Philippines opens impeachment trial of V-P Sara Duterte amid political turmoil

If convicted, her ambitions to become president in 2028 could be derailed.

South Korean president orders full probe into botched recovery at Jeju Air crash site

He called for a full investigation into shortcomings in the government’s initial recovery efforts.

Philippines rejects special US status for planned Luzon industrial hub

Negotiations continue regarding investor protection.

Pakistan hands US revised Iranian proposal for ending war

KARACHI/DUBAI, May 18 - Peace mediator Pakistan has shared with the United States a revised proposal from Iran to end the war in the Middle East, a Pakistani source told Reuters on Monday, warning that the sides \"don't have much time\" to narrow their differences.

North Sumatra running out of measles vaccines amid increasing cases

The situation is worsened with low basic and complete immunisation in hot spots.

Pakistan deploys jet squadron, thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia during Iran war

ISLAMABAD, May 18 - Pakistan has deployed 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets and an air defence system to Saudi Arabia under a mutual defence pact, ramping up military cooperation with Riyadh even as Islamabad serves as the main mediator in the Iran war.

Revised Iranian proposal to end war shared with US, Pakistani source says

ISLAMABAD, May 18 - Pakistan has shared with the U.S. a revised proposal from Iran to end the conflict in the Middle East, a Pakistani source told Reuters on Monday, as peace talks appeared to remain stalled.

Sarawak in talks to export power to Borneo, Singapore

He also said there were early discussions on exporting one gigawatt of power to Malaysia.

Cuban drone crisis: US fears Russia-China Caribbean threat

As the US confronts growing fears that Russian, Chinese and Iranian-backed drone and intelligence activities are turning Cuba into a new strategic pressure point near US territory, the island is reemerging as a focal point of great-power rivalry in the Western Hemisphere. This

Kremlin says it has ‘serious expectations’ for Putin’s trip to China

The Russian president is to visit China on May 19 and 20.

Ahead of Putin’s visit, Chinese media cast Sino-Russia ties as a source of ‘stability’ in global turmoil

State news agency Xinhua on Sunday (May 17) said relations between China and Russia will always remain “as unshakeable as a mountain amid wind and rain”.

Indonesia’s rice farmers test climate-friendly methods that cuts methane emissions, raises yields

Rice is a staple for billions but growing it contributes to climate change, as flooded paddy fields release large amounts of methane – a potent greenhouse gas.

China burns more fossil fuels for power as coal production slips

China is also facing falling output from wind turbines and nuclear reactors.

Taiwan open to direct talks between Trump and Lai amid concerns after Beijing summit

A direct conversation between sitting leaders of Taiwan and the US has not happened since 1979.

Gaza aid flotilla says Israeli forces boarded a vessel

ISTANBUL, May 18 - The organisers of a flotilla of aid ships bound for Gaza said on Monday that Israeli forces had boarded one of their vessels and that contact had been lost with another of the vessels in the eastern Mediterranean.

China denounces Taiwan foreign minister’s Geneva visit amid WHO assembly

Beijing began blocking Taiwan's participation in the annual assembly in 2017.

China denounces Taiwan foreign minister's Geneva visit amid WHO assembly

BEIJING, May 18 - China said on Monday it opposed countries providing platforms for \"Taiwan independence separatist\" activities, after Taiwan's foreign minister arrived in Switzerland for events on the sidelines of a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting.

Hong Kong LGBTQ carnival axed again, citing venue withdrawal

Link REIT said there were “licensing issues” in renting the venue.

Malaysia ends Indonesia migrant boat search after recovering all 16 missing bodies

Total number of people on the boat has been revised upwards from 37 to 39.

Singaporean injured after 10m fall at popular Taiwan rock climbing site Longdong: Reports

The 25-year-old reportedly lost his footing and fell 10m from a rock wall, according to Taiwanese media.

Malaysia PM meets with king amid talk of early elections

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 - Malaysia's King Sultan Ibrahim held an audience with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday, a day after the premier floated the possibility of calling an early election, according to a statement on the monarch's official Facebook page.

Indonesia to build up defence capabilities with new aircraft

The government handed over equipment including six French-made Rafale jets to the military.

Malaysia ends Indonesia migrant boat search, 16 bodies recovered

The migrants were trying to reach several destinations in Malaysia, including Penang, Terengganu, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur for work.

