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SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has issued its first national drought alert of the year as authorities battle forest fires and mobilise specialist teams to protect crops from scorching temperatures across the Yangtze river basin. The national ‘yellow alert’, issued late on Thursday, comes after regions from Sichuan in the southwest to Shanghai in the Yangtze …

China issues first national drought alert, battles to save crops in extreme heatwave Read More »

By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a ceremony to thank and praise military medics for spearheading the country’s fight against the coronavirus in the capital Pyongyang, state media said on Friday. Thousands of medics of the Korean People’s Army, who had been dispatched to the “emergency anti-epidemic front”, …

N.Korea’s Kim praises military medics for frontline COVID fight in capital Read More »

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party has asked the country’s new president to provide security and other assistance for his predecessor who fled to Southeast Asia last month after protests flared amid a crippling economic crisis, an official said on Thursday. Gotabaya Rajapaksa flew to Singapore last month and quit as Sri Lanka’s president, …

Sri Lanka’s ruling party asks new president to help with ex-leader Rajapaksa’s return Read More »

By Ebrahim Harris KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Former Malaysia premier Najib Razak said on Thursday his right to a fair trial was at risk in his appeal against a 12-year jail sentence linked to the 1MDB scandal, after the country’s top court denied a request by his lawyers to withdraw. Najib, 69, who was convicted …

Malaysia ex-PM Najib says fair trial at risk in final 1MDB appeal Read More »

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – Hanae Mori, a pioneering designer who brought Japanese motifs to the global haute couture stage and created the wedding dress worn by Empress Masako, had died aged 96. Famed for her butterfly designs, Mori was born in the rural prefecture of Shimane, recalling in later life how the stylish …

Pioneering Japanese ‘butterflies’ designer Hanae Mori dies at 96 Read More »

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Vanuatu’s president dissolved the Pacific island nation’s parliament on Thursday, state broadcaster VBTC reported, after an attempt by some politicians to oust the prime minister. Prime Minister Bob Loughman had been expected to face a no-confidence motion when parliament next sat after a group of lawmakers in his party said they had …

Vanuatu’s president dissolves parliament to avoid bid to oust leader Read More »