LUCKNOW, INDIA (AFP) – With his white beard neatly trimmed and a sleeveless jacket thrown over his traditional Indian shirt, Mr Abhinandan Pathak turns heads thanks to an uncanny resemblance to the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Mr Pathak – almost the same height and build as the Prime Minister, and who even walks in […]
TOKYO (Reuters) – The safe-haven yen edged higher and the Chinese yuan and Australian dollar dipped early on Monday after the latest escalation in the trade war between the United States and China. The world’s two biggest economies appeared at a deadlock over trade negotiations on Sunday as Washington demanded promises of concrete changes to […]
SINGAPORE – A multilateral maritime security field exercise will conclude in Singapore on Monday (May 13) after the completion of its sea phase. Singapore’s Ministry of Defence announced the conclusion of the sea phase of the exercise conducted under the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) grouping on Sunday. The ADMM-Plus comprises the 10 Asean countries […]
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish economy will hopefully overcome the impacts of a currency crisis last year with just two quarters of contraction, Turkey’s Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Sunday. Speaking to broadcaster CNN Turk, Albayrak referred to Turkey’s performance during the 2008 global financial crisis when the economy contracted for four consecutive quarters. […]
ISLAMABAD (AFP) – An attack on a luxury hotel in the south-western city of Gwadar was a bid to “sabotage prosperity”, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan said on Sunday (May 12), as police confirmed all the attackers had been killed. At least one person was shot dead on Saturday after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel […]
MELBOURNE (REUTERS) – Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison officially launched his party’s election campaign on Sunday (May 12), less than a week before the May 18 vote that opinion polls have consistently indicated he will lose. At the campaign launch in Melbourne, Morrison’s focus was on economic management and said his centre-right Liberal-National coalition would […]
More than 61 million people are registered to vote with roughly 43,000 candidates vying for government posts. Manila, Philippines – A national election of legislators and local executives may help strengthen Rodrigo Duterte’s hold on power halfway through his controversial presidency. More than 61 million Filipinos are registered to vote in Monday’s midterm polls, with […]
NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR (REUTERS) – The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed for the first time that it has established a “province” in India, after a clash between militants and security forces in the contested Kashmir region killed a militant with alleged ties to the group. ISIS’s Amaq News Agency late on Friday (May […]
SINGAPORE – About 550 people were evacuated from an Australian university library on Friday afternoon (May 10) after reports of a strong smell of gas. The source of the smell was later traced to “a durian fruit in one of our bins”, said a Facebook post by the University of Canberra Library. The Australian Capital […]
Gunmen have stormed a five-star hotel in the restive Pakistani province of Balochistan, officials say. Security forces cordoned off the Pearl Continental Hotel in the port city of Gwadar after the attack by at least three armed men. Firing is reportedly continuing around the hotel. Unconfirmed reports say many guests have been evacuated. Balochistan, home […]