Reuters Asia Top

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan is facing a steady “drip, drip” of Chinese pressure ahead of the inauguration of its next president in May, with officials in Taipei fearing Beijing could further squeeze the island’s room to manoeuvre without resorting to direct conflict. Since current Vice President Lai Ching-te won …

Taiwan faces steady ‘drip’ of pressure as China tightens pre-inauguration squeeze Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee moved ahead on Thursday with a bid to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress for withholding documents related to the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Republican Representative Michael McCaul said the committee would meet on March 7 to consider a …

US lawmaker threatens to hold Blinken in contempt over Afghanistan documents Read More »

MADRID (Reuters) – A giant panda couple were on Thursday on their way home from Spain to the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Base in southwestern China where the three cubs they birthed during their stay at Madrid Zoo will take part in a breeding program. Hua Zui Ba, 20, and Bing Xing, 23, have lived …

Adios Madrid! Panda family returns home to China Read More »

ALMATY (Reuters) – Consumers in Kazakhstan have received messages from banks, mobile telecommunications operators and other service providers warning of possible disruptions as most of the country prepares to switch to a different time zone from March 1. In order to unify time across the country the size of Western Europe, most of Kazakhstan’s regions …

Kazakhstan to unify time zones across 1,900 miles Read More »

By Yelin Mo and Brenda Goh BEIJING (Reuters) – Major Chinese third-party retailers JD.com, TMall, and Pinduoduo are battling for customers by offering more steep discounts on Apple’s iPhone 15 just five months after launch, as the U.S. tech company suffers slowing sales in China. The latest round of discounting comes after online retailers in …

Chinese retailers further discount iPhone 15 Read More »

By Uditha Jayasinghe COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka has decided to stop issuing free long-term visas to Russian and Ukrainian nationals who have lived in the Indian Ocean island nation for the past two years, a government official said on Thursday. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Sri Lanka has allowed Russians and Ukrainians …

Sri Lanka halts free visas for long-staying Russian, Ukrainian nationals Read More »

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand will ban the recreational use of marijuana by the end of this year, but continue allowing its use for medical purposes, the health minister told Reuters in an interview. Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalise cannabis, initially for medicinal use and research in 2018, then for general …

Thailand to ban recreational cannabis use by year-end, says health minister Read More »