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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of the popular opposition Move Forward party over its campaign to amend a royal insults law that protects the monarchy from criticism. The court was ruling on a case that sought the party’s disbandment following the same court’s decision in January that Move Forward’s …

Thai court orders dissolution of opposition Move Forward Party Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop star Suga, a member of the boy band supergroup BTS, apologised on Wednesday after police in Seoul, the South Korean capital, fined him and revoked his licence for drunk driving while on an electric scooter. The songwriter and rapper had ridden the scooter for about 500 m (1,640 ft) before he …

BTS member Suga apologises for drunk driving on e-scooter Read More »

By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) – Namal Rajapaksa, the son of Sri Lanka’s former president, will run in the Sept. 21 presidential election, he said on Wednesday, taking on the incumbent, Ranil Wickremesinghe, whom many analysts see as the frontrunner.  Elected by parliament in July 2022, Wickremesinghe has shepherded the Indian Ocean nation through its …

Scion of Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa family to contest Sept. presidential poll Read More »

By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) – Four deputy governors of Bangladesh’s central bank were forced to resign on Wednesday after about 300-400 officials protested against what they said was corruption by top officials, two sources at the bank told Reuters. Protesters also demanded the resignation of Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, who was not …

Protesters force four Bangladesh cenbank deputies to resign, bank sources say Read More »

By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia will begin co-manufacturing guided weapons with the US next year to boost supply for allies in the Indo Pacific and increase a US military presence in the country, including bomber aircraft, the two nations said after annual defence talks. Australia and the United States are already working to upgrade …

US to increase force projection from Australia in face of ‘coercive’ China Read More »

By Andrew Goudsward and Luc Cohen WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran has been charged in the United States in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government officials, the Justice Department said on Tuesday. Asif Merchant, 46, sought to recruit people in the United States to …

US charges man with alleged ties to Iran in foiled assassination plot Read More »

By Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Kirsty Needham WASHINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) -The United States and Australia kicked off high-level talks on Tuesday that will focus on China’s “coercive behaviour”, as well as the AUKUS nuclear submarine project and mounting tensions in the Middle East, officials said. The annual Australia-U.S. AUSMIN talks, taking place in Annapolis, Maryland, …

U.S.-Australia talks focus on China’s ‘coercive behaviour’ Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China said it would begin adding controls and regulation to the production of three chemicals used to make illicit fentanyl, the White House said on Tuesday, calling the move “a valuable step forward”. It is the third significant such action since the United States and China resumed bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation in November …

China to beef up regulations on fentanyl chemicals, White House says Read More »