Ecuador's Espinosa joins battle to lead United Nations

GENEVA, May 12 - Antigua and Barbuda has nominated Ecuador's Maria Fernanda Espinosa as candidate to be the next United Nations Secretary-General, a U.N. official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Australia tackles property tax breaks, disappoints on budget deficit

The Budget’s housing package was a centerpiece of the document, with a well-flagged crackdown on tax concession.

Trump heads to Beijing amid war, trade tensions and hardened rivalry

While overall expectations are low, the summit allows both sides to air pressing concerns in the bilateral relationship.

Thai anger at misbehaving foreigners triggers visa rules review

Possible measures include reducing the 60-day visa-free stay for tourists to 30 days.

Seoul court extends ex-minister’s prison sentence in martial law case

The appeals courts on May 12 ruled that the original term of seven years was too lenient.

Gwadar’s moment has finally arrived for Pakistan

In April 2026, Gwadar Port processed around 11,000 standard shipping containers. For context, the same port handled roughly 8,300 containers throughout 2025. This is not a record broken by a whisker. It is a record shattered and behind it lies a story about geography, patience

Jakarta raid on foreign nationals raises questions over gambling ring financiers

Police arrested 321 foreigners, mainly from Vietnam, in last week's raid.

Indigenous Australians win record A$150m after billionaire mined without permission

The Yindjibarndi people had sought A$1.8bn compensation for cultural damage and economic loss.

Explainer-How Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment could proceed

MANILA, May 12 - Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has again been impeached by the lower house, a little over a year after an earlier impeachment against her was voided on constitutional grounds.

China ramps up rhetoric to attack Paraguay president's Taiwan visit

BEIJING, May 12 - China on Tuesday ramped up its rhetoric against Paraguay President Santiago Pena's trip last week to Taiwan, saying he and his colleagues were \"pawns to separatist forces\" and had \"ulterior motives\" for sticking with Taipei.

Seoul court extends ex-minister's term in martial law case

South Korea's appeals court extended former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min's penalty to nine years in prison on charges including carrying out key insurrection-related duties, perjury and abuse of power.

Australia to quarantine 6 people from hantavirus ship

None of the passengers have shown hantavirus symptoms.

Philippines drug war enforcer urges president to not hand him over to ICC

MANILA, May 12 - The top enforcer of former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday to not hand him over to the International Criminal Court, but said he was ready to face justice at home.

Duterte drug war enforcer urges Philippine president to not hand him over to ICC

Senator Ronald dela Rosa has been under the protective custody of the Senate since May 11.

Boy, 11, found dead 2 days after going missing in South Korea national park

He is believed to have died after falling.

Third Everest death takes Nepal’s May toll of Himalayan climbers to five

Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died after slipping on the snow and falling into a crevasse near Camp III.

Duterte ally trapped in Philippine Senate vows to avoid ICC arrest

The senator is a co-accused in cases that former president Rodrigo Duterte faces in The Hague.

Japan’s Mount Fuji’s ‘phantom waterfalls’ appear earlier than usual, delighting climbers

They are usually found from mid-May to early June, but have been spotted as early as late April in 2026.

London Metal Exchange must recognize Indonesia’s aluminum boom

There are a multitude of reasons why the London Metal Exchange should approve China’s Tsingshan Holding Group’s request to register aluminum produced in Indonesia. Not because markets owe Jakarta a favor, nor because China’s industrial champions deserve another victory lap, but

Australian miner Fortescue to pay $108 million for damage to Indigenous group's land

SYDNEY, May 12 - An Australian court on Tuesday ordered miner Fortescue to pay A$150 million ($108 million) in compensation to an Indigenous group for a cultural loss caused by iron ore mining on their land without their permission.

Three people detained over fatal shooting of Singapore-based victim outside Johor entertainment centre

Two Malaysian men and a woman are assisting with the probe into the shooting of a 27-year-old man outside an entertainment centre in Skudai on May 9.

Indonesia monitors foreigner linked to cruise ship hantavirus scare

Jakarta has been on alert as cases of the rodent-borne disease surface in Asia.

Even in North Korea, someone’s in your parking spot

North Korea’s capital is experiencing a surge in passenger cars, creating traffic jams for the first time.

‘Monster wolf’ animal-repelling robot in high demand in Hokkaido amid increase in bear attacks

It scares wild animals away by emitting different sounds, along with shining a bright LED light.

Pakistan struck a rehab centre and killed 269 Afghans. Their families want to know why

There are calls to investigate the 16 March airstrike - which the UN says likely killed more - as a war crime.

