ASIA

Philippines looks for safer homes for volcano residents

7:26 pm January 19, 2020

Tagaytay (Philippines): Philippine officials said Sunday the government will no longer allow villagers to return to a crater-studded island where an erupting volcano lies, warning that living there would be “like having a gun pointed at you.” Taal volcano has simmered with smaller ash ejections in recent days after erupting on January 12 with a […]

Bangladesh PM postpones visit to Japan over coronavirus outbreak

India’s new citizenship law unnecessary: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

3:01 pm January 19, 2020

Dubai: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has termed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) “internal matters” of India, but at the same time said the Act was “not necessary”. According to the CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh […]

Strong 6.0 earthquake hits Indonesia’s Papua

12:11 am January 19, 2020

Jakarta: A strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake shook Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said. There was no tsunami warning accompanying the quake which struck inland 158 kilometres (98 miles) from the provincial capital Jayapura at a shallow depth of almost 34 kilometers, USGS said. The Southeast Asian archipelago is […]

China and Myanmar ‘stand together’ despite Rohingya backlash

3:22 pm January 18, 2020

Naypyidaw (Myanmar): China and Myanmar are set to ink mammoth infrastructure deals following a meeting on Saturday between President Xi Jinping and fallen rights icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who pledged to stand with Beijing “till the end of the world”. The Chinese leader’s two-day state visit to Myanmar’s purpose-built capital comes as Western investors […]

South Koreans among seven missing in Himalayan avalanche

3:09 pm January 18, 2020

Kathmandu: An avalanche in Nepal’s Annapurna region has left at least seven people missing, including four South Koreans and three Nepalis, officials said Saturday. The incident occurred at an altitude of around 3,230 metres (10,597 feet) close to the base camp for Annapurna, one of the highest peaks in the Himalayas, following heavy snowfall on […]