Tag Archives: Asia

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government on Saturday activated for the first time a decade-old conscription law that makes young men and women subject to at least two years of military service if called up, effective immediately. The announcement of the measure on state television amounts to a major, though tacit, admission that the army is struggling to contain the …

SYDNEY (AP) — Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on Thursday become the first Pacific leader to address Australia’s parliament, vowing “nothing will come in between our two countries.” The nations announced that Australia will spend AU $100 million (US $65.3 million) on Papua New Guinea’s internal security, including the development of a police recruiting and investigation training facility …

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — An Indian state has approved an unprecedented uniform code for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance for Hindus, Muslims and other religious communities under new legislation that also requires couples that live together to register with the government or face punishment. Northern Uttarakhand state lawmakers passed the legislation on Wednesday and its approval by the state governor …

TOKYO (AP) — The Ukrainian-born winner of this year’s Miss Japan beauty pageant and the contest’s organizers say she has renounced her title after a magazine published an article about her affair with a married man. Karolina Shiino was crowned Miss Japan on Jan. 22, setting off renewed public debate over what it means to be Japanese in a country …

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — More than 100 members of Myanmar’s Border Guard Police have fled their posts and taken shelter in Bangladesh to escape fighting between Myanmar security forces and an ethnic minority army, an official with Bangladesh’s border agency said Monday. It is the first time that Myanmar forces have been known to flee into Bangladesh since an alliance …

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Tens of thousands of Indonesians flocked to presidential campaign rallies on Saturday to air their concerns over the state of democracy in the country. President Joko Widodo is facing mounting criticism over his lack of neutrality after he threw his support behind frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, who has picked Widodo’s son as his running mate. Widodo has …

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — More than 100 Rohingya immigrants have escaped from a detention center in Malaysia after a protest, with one confirmed killed in a road accident, officials said Friday. This was the second time in two years that such a breakout occurred. In 2022, 528 Rohingya refugees staged a protest and escaped from detention in northern Penang …

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces killed 22 insurgents this week in an operation against Baloch separatists, who had launched attacks with suicide bombers and gunmen in retaliation for Pakistani strikes on insurgent hideouts in Iran in January, officials said Thursday. Four security forces and two civilians died when insurgents launched rocket attacks before dawn on Monday on security …