3 h. ago Washington DC sues over Trump’s deployment of National Guard

The District of Columbia on Thursday sued to stop President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington. The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation”. He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment, coinciding with an executive order on August 11, that now involves more than 1,000 troops, is an illegal use of the military for domestic law...

Politics

7 h. ago Indonesian working at Asean body fired for ‘inciting’ police HQ to be burnt

An Indonesian staff member of an Asean parliamentary body has been fired and named a criminal suspect after allegedly posting a video urging protesters to set fire to the national police headquarters in Jakarta, amid escalating unrest triggered by a fatal accident involving a police armoured vehicle. Laras Faizati Khairunnisa, 26, was arrested on Monday and detained a day later following a police investigation into her social media post, which authorities said had incited demonstrators to burn...

Events

14 h. ago ‘A million people’ expected to flee as Israel prepares to seize Gaza City

Israel estimates that its imminent offensive on Gaza City would displace one million Palestinians, a senior military official said on Wednesday, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens killed across the territory. In Jerusalem, meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli protesters took to the streets to call for a truce and hostage release deal after nearly two years of war. Israel’s military has been building up its forces for the planned operation to seize Gaza City, the Palestinian territory’s largest...

Politics

18 h. ago Fear travels: Cambodians in Japan silenced through threats to loved ones

It begins with a knock at the door in Phnom Penh: police officers asking about a son, sister or cousin living thousands of miles away – and warning the family to make them stop. Cambodian dissidents who thought they had found safety in Japan are still facing threats delivered not to their own doors, but to the homes of loved ones left behind, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. The NGO’s Tokyo office said on Tuesday that nearly all of the 23 Cambodian nationals it interviewed in Japan...

Events

18 h. ago ‘Make them stop’: Cambodian exiles in Japan face intimidation tactics back home

It begins with a knock at the door in Phnom Penh: police officers asking about a son, sister or cousin living thousands of miles away – and warning the family to make them stop. Cambodian dissidents who thought they had found safety in Japan are still facing threats delivered not to their own doors, but to the homes of loved ones left behind, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. The NGO’s Tokyo office said on Tuesday that nearly all of the 23 Cambodian nationals it interviewed in Japan...

Politics

20 h. ago How an SCO development bank could shift the global financial order

At the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged member states to accelerate the creation of an SCO development bank, a proposal that could mark a turning point in Asia’s financial landscape. While headlines focused on the high-profile presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Xi’s proposal points to the SCO’s evolution from a security bloc into a financial actor. Xi also pledged US$1.4...

Economics

21 h. ago Famed streetcar in Portugal’s capital Lisbon derails and crashes, killing 15

A picturesque electric streetcar that is one of Lisbon’s big tourist attractions derailed and crashed on Wednesday, killing 15 people and injuring 18 others, emergency services said. Five of the injured were in serious condition and a child was among the injured, Portugal’s National Institute for Medical Emergencies said in a statement, adding that an unknown number of foreigners were among the injured. Authorities called it an accident, the worst in the city’s recent history, and it cast a pall...

Events

21 h. ago Famed tram in Portugal’s capital Lisbon derails and crashes, killing 17

The death toll in the Lisbon tram crash has risen to 17, an emergency services official said on Thursday. Two of the injured died overnight in a hospital, Margarida Castro Martins, head of Lisbon’s Civil Protection Agency, told reporters. She did not provide the names or nationalities of the dead, saying that their families would be informed first. Another 21 people were injured in Wednesday’s crash, including multiple foreigners who were on the tram popular with tourists, she said. Portugal...

Events

24 h. ago Hegseth suggests more US operations coming after strike on Venezuela boat

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered. The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, in the first known operation since President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of warships to the...

Events

24 h. ago Hegseth signals more US operations coming after strike on Venezuela boat

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered. The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, in the first known operation since President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of warships to the...

Events

24 h. ago US says more operations against cartels coming after strike on Venezuela boat

Senior US national security officials said on Wednesday that military operations against cartels would continue, setting the stage for a sustained military campaign in Latin America even as basic questions about a deadly strike against a vessel from Venezuela remained unanswered. The US military killed 11 people on Tuesday in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, in the first known operation since President Donald Trump’s recent deployment of warships to the...

Events

27 h. ago Couple arrested in Hong Kong guest house for allegedly making fake banknotes

A middle-aged couple have been arrested in a Hong Kong guest house for allegedly producing counterfeit banknotes. Police said on Wednesday that they had arrested the pair – an American man and a Filipino woman – after a tip-off and an investigation led authorities to a suspected criminal syndicate involved in manufacturing fake Hong Kong banknotes. Officers raided a room in the guest house on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai at about 1pm on Tuesday and apprehended the man, 54, and the woman, 50, who...

Events

30 h. ago Nepal to track all foreign visitors using mandatory mobile app from September 17

Nepal will soon require all foreign visitors to digitally register their movements using a government-developed mobile app in a sweeping new policy aimed at balancing safety, immigration control and tourism growth. The Department of Immigration launched the NepaliPort Traveller and Foreign National Tracking Module on Tuesday, saying the move would allow authorities to better monitor visa compliance, streamline emergency responses and coordinate with tourism stakeholders. The mobile app – which...

Politics

35 h. ago China to parade new missiles in Beijing, including ‘Guam Killer’

China to parade new missiles in Beijing, including ‘Guam Killer’  Defense News

Events

35 h. ago Afghan commandos airdrop to quake zones where helicopters can’t land

Afghanistan airdropped commandos on Wednesday to pull survivors from the rubble of homes in mountainous eastern areas ravaged by earthquakes this week that have killed 1,400, as it ramped up efforts to deliver food, shelter and medical supplies. The first earthquake of magnitude 6, one of Afghanistan’s worst in recent years, unleashed widespread damage and destruction when it struck the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar around midnight on Sunday at a shallow depth of 10km (6 miles). A second...

Politics

40 h. ago ‘Carrier killer’, China’s Himars, latest tanks on display at Victory Day parade

‘Carrier killer’, China’s Himars, latest tanks on display at Victory Day parade  South China Morning Post

Events

41 h. ago More military technologies targeted for civilian sector to boost economy

China will strengthen innovation by developing high-tech industries with military technologies to boost military-civil integration, a move that aims to cultivate new growth drivers and boost the economy, said a recent State Council guideline.

Events

41 h. ago Xi stresses nonstop efforts to fight undesirable work styles

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, stressed that the fight against undesirable work styles should not be stopped.

Politics

42 h. ago ‘No easy solutions’: did Indonesia’s Prabowo inherit a poisoned chalice?

Indonesia’s wave of unrest has put President Prabowo Subianto under intense pressure less than a year into his term, as he grapples with deep-seated public anger and economic anxiety amid attempts to stop the “deep rot” in his sprawling political coalition. While frustration over inequality, elite privilege and economic hardship has long been simmering, observers say Prabowo’s ambitious spending, coupled with a corrupt coalition “inherited” from his predecessor, may also have limited his room to...

Politics

43 h. ago Bill to sanction Chinese officials who avoid action on fentanyl passes US House

A bipartisan bill that would impose sanctions on Chinese officials who intentionally avoid taking action to prevent the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids passed the US House of Representatives on Tuesday. The proposed Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act passed 407-4 on lawmakers’ first day back in Washington following a month-long recess, with only a few Democrats opposing it. This comes as the two countries are preparing for their next round of trade talks, to be held before November 10...

Politics