China’s embassy in Fiji denied on Thursday that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence. “The claims about Chin
Iran remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday, a day after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. "Our cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) wi
Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war's end, a source close to the militant group said on Thursday, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed scores more people. Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire dea
As the chair of the International Campaign for Tibet, Richard Gere is the best-known supporter of the Dalai Lama and his people. On Thursday, he vowed to keep fighting for the Tibetan cause even after the eventual death of the elderly Nobel laureate and as China seeks to impose its will on the comm
Rescuers were searching Thursday for 30 people who were missing after a ferry sank and four people died the previous night near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. As of Thursday afternoon, 31 people had been rescued from the ferry's 53 passengers and 12 crew members, the National Search and
Thailand's deputy premier Phumtham Wechayachai was confirmed on Thursday as the new caretaker prime minister, a government statement said. Phumtham, 71, is a veteran Pheu Thai Party politician who has long worked with the influential former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the driving force in the
Viral rumours of impending disaster stemming from a comic book prediction have taken the sheen off Japan's tourism boom, with some airlines cancelling flights from Hong Kong where passenger numbers have plunged. Japan has seen record numbers of visitors this year, with April setting an all-time mo
Thailand’s new Cabinet members took their oaths of office Thursday, including the suspended prime minister who is under an ethics investigation for her remarks to a senior Cambodian leader. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended as prime minister Tuesday, the same day Thailand's king endorsed
Four people died, 38 were missing, and 23 survived after a ferry carrying 65 people sank near the Indonesian island of Bali, the country's Search and Rescue agency said on Thursday. The KMP Tunu Pratama Jaya sank almost half an hour after leaving East Java province's Banyuwangi port on its way to
Hamas said on Wednesday it was studying what US President Donald Trump called a "final" ceasefire proposal for Gaza but that Israel must pull out of the enclave, while Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas would be eliminated. Trump had said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to the conditio
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Wednesday that his country was serious about reaching a deal with the Palestinian Hamas group to end the war in Gaza and return the hostages held there to Israel. US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had accepted the conditions needed t
Afghan citizen Enayatullah Asghari watched dismayed after Israel and Iran launched strikes on each other last month, as the Gulf nation where he had sought refuge turned more hostile, work on Tehran building sites dried up and he was accused of spying. Asghari, 35, is among tens of thousan
Nepal welcomed 577,689 foreign tourists in the past six months of this year, down 0.91 per cent over the same period of last year, the Nepal Tourism Board said on Wednesday. A total of 583,016 foreigners visited Nepal in the first six months of 2024, reports Xinhua. Tourism is a major foreign cur
