Beijing has moved to seal Hainan’s customs borders and turn the island into a full-fledged free trade port (FTP), a move that has sharply divided Chinese and overseas analysts over its economic and geopolitical implications. Under the new framework, the Hainan FTP will
Mr Kim said 2025 was a “really meaningful year” for the bilateral alliance.
The move follows Washington’s announcement last week of $14 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.
Nine years after her husband disappeared, Susanna Liew had a stunning legal win in one of Malaysia's biggest mysteries.
This is the first election since the army's coup in early 2021 - and it is being widely condemned as a sham.
But it is unfathomable that Dhaka and New Delhi will allow relations to deteriorate further.
In the ongoing quest to understand South Africa’s political and economic stagnation, it may be helpful to look at other postcolonial states that have traveled farther along the path of independence. This may help clarify the stagnation question that citizens, politicians and
Taiwan’s National Palace Museum strikes a balance between its Chinese roots and Taiwanese narrative.
"Regional stability in Yangon region is improving now," said a statement shared by junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun.
North Korea’s nuclear submarine gambit marks a dangerous inflection point in the rise of an authoritarian nexus that challenges established deterrence dynamics. This month, multiple media outlets reported North Korea’s unveiling of what it says is the completed hull of its
India hosts nearly 20 per cent of the world’s data but only 3 per cent of its storage.
Dec 26 - Israel became the first country to formally recognise the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday -- a decision that could reshape regional dynamics and test Somalia’s longstanding opposition to its secession.
MOSCOW, Dec 26 - A Moscow court sentenced a former Russian diplomat to 12 years in a maximum-security penal colony for selling secrets to U.S. intelligence while on a posting to the United States, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday.
Some continue to praise Najib, others say he did not receive a fair trial that led to his 2022 conviction.
DAMASCUS, Dec 26 - Eight people were killed in an explosion at a mosque of the Alawite minority sect in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
The recall involved 83,800 units of frozen shrimp sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brands
Najib co-founded 1MDB and chaired its advisory board until 2016.
JERUSALEM, Dec 26 - A Palestinian assailant ran over a man and stabbed a woman and killed them both in northern Israel on Friday, Israeli emergency services said.
Talks are moving towards a truce, even as border shellings continue.
Cambodia accuses Thailand of "indiscriminate attacks", as negotiators meet for a third day to try to end weeks of renewed fighting.
PAS and Bersatu, the main opposition parties in Parliament, are fighting for dominance ahead of the next general election.
DAMASCUS, Dec 26 - Five people were killed in an explosion at a mosque of the Alawite minority sect in the Syrian city of Homs on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
If Thailand and Cambodia can come to an agreement, they will make a deal in line with the previous pact brokered with the help of US President Donald Trump, said Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Thai and Cambodian officials have been holding parleys at a border crossing since Dec 24.
Temperatures will run 2 deg C to 7 deg C below the winter average.
A man in his thirties, armed with a survival knife and a gas mask, was reportedly arrested.
Police arrested a man in his 30s said to be connected to the factory.
Malaysia’s 2025 was marked by a stormy PKR election, school violence, and a scandal rocking its football team.
Flat-headed cats are among the world’s rarest and most threatened wild felines.
SEOUL, Dec 26 - South Korea's special prosecutor requested a 10-year prison sentence on Friday for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges including attempted obstruction of his arrest following his failed bid to impose martial law.
Critics argue the ban of the North's state newspaper in S. Korea amounts to unnecessary censorship.
Voting kicks off on Sunday (Dec 28) and will be held over three phases, limited to areas where the military maintains varying degrees of control.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an said "through today's high-intensity drill, we will thoroughly and comprehensively review the existing defence mechanisms, leaving no stone unturned".
SIA cancelled four flights between Singapore and New York as well as two flights between Frankfurt and the US state.
Mr Albanese has been criticised for failing to heed warnings the Jewish community was at risk amid rising antisemitism.
The court acknowledged testimonies that fugitive financier Jho Low had acted as an intermediary for Najib and 1MDB.
Najib was convicted for his role in the billion-dollar scandal involving the country's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
Chinese officers, working with counterparts from Thailand and Myanmar, arrested suspects and dismantled gambling and fraud facilities, China’s Ministry of Public Security said.
Friday’s decision by Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah came after a trial that had stretched across 302 days over a period of six years.
Dec 26 - Myanmar will hold a third phase of voting for its general election on January 25, according to an announcement on state media on Friday, outlining a poll plan that comes amid a raging civil war in the Southeast Asian nation.
The island was shaken after a knife-wielding attacker went on a rampage in Taipei.
Companies that rely on skilled workers to keep global trade moving are increasingly worried about the impact on long-term operations.
SEOUL, Dec 26 - A South Korean court on Friday acquitted five former government officials accused of manipulating facts in a case from 2020 where a fisheries official was killed at sea by North Korean troops.
Dec 26 - Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker near the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Gulf, saying it was carrying 4 million litres of smuggled fuel, state media reported on Friday.
In October, a tourist from Spain was attacked by a bear in the Gifu Prefecture.
Under the new framework, the South Korean government will oversee the entire adoption process.