China's commercial capital Shanghai saw its population fall in 2022 in the first decline in five years, official data showed, after authorities imposed draconian Covid-19 lockdowns and more than 250,000 migrant workers departed. The data, published by Shanghai's statistics bureau on Tuesday, showe
Ten people have died and 230 have been rescued after a passenger ferry caught fire on Wednesday evening in the seas off the southern Philippine province of Basilan, a coast guard official said. Nine people were injured in the fire that started in air-conditioned cabins, Commodore Rejard Marfe, coa
China threatened to retaliate on Wednesday if US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy meets Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen during her planned transit of the United States next month, saying any such move would be a "provocation". China, which claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, has rep
Myanmar's military government has dissolved the ousted ruling party of former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and 39 other parties, state media announced on Tuesday, over their failure to register for an election set to prolong the army's grip on power. The National League for Democracy (NLD) is among doz
Saudi Arabia is planning to relax its property ownership laws for foreigners as the kingdom eyes attracting investments into the real estate sector as part of its strategy to diversify its economy. The new law that will allow foreigners to buy all kinds of real estate properties is ‘in its f
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appealed to parliament to act against predecessor Imran Khan over accusations that his party was involved in violence that erupted when police tried to arrest him for alleged corruption. The clashes occurred earlier this month after Khan's supp
The political party led by Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to face automatic dissolution by the military-appointed election commission on midnight Tuesday because it declined to register for a planned general election it denounced as a sham. Critics say the polls will be neith
Pakistan on Monday deferred a decision on a request by pharmaceutical firms to raise the prices of more than 100 medicines, prolonging a stand-off with an industry struggling to stem losses from soaring inflation and a weakened currency. The request was discussed during a meeting of the finance mi
China's President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, discussing a wide range of subjects including supporting follow-up talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, state media CCTV reported on Tuesday. Xi recently helped broker a surprise deal between Iran and
At least 20 Umrah pilgrims were killed and 29 injured in a horrific bus crash southwest of Saudi Arabia, Gulf News reported citing local media. The passenger bus crashed into a bridge on Monday, overturned, and caught fire, killing 20 and injuring 29.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma has returned to China, ending a stay overseas of more than a year that industry viewed as reflecting the sober mood of its private businesses, and which sources said eventually spurred the new premier to reach out. The return of China's best-known entrepreneur may help to q
Scottish nationalists picked Humza Yousaf to be the country's next leader on Monday after a bitterly fought contest that exposed deep divisions in his party over policy and a stalled independence campaign. The 37-year-old practicing Muslim will succeed Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Sc
Myanmar's military ruler on Monday urged his foreign critics to get behind his junta's planned return to democracy, instead of siding with a resistance movement he called "terrorists" bent on destroying the country. Addressing an annual armed forces day parade, Min Aung Hlaing, whose February 2021
