Asia | The Daily Star

  • Protests rage on for the third day in Lebanon

    Hundreds gathered in Lebanon yesterday for a third day of protests against tax increases and alleged official corruption after the security forces made dozens of arrests.

  • 'Myanmar must guarantee Rohingyas’ human rights for repatriation'

    Bangladesh has conveyed the United Nations that Myanmar must guarantee the human rights of Rohingyas and take confidence building measures to create the conducive environment for their return to their place of origin in Rakhine State.

  • At least 62 killed in Afghan mosque blast

    At least 62 people are killed by a blast inside an Afghan mosque during Friday prayers, according to officials, a day after the United Nations said violence in the country had reached "unacceptable" levels.

  • ‘Simply groundless’

    China yesterday slammed as “groundless” a US decision to order Chinese diplomats to notify the State Department before meeting with local officials, in the latest spat to strain bilateral relations.

  • Satellite pics reveal China’s aircraft carrier ‘factory’

    High-resolution satellite images show that the construction of China’s first full-sized aircraft carrier is progressing steadily alongside expansive infrastructure work that analysts say suggests the ship will be the first of several large vessels produced at the site.

  • Japan to defer imperial parade over typhoon

    Japan plans to postpone a major imperial parade celebrating the new emperor’s ascension to the throne because of a devastating typhoon

  • Kim’s horseback ride spurs policy shift speculation

    New pictures of Kim Jong Un riding a white horse through a winter landscape to the summit of Mount Paektu, a sacred peak for North Koreans, have fuelled speculation that the young leader may be set for a major policy announcement.

  • Iran president's brother starts 5-year jail term: report

    Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's brother enters prison to begin a five-year sentence after he was convicted of corruption, the semi-official ISNA news agency reports, citing his lawyer.

  • Kim visits sacred NKorean peak

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vows to surmount US-led sanctions on his country in state media reports alongside evocative propaganda images of him riding a white horse seen as foretelling significant decisions before his own deadline for US movement on nuclear talks expires.

  • Delhi pollution ‘action plan’ comes into force

    New Delhi banned the use of diesel generators yesterday as pollution levels in the Indian capital exceeded safe limits by more than four times.

  • Japan typhoon death toll hits 66

    The death toll in the worst typhoon to hit Japan for decades climbed to 66 yesterday as rescuers slogged through mud and debris in an increasingly grim search for the missing, and as thousands of homes remained without power or water.

  • India blocks SMS services in J&K after trucker killed

    Text messaging services were blocked in Indian Kashmir just hours after being restored when a truck driver was killed by suspected militants and his vehicle set ablaze, authorities said yesterday.

  • No concessions

    Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam yesterday ruled out making any concessions to pro-democracy protesters in the face of escalating violence, which police said was now “life threatening” citing the detonation of a small bomb.

  • Apple has a lot to lose if it crosses China's party bosses

    Under pressure from China, Apple has removes a smartphone app that enabled Hong Kong protesters to track police.

  • Death toll tops 50

    Tens of thousands of rescuers worked into last night to find survivors of a powerful typhoon in Japan that killed at least 56 people, as fresh rain threatened to hamper their efforts.

  • Economists Abhijit Banerjee

    Bengali economist Abhijit, 2 others win Nobel economics prize

    Economists Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer win the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize for their work in fighting global poverty, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences say.

  • HK police make dozens of arrests

    Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and riot police clashed in chaotic scenes around the city yesterday with police in full riot gear chasing protesters through crowds of horrified lunchtime shoppers.

  • Rakhine rebels abduct dozens in Myanmar

    Suspected ethnic Rakhine rebels disguised as a sports team stormed a bus in rural Myanmar and took 31 hostages -- mostly off-duty firefighters and construction workers -- authorities said yesterday.

  • Muslims in India are happiest: RSS chief

    Asserting that the Muslims in India are the “happiest”, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supremo Mohan Bhagwat said that people of other faiths have sought refuge in India due to the “Hindu culture”.

  • Pak PM arrives in Iran to defuse tensions in Gulf

    Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday visited Iran on a mission to act as a “facilitator” between Tehran and Riyadh and try to defuse rising tensions in the Gulf.

  • Kashmir situation will normalise in 4 months

    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said it would take four months for Jammu and Kashmir to return to normal after his government stripped the state of its special status in August and imposed harsh restrictions.

  • China boosts Nepal ties

    Chinese President Xi Jinping wound up two days of meetings in Nepal yesterday with separate deals for a rail link to Tibet and a tunnel, an official said, as the Himalayan nation seeks to end an Indian dominance over its trade routes by increasing connectivity with Beijing.

  • Japan sends troops after 23 killed in typhoon

    Japan sends tens of thousands of troops and rescue workers to save stranded residents and fight floods caused by one of the worst typhoons to hit the country in recent history, which kills 23 people and briefly paralyses Tokyo.

  • Bangladesh mission in Tokoyo opens helpline as typhoon hits

    The Bangladesh Embassy in Tokyo opens a helpline to provide assistance to Bangladesh expatriates in Japan as Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on Izu Peninsula, southwest of Tokyo.

  • Japan braces for Typhoon Hagibis

    Japan yesterday braced for a powerful typhoon barrelling towards Tokyo that has already forced the cancellation of two Rugby World Cup matches, disrupted the Suzuka Grand Prix and grounded flights.

  • Taiwan rejects China’s offer

    Taiwan’s president yesterday rejected a “one country, two systems” formula that Beijing has suggested could be used to unify the island and the mainland, saying such an arrangement had set Hong Kong “on the edge of disorder”.

  • North Korea slams European nations

    North Korea yesterday slammed a statement by European UN Security Council members urging strict enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang for its latest missile test, calling the move a “serious provocation”.

  • China’s treatment of Uighurs ‘enormous rights violation’

    US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that China’s treatment of Muslims, including the Uighurs, in western China was an “enormous human rights violation” and Washington will continue to raise the issue.

  • Number of China’s ultra-wealthy dwindles in 2019

    The number of ultra-wealthy individuals dipped in China this year, a report said yesterday, as the government seeks to rebalance the economy and tackle high levels of toxic debt. Those listed as the wealthiest -- with holdings worth at least 2 billion yuan ($281 million) -- fell to 1,819 this year

  • US, China resume high-level talks

    Top US and Chinese negotiators meet for the first time since late July to try to find a way out of a 15-month trade war as new irritants between the world's two largest economies threatened hopes for progress.

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