Reuters Asia Top

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Months before his arrest in Russia, U.S. Army soldier Gordon Black made a surprise video call from his overseas tour in South Korea to his 6-year-old daughter in Texas. Instead of a normal chat, however, his daughter and wife witnessed a fight break out between Black …

Exclusive-Before arrest in Russia, US soldier’s relationship with Russian girlfriend turned bloody, wife says Read More »

By Minwoo Park and Daewoung Kim SEOUL (Reuters) – The man with a shaved head, a beatific smile and flowing grey monk’s robes was not offering meditation tips to soothe stress. Instead, he was playing electronic dance music and shouting “This too shall pass! If you overcome suffering, you will live in paradise!”, unlocking the …

Celebrating Buddha’s birthday, a South Korean DJ is in spotlight Read More »

JAKARTA (Reuters) – As Indonesia’s president elect Prabowo Subianto prepares to enter office in October, he looks set to take a more assertive stance in foreign policy, saying that diplomacy, negotiations, and the “Asian way” have helped to defuse tension. Prabowo, 72, won February’s general election by a huge margin along with his running-mate Vice …

Indonesia’s Prabowo reiterates ‘Asian Way’ to defuse tension, Al Jazeera says Read More »

By Sayed Hassib and Mohammad Yunus Yawar SHEIKH JALAL, Afghanistan (Reuters) -The official death toll from devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan has risen to 153 people across three provinces, the Taliban’s interior ministry said on Saturday, while the World Food Progamme said it was double that. The WFP, which operates throughout Afghanistan, said on …

Afghanistan floods kill at least 153, Taliban interior ministry says Read More »

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Eight more Chinese cities have joined a scheme allowing their residents to travel to Hong Kong on their own, rather than as part of a tour group, as part of efforts to boost Hong Kong’s economy. Hong Kong is battling to revive its economy following a national security crackdown and COVID-related …

Eight more Chinese cities join Hong Kong solo travel scheme Read More »

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines said on Saturday it has deployed ships to a disputed area in the South China Sea, where it accused China of building “an artificial island” in an escalating maritime row. The coast guard sent a ship “to monitor the supposed illegal activities of China, creating ‘an artificial island’,” the office …

Philippines sends ships to disputed atoll where China building ‘artificial island’ Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday inspected the country’s artillery weapon system and attended the test-firing of such weapons, the North’s state media KCNA news agency reported on Saturday. The KCNA report said Kim learned about the technically updated version of the 240 mm multiple rocket launcher system and watched …

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un inspects artillery weapon system, attends test firing, KCNA says Read More »