Asia News Stories
Why so many Hongkongers have a phobia of speaking English
Readers discuss the local hesitation to speak English, the practical limitations of the native English teacher scheme, and bamboo scaffolding. ......
photo: WN / RTayco
How Trump has already changed the world
(CLOCKWISE from top) Former US president Barack Obama greets former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton; incoming Secretary of State Mark Rubio speaks to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg; while, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SpaceX...
photo: AP / Photo/Hiro Komae
Taiwan hit by 6.4 magnitude quake, TSMC evacuates some factories
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck a mountainous, rural area of Taiwan's south on Tuesday near the city of Chiayi, the island's weather administration said, with...
photo: Creative Commons / Briáxis F. Mendes (孟必思) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en
Indian court sentences a police volunteer to life in prison in the rape, killing of trainee doctor
NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court on Monday sentenced a police volunteer to life in prison after finding him guilty in the rape and killing of a trainee doctor last year, a crime that sparked nationwide protests over inadequate safety for women and led to a speedy trial in the country’s slow-moving...
photo: AP / Photo/Bikas Das
Southeast Asian foreign ministers seek breakthrough in Myanmar conflict and South China Sea disputes
Southeast Asian foreign ministers gathered Sunday for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc’s new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar’s drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The retreat on the idyllic...
photo: AP / Photo/Azneal Ishak, Pool
In joining Brics, Indonesia is not suddenly anti-US or pro-China
What Indonesia has gained is strategic autonomy, clout with the US and within Asean, and a bigger voice on the global stage. ......
photo: AP / Vincent Thian
Japan’s elderly are lonely and struggling. Some women choose to go to jail instead
The rooms are filled with elderly residents, their hands wrinkled and backs bent. They shuffle slowly down the corridors, some using walkers. Workers help them bathe, eat, walk and take their medication. But this isn’t a nursing home – it’s Japan’s largest women’s prison. The population here...
photo: WN / RTayco
Can the Internet Wage Peace? Amidst a Push for War, Chinese and American Citizens Connect Online
With the Tiktok ban just days away, American youth have started flooding the Chinese social media app RedNote, pushing it into #1 position on the app store. Labeled “Tiktok refugees” by Chinese netizens, the newcomers have been welcomed by app users with open arms, curiosity, and a fair bit of...
photo: AP / Mark Schiefelbein
Overcrowding endemic in Pakistan’s prison system: report
KARACHI: Pakistan’s prisons are housing 152 per cent of their authorised capacity, while three-quarters of the total inmates are either aw­­aiting or undergoing trial, according to a report. The report, titled Pakistan’s Prison Landscape: Trends, Data, and Developments in 2024, highlig­h­ted that...
photo: AP / Anjum Naveed
Taiwan carries out first execution in five years
Taiwan carried out its first execution in five years and the first under President Lai Ching-te, upsetting rights groups and the European Union. ......
photo: WN / RTayco

photo photo