Reuters Asia Top

By Laurie Chen and Julie Zhu BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Premier Li Qiang is planning to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos next month, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, leading a large and senior group of government officials to show Beijing is open for business. Li would be the most …

Exclusive-Chinese Premier Li Qiang to attend Davos summit – sources Read More »

By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is battling to stem the fallout from one of the biggest financial scandals to hit his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in decades. Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into whether dozens of lawmakers received proceeds from fundraising events that saw millions of dollars …

Explainer-What is the fundraising scandal engulfing Japan’s ruling party? Read More »

TOKYO (Reuters) -Public approval for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s cabinet has dropped to 17.1% in December, the worst since the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) returned to power in December 2012, a Jiji Press poll published on Thursday showed. The approval rating fell 4.2 point percentage points from the previous month, showed the Jiji …

Japan PM Kishida’s cabinet approval hits record low at 17.1% – Jiji Read More »

By Bernadette Christina JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia has ordered the military to help farmers plant rice as severe drought has reduced output of the staple in Southeast Asia’s most populous country, lifting prices, requiring increased imports and threatening food security. With planting behind schedule due to dryness fuelled by the El Nino weather phenomenon, President …

Indonesia calls in army to help farmers plant rice as drought curbs output Read More »

By Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -A senior leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s main opposition party, is in China for meetings with the Taiwanese community, his party said on Thursday, a highly sensitive visit one month before elections on the island. The trip of KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia, a former Taiwanese …

Senior Taiwan opposition leader visits China month before election Read More »

By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s political scandal looks set to wipe out heavyweights of the ruling party’s once-mighty faction favouring big monetary stimulus, easing the path for the Bank of Japan in pulling the economy out of decades of ultra-low interest rates. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday announced he would make changes …

Analysis-Japan’s political scandal may clear path for easy policy exit Read More »

AZERBAIJAN-ARMENIA BORDER (Reuters) -Azerbaijan and Armenia traded prisoners-of-war at their border on Wednesday in a step towards normalising their relations after Azerbaijan achieved a decisive breakthrough in their decades-old conflict. The exchange involved the release by Azerbaijan of 32 Armenians mostly captured in late 2020. In return, Armenia handed over two Azerbaijani soldiers held since …

Armenia and Azerbaijan exchange prisoners at border Read More »

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s Marapi volcano spewed clouds of ash half-a-kilometre high into the sky on Wednesday, the country’s volcanology agency said, a week after eruptions killed 23 climbers. The 2,891-metre-(9,485-foot)-high Marapi, one of Sumatra island’s most active volcanoes, erupted at around 6 a.m. local time (2300 GMT) on Wednesday morning and again at noon, …

Indonesia’s Marapi volcano spews ash clouds a week after deadly eruption Read More »