Reuters Asia Top

By Devjyot Ghoshal and Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) – In 2020, Mahinda Rajapaksa won elections to become Sri Lanka’s prime minister, serving under his brother and president Gotabaya. In 2021, another sibling, Basil, was named finance minister, tightening the family’s hold on power. Less than a year later, the country’s pre-eminent political dynasty is in …

In stunning reversal, protests leave Sri Lanka’s ruling dynasty teetering Read More »

By Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) – Traditional wooden coffins are running short in Hong Kong as authorities scramble to add mortuary space in the global financial hub’s battle on COVID-19, which is swamping funeral parlours. “I have never seen so many bodies piled up together,” said funeral director Lok Chung, 37, who has been …

‘So many bodies piled up’: Hong Kong funeral services overwhelmed by COVID Read More »

By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) – Advisers to South Korea’s president-elect sought redeployment of U.S. strategic assets, such as nuclear bombers and submarines, to the Korean peninsula during talks held on a visit to Washington, one of the advisers said on Wednesday. The team of foreign policy and security aides to incoming president Yoon Suk-yeol …

S.Korea’s president-elect wants U.S. nuclear bombers, submarines to return Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) – Current outbreaks of COVID-19 throughout China will improve if the country’s strict containment policies are implemented more strongly, an expert with the country’s disease control body said at a briefing on Wednesday. “The duration of this epidemic depends on our prevention and control strategies, and how strong we implement our prevention and …

China’s COVID outbreak will improve if existing policies implemented better – expert Read More »

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Shanghai on Wednesday made some concessions on a widely unpopular child separation COVID policy, in a nod to growing public frustration as it extends a citywide lockdown that has left some residents struggling to buy food. The lockdown of China’s most populous city, which started in parts of Shanghai 10 days ago and …

Shanghai eases child separation policy but extends COVID lockdown Read More »

JAKARTA (Reuters) – An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a senior member of an outlawed hardline Islamist group to three years in prison for “consciously aiding terrorism actors”. The case against Munarman, a former secretary-general and spokesperson of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), follows the jailing last year of FPI leader, Rizieq Shihab, for spreading …

Indonesia jails senior member of Islamist group on militancy charges Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale to Taiwan of equipment, training and other items to support the Patriot Air Defense System in a deal valued at up to $95 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. The package would include training, planning, fielding, deployment, operation, maintenance and sustainment of the …

U.S. State Dept approves potential sale of air defense support to Taiwan – Pentagon Read More »

By Michelle Nichols and Pavel Polityuk UNITED NATIONS/LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that Russia must be held accountable over allegations of war atrocities as the West prepared to expand sanctions to include a ban on all new investments in Russia. Six weeks into Russia’s invasion …

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy demands world hold Russia accountable for ‘war crimes’ Read More »