(Reuters) – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Mindanao, Philippines, on Wednesday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said. The quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles), GFZ said. (Reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – A Malaysian court on Wednesday charged two local filmmakers for intentionally “wounding the religious feelings of others” through their film, their lawyer said, in a move condemned by rights groups as a threat to freedom of expression in the country. The director and producer of local film, “Mentega Terbang”, were charged …
Malaysia court charges filmmakers for ‘wounding religious feelings’ Read More »
By Jessie Pang and Edward Cho HONG KONG (Reuters) -The first prosecution witness to testify in a landmark national security case against Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai said on Wednesday he had been instructed by Lai to call people to join protests in 2019 and draw the attention of western democracies. The witness, Cheung …
First prosecution witness testifies against Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong Read More »
By Farah Master HONG KONG (Reuters) -China’s population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, as a record low birth rate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths when strict lockdowns ended accelerated a downturn that will have profound long-term effects on the economy’s growth potential. The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number …
China’s population drops for 2nd year, with record low birth rate Read More »
By Ryan Woo BEIJING (Reuters) -A reporter from Xinhua landed in Nauru on Wednesday, the first from China’s official news agency to step foot on the remote Pacific Islands nation after it ditched Taiwan for China, as Chinese state media raced to build up its local presence. On the tiny island nation, which has a …
China state media races to plant presence in Nauru after switch from Taiwan Read More »
By Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam KARACHI/DUBAI (Reuters) – Pakistan said neighbouring Iran has violated its airspace resulting in the death of two children, hours after Iranian state media said missiles targeted two bases of militant group Jaish al Adl on Tuesday. Islamabad warned that the incident could have “serious consequences” and was “completely unacceptable” in a …
Pakistan says Iran violated airspace, killing two children Read More »
By Krishn Kaushik NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed at least two times in 2022 along their Himalayan frontier where they have been involved in a bitter standoff since 2020, according to new details that have emerged from the Indian Army’s gallantry award citations. The incidents involved hand-to-hand combat and came as …
Indian, Chinese troops clashed twice in 2022 even as peace talks were on Read More »
By Rocky Swift TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan welcomed a record number of visitors in December, official data showed on Wednesday, closing out a year of rapid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure rose to 2.73 million last month from 2.44 million in November, data from the Japan …
Japan sees record 2.73 million visitors in December in COVID recovery year Read More »
BANGKOK (Reuters) – A Thai court sentenced a jailed activist lawyer to four years in prison on Wednesday for royal insults from a 2021 social media post, his lawyer said, in one of the country’s high profile lese-majeste cases. Human Rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, 39, has been serving a four-year sentence since last September after …
Thai lawyer who called for monarchy reform sentenced to more jail time Read More »
By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – China has a strategy to help Pacific Island nations with policing, not defence, and its growing presence in the region should not alarm Australia, China’s ambassador to Australia said on Wednesday. Ambassador Xiao Qian also told reporters that Nauru’s decision this week to form diplomatic relations with China at …
China helps Pacific Islands with policing, not defence – ambassador Read More »