Hong Kong court hears closing arguments in Tiananmen activists’ trial

The activists used to arrange annual candlelight vigils for the crackdown on protests in 1989.

Prabowo says Indonesia will build defence capability further as Air Force receives Rafale jets

JAKARTA, May 18 - Indonesia will continue to build up its defence capabilities amid an uncertain geopolitical situation, President Prabowo Subianto said on Monday as he officially handed over six Rafale fighter jets and other military hardware to the Indonesian Air Force.

Deadly Bangkok crash: Train driver tested positive for drugs, crossing guard also charged

At least eight people were killed and 32 others injured in the accident.

Myanmar quake felt in Bangkok high-rises and parts of Thailand

There were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties following the earthquake.

China searches for six missing after truck falls into river in heavy rain

More downpours are expected after heavy rains drenched central and eastern China.

China hunts six missing after truck falls into river in heavy rains

BEIJING, May 18 - Rescuers were searching on Monday for six people missing after a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers fell into a flooded river in China's southern province of Guangxi amid heavy rains, killing four, state broadcaster CCTV said.

Driver of crashed train tested positive for drugs, Thai police say

The freight train collided with a bus in Bangkok, killing eight people and injuring dozens of others.

Myanmar’s resource curse fueling its forever war

Myanmar’s war is often described as a clash of ideologies, ethnic identities and competing visions of the state. That is true, but incomplete. At its core, Myanmar’s crisis is also a resource-driven conflict, intensified by geography. The generals did not cling to power for the

Thailand ransom raid: Four police officers detained in Chinese abduction case

Initial charges against the four police officers include jointly detaining others and abuse of authority.

Trump-Xi summit reset cause for concern in Indonesia

The Trump-Xi summit in Beijing was supposed to signal a new phase of calmer US-China relations. Instead, it exposed a deeper reality that should concern Indonesia and much of Southeast Asia, as stability between great powers can sometimes come at the expense of middle powers.

Hello Kitty shinkansen makes final run after 8 years of operation

The bullet train had carried around one million passengers since its debut in June 2018.

Grid reforms vital to powering South-east Asia’s green growth: Report

The region’s grids urgently need more investment to expand and modernise.

Why Iran has already won the war

There is a moment in every great geopolitical confrontation when the outcome becomes structurally inevitable — long before anyone is willing to announce it. Rome understood this when Germanic tribes stopped retreating. Britain understood it in 1947, standing in Delhi with empty

2 Americans arrested over trespassing stunt at viral monkey Punch’s enclosure

The men did not come close to the animals, and were quickly apprehended by zoo officials

Train driver charged after deadly Bangkok bus collision

An initial urine test of the driver found illicit drugs in his system, said the chief of the local police station.

Singaporean man hospitalised in Taiwan after falling from Dragon Caves rock climbing area

The 25-year-old man lost his footing and fell from a slope about 7m high, Taiwanese media reported.

Malaysian Cabinet approves $3.2b Elevated Autonomous Rapid Transit project to ease JB traffic

The project was proposed almost two years ago to help disperse traffic.

Australia's property tax overhaul unpopular with voters, polls show

SYDNEY, May 18 - Australia's centre-left government is facing voter blowback after breaking election promises to roll out the biggest changes to investment taxes in decades in its latest budget, according to two closely watched polls.

Indonesia rupiah hits new record low; president downplays day-to-day impact of currency weakness

Tributes flow after Australian shark attack victim named as father-of-two

Steven Mattaboni, 38, died on Saturday after a shark attack while spearfishing at Rottnest Island.

Taiwan will not provoke conflict nor give up sovereignty, says president

Lai Ching-te made his first direct response to Trump and Xi's meeting where they discussed Taiwan independence.

Like Suez for the Brits, Hormuz spells doom for US empire

Empires rise and fall. They do not last forever. Imperial declines follow a gradual shifting of the economic tides, but are also punctuated and defined by critical tipping points. There are many differences between the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the US war on Iran today, but

America’s Taiwan gap utterly exposed at Trump-Xi summit

The most revealing line of last week’s Trump-Xi summit was not delivered at the Great Hall of the People. It came afterward, aboard Air Force One, when the American president was asked by Fox News what he thought of the island that had dominated his two days of talks with Xi

Earthquake hits southwest China; thousands evacuate, buildings collapse