly stampede Read More »