TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan, like Ukraine, is determined to defend itself and confident this resolve will “rally fellow democracies to our cause”, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday, vowing not to bend to pressure from authoritarianism. Over the past two years, Taiwan has faced increasing military and diplomatic pressure to give in to China’s sovereignty …
Channelling Ukraine, Taiwan says it won’t yield to pressure Read More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled what he called a shift to “realistic” diplomacy on Friday to help his country tackle the dangers it faces in a world shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The Kishida Vision for Peace will strengthen Japan’s diplomacy and security,” he said during a keynote speech at …
Japan PM Kishida unveils shift to ‘realistic’ diplomacy Read More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – The Universal Beijing Resort said on its official WeChat account on Friday that it would remain closed until further notice, to tie in with the Government strategy to fight the coronavirus. The resort, which originally planned to reopen on June 15, includes a CityWalk, two hotels and the Universal Studios theme …
Universal Beijing Resort to remain closed until further notice Read More »
By Clare Jim and James Pomfret HONG KONG (Reuters) -The director of a documentary about pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong defended his film on Friday as a truthful historical record after the city’s police chief advised people not to watch it. Fears of falling foul of a national security law imposed on the city by …
Hong Kong protest film stirs fears of arrest, director defiant Read More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand launched a campaign to give away 1 million free cannabis plants on Friday, a day after decriminalising its growth for commercial purposes, but discouraged people from getting high and warned they could still fall foul of the law. Thailand legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018 for medical use but is now banking …
Thailand starts million-plant cannabis giveaway, but discourages getting high Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing reported 21 new domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections during 15 hours to 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Friday, a disease control official said. All of those cases had already been quarantined for medical observation before confirmation of their infection, Liu Xiaofeng, deputy director at Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and …
Beijing city reports 21 local COVID cases during 15 hours to 3pm Friday Read More »
By Brenda Goh and Martin Quin Pollard SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commercial hub of Shanghai will lock down millions of people for mass COVID-19 testing this weekend – just 10 days after lifting its gruelling two-month lockdown – unsettling residents and raising concerns about the business impact. Racing to stop a wider outbreak after discovering …
Shanghai to lock down millions again for mass COVID testing Read More »
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia has agreed to abolish the mandatory death sentence and replace it with other punishments at the discretion of the court, its law minister said on Friday, revisiting a pledge made over three years ago. The cabinet also agreed to study substitute sentences for all offences carrying the death penalty, Minister …
Malaysia renews pledge to abolish mandatory death penalty Read More »
COLOMBO (Reuters) – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation will visit Sri Lanka on June 20 for talks as the country looks for a loan programme from the lender to deal with its worst economic crisis in seven decades, the prime minister’s office said on Friday. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe “was hopeful that a staff-level …
IMF delegation to visit crisis-hit Sri Lanka this month for talks Read More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to visit Toyota Motor Corp’s headquarters as early as next week, two people familiar with the matter said, highlighting his push for higher wages ahead of next month’s upper house elections. Toyota, Japan’s largest and most valuable company, proposed the visit to Toyota city in …
Japan PM to visit Toyota headquarters ahead of election, sources say Read More »
