COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Wednesday he would appoint a new prime minister and cabinet this week, after former premier Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned following deadly violence in the country. The new prime minister and cabinet will command a majority in the 225-seat parliament, Rajapaksa said. (Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe in …
Sri Lankan president to appoint new PM, cabinet this week Read More »
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican said on Wednesday it had learned of the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong “with concern” and was following developments very closely. Hong Kong police arrested Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and four others who helped run a now-disbanded humanitarian fund for …
Vatican ‘concerned’ about arrest of Cardinal Zen in Hong Kong Read More »
KABUL (Reuters) – Many women in the Afghan capital are delaying a return to fully covering their faces in public in defiance of orders from Islamist Taliban rulers, others are staying at home and some have been wearing COVID-19 face masks anyway. The Taliban, who swept back to power as the government collapsed, on Saturday …
Many Afghan women pushing back against Taliban orders to cover up Read More »
By Joanna Plucinska and Andrius Sytas WARSAW/VILNIUS (Reuters) -Russian diplomat Sergiy Andreev was feeling unwelcome on the streets of Warsaw even before protesters doused him with red liquid thrown in his face at short range this week. Soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Andreev, who is Moscow’s ambassador in Poland, found the …
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Finland and Sweden to the verge of applying for NATO membership. Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, and Sweden will announce their decisions in the coming days amid warnings from Moscow it could deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the European exclave …
Explainer-Finland, Sweden weigh up pros and cons of NATO membership Read More »
By Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) – Ferdinand Marcos Jr. went to the grave of his father, the disgraced Philippines dictator, the day after winning the presidential election, a visit that underscores the polarisation over the return to rule of the notorious political dynasty. Images shared by Marcos’s team on Wednesday showed him in dark …
After Philippines election triumph, Marcos visits dictator father’s grave Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry called on World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to avoid making “irresponsible” remarks, after he said China’s zero-COVID policy was not sustainable. Speaking at a regular news conference in Beijing on Wednesday, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian defended China’s measures on fighting the pandemic and said China …
China berates WHO chief for ‘irresponsible’ remarks on its zero-COVID policy Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Palace Museum, or Forbidden City, will be shut down temporarily from May 12 to further lower transmission risks of COVID-19 caused by the movement of people, the museum said on Wednesday. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue)
By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s plans to offer economic aid in return for denuclearisation could face an early challenge amid signs of an imminent North Korean nuclear test – and such proposals have been rebuffed before, analysts say. Yoon has warned of a “tense” security environment, citing the possible nuclear …
S.Korea’s Yoon faces early challenge amid hints of N.Korea nuclear test Read More »
By Tom Allard (Reuters) – The decisive victory of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the Philippines’ presidential election on Monday is set to re-shape the Southeast Asian country’s relations with China and the United States as he seeks closer ties with Beijing. Marcos, the son and namesake of the country’s former dictator, has long-standing ties with …
Analysis-Marcos as Philippine president a boon for China, awkward for U.S Read More »
