Asia News

  • Thai ceremony for the dead brings good karma and emotional closure
    on December 21, 2024 at 3:29 am

    BANGKOK - When two month old Bibeam died in November 2023, the temples in her district would not cremate her, considering her too young for such a ceremony. Instead she was buried without any religious rites in a cemetery in Rayong, about two hours southeast of the Thai capital Bangkok and one hour from her family's […]

  • South Korea police questioned acting president Han over martial law decree
    on December 20, 2024 at 9:02 am

    SEOUL — South Korean police have questioned Prime Minister and acting President Han Duck-soo as part of an investigation into the short-lived decision to impose martial law, an official at his office said on Dec 20. Han was among 12 people present at a Cabinet meeting on Dec 3 shortly before President Yoon […]

  • Unesco to study development risks to Vietnam's Ha Long Bay
    on December 20, 2024 at 8:42 am

    HANOI — Unesco will deploy a team of experts to assess possible risks to the conservation of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam as it is worried about development projects that may threaten the heritage-listed tourist attraction, the UN agency told Reuters. The bay and the adjoining Cat Ba archipelago of limestone […]

  • Fighters from Myanmar civil war aggravate bitter ethnic conflict in India
    on December 20, 2024 at 7:02 am

    IMPHAL, India — Indian militant groups that took refuge in Myanmar and fought in its civil war have been streaming back across the border to Manipur state this year, Indian security officers said, inflaming the bitter 19-month ethnic conflict there with weapons and battle-hardened cadres. This has led to […]

  • UN chief says Israeli air strikes in Syria must stop
    on December 20, 2024 at 2:36 am

    UNITED NATIONS — Israeli airstrikes on Syria are violations of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and "must stop," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday (Dec 19). Since a lightning rebel offencive ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, […]

  • Syrian girls' right to schooling unrestricted, new education minister says
    on December 20, 2024 at 2:12 am

    DAMASCUS — Syria will remove all references to the former ruling Baath party from its educational system as of next week but will not otherwise change school curricula or restrict the rights of girls to learn, the country's new education minister said. "Education is a red line for the Syrian people, more […]

  • Myanmar's junta pushed election plan in talks with neighbours
    on December 20, 2024 at 1:28 am

    BANGKOK — The top diplomat of Myanmar's ruling junta briefed neighbouring countries on its plans to hold an election next year amid an escalating civil war, including potentially inviting foreign poll observers, Thai officials said on Thursday (Dec 19). Thailand is hosting two separate regional […]

  • Philippines' president says legal experts to consider clemency requests for convict repatriated from Indonesia
    on December 19, 2024 at 9:17 am

    MANILA — Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said legal experts would consider clemency requests for Mary Jane Veloso, who had been sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking before the two countries reached a deal for her repatriation this week. Veloso, 39, had received a last-minute […]

  • Indonesia president pledges to pardon 'corrupters' who return what they stole
    on December 19, 2024 at 8:48 am

    JAKARTA — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has said he might pardon people who engaged in graft if they return what they stole, underlining his commitment to tackling corruption. Speaking before hundreds of Indonesian university students in Cairo on Wednesday (Dec 18) during his visit to Egypt, […]

  • South Korea's Yoon willing to represent himself in legal proceedings, lawyer says
    on December 19, 2024 at 8:41 am

    SEOUL — South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol is willing to present his views himself during legal proceedings related to his short-lived declaration of martial law, a lawyer advising Yoon said on Thursday (Dec 19). Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer and long-time friend of Yoon, also told reporters that […]