Seven killed in blast in northwest Pakistan market, police say

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, May 12 - Seven people, including two police officers and five civilians, were killed and dozens wounded in a blast at a market in north-western Pakistan on Tuesday, a senior police officer said, the second deadly attack in the region in four days.

Nine killed in blast in north-western Pakistan market

Dozens more were wounded in the blast at the crowded Naurang Bazar market.

Singapore thanks Indonesia for Mount Dukono recovery as both countries hold talks to deepen ties

Singapore also calls the Strait of Malacca model a guide for global waterway disputes.

Indonesia proposes hosting ASEAN oil storage hub to boost regional reserves

Indonesia’s Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said on Monday (May 11) that no agreement has been reached on the hub’s location but it hopes to partner with Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines to advance the proposal.

‘Big hug’ or colder shoulder? Xi-Trump talks spotlight contrasting styles, expectations

China has learnt that playing to the US president’s ego may not be worth the extra effort.

US-China rivalry over AI and chips intensifies ahead of Trump-Xi summit

Any rapport between the leaders may do little to diminish the tech competition.

Malaysia ‘shocked’ that Norway blocked missile delivery for navy ships, says defence minister

He says he may meet Norwegian defence minister in Singapore to convey message.

BJP leader back to head India's Assam state for second time in a row

Himanta Biswa Sarma is seen as one of the architects of BJP's rapid growth in India's northeast.

Japan’s iconic Calbee potato chips will soon move to black-and-white packaging. Here’s why

Calbee is one of many in Japan's corporate landscape suffering from the impact of the Iran war.

Trump-Xi summit will be no ‘Nixon in China’ moment

Meetings between Chinese and American leaders are not exactly routine, but few are historically groundbreaking. The exceptions include the very first visit by a sitting US president to China, when Richard Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in February 1972 – at a

US visas shouldn’t turn migrants into pawns against China

The latest warning from Washington that China could face visa restrictions over deportation cooperation points to a broader pattern: migration policy is increasingly being pulled into the orbit of geopolitical rivalry. While US officials frame the issue as a matter of

Malaysia mulls over further fuel subsidy cuts even as election looms

The country was expected to spend about 10 times more on fuel subsidies than before the conflict.

Duterte’s enforcer dodges ICC arrest in latest Philippine twist

MANILA – Detained ex-Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s chief drug war enforcer – Senator Ronaldo ‘Bato’ dela Rosa – has locked himself inside the country’s upper chamber, where on Tuesday he appealed for the government to intercede on his behalf. Dela Rosa, Duterte’s national

Teen arrested for spraying liquid in foul-odour incident on train near Tokyo

During the incident, three passengers complained of throat irritation.

New Zealand moves to halt lawsuits over climate damage

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said such cases were 'creating uncertainty in business confidence'.

‘Seeds of instability’: Fake news target Philippine leader Marcos’ health

The government is cracking down, but free speech advocates say it is the wrong approach.

Ex-Philippine leader Duterte's drug war enforcer escapes ICC arrest

Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, a former national police chief, has sought refuge in the senate.

Indonesian prison inmates assigned to cook free meals for schoolchildren

Prisons will also contribute some raw materials for the kitchens through agricultural activities.

Trump-Xi summit to show that everything now is leverage

Trump’s world is not rules-based globalization or full Cold War fragmentation — it’s perpetual leverage economics. This week’s summit in Beijing between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping will showcase that reality more clearly than any major diplomatic encounter since Trump returned

14 missing, 23 rescued after migrant boat sinks off Malaysia

The boat was carrying 37 undocumented migrants believed to be from Indonesia.

Oil climbs but markets shrug off US-Iran deadlock

Trump-Xi meet as petroyuan rises on Iran war’s tide

The US-Israel war on Iran has acted not as a mere diversion but as a brutal accelerator of history, fundamentally rupturing the Middle East’s security architecture and accelerating the very realignment it sought to prevent. In the war’s destructive wake – marked by the

‘Lesson written in blood’: How Hong Kong’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire exposed systemic failures

The disaster killed 168 people and displaced thousands, laying bare lapses in construction safety while leaving survivors and families struggling to rebuild their lives and seek answers.

Trump vows to discuss case of imprisoned HK activist Jimmy Lai with Xi

Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his supposed anti-China advocacies.

Peace deal hopes fade after Trump rejects 'garbage' Iran proposal

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, May 12 - Hopes for a peace deal on Iran faded on Tuesday after Donald Trump said a ceasefire with Iran was \"on life support\" as Tehran rejected a U.S. proposal to end the conflict and stuck to a list of demands the U.S. president described as \"garbage\".