Tag Archives: Asia Pacific

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s National Assembly swore in newly elected members of parliament on Thursday in a chaotic scene as allies of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan shouted and protested what they claim was a rigged election. Lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party repeatedly chanted “Vote-thief!” as Shehbaz Sharif, who’s expected to form the next government, entered the parliament …

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Hundreds of people living in a remote northeastern Indian state bordering strife-torn Myanmar on Wednesday protested the Indian government’s decision to scrap a limited free border movement between the countries. India and Myanmar until now had allowed people with ethnic links on both sides to travel up to 16 kilometers (10 miles) into each other’s territory …

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s industry minister summoned the president of the utility that runs the Fukushima nuclear power plant to his office Wednesday and chided him for a radioactive water leak at the plant earlier this month. Mishaps related to the massive amount of contaminated water at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant are especially sensitive while the government tries to …

BANGKOK (AP) — Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former prime minister of Thailand, made a dramatic return home after more than a decade of self-imposed exile. He was detained in a hospital for six months and on Sunday, Thaksin was released on parole for corruption-related offenses. Here’s a look at what may lie ahead for one of Southeast Asian most controversial …

BANGKOK (AP) — China is stepping up patrols in the waters off the coast of Taiwan’s Kinmen archipelago, days after two of its fishermen drowned while being chased by the Taiwanese coast guard, which accused the boat of trespassing. The Chinese coast guard’s Fujian division will regularly monitor the waters off the southern coast of the city of Xiamen — …

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The legal team of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday appealed his recent convictions and sentences in three controversial legal cases, a defense lawyer said. Khan was sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets and marriage law violations in three separate verdicts in late January …

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the last quarter of 2023 and fell behind Germany. The government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4% in October to December, according to Cabinet Office data on real GDP released Thursday, though it grew 1.9% for all of 2023. It contracted 2.9% …

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un restated he has no desire for diplomacy with South Korea and that the North would annihilate its rival if provoked, state media said Friday, in the latest of his belligerent statements that are raising tensions in the region. During a visit to North Korea’s Defense Ministry on Thursday, Kim …

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Warships from the United States, Australia and Japan have held joint drills in the South China Sea in defiance of Beijing, which claims sovereignty over virtually the entire strategic waterway. The U.S. 7th Fleet that oversees most U.S. Navy operations in the region said the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn and combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords …

BENGALURU, India (AP) — For years, renewable projects in India have been growing steadily, from small-town rooftop solar installations to large-scale projects across the desert and long stretches of wind turbines and solar panels on farmland all contributing to the country’s climate goal of transitioning to clean energy. But a mix of policy decisions, politics and supply chain issues meant …