Author: AFP

LONDON: The son of jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai is urgently seeking a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, fearing his father may not survive prison. Sebastien Lai said fresh diplomatic pressure was needed to free the 77-year-old British citizen, who has been behind bars in Hong

SEOUL (South Korea): South Korea’s Air Force said on Thursday that one of its fighter jets had accidentally dropped eight bombs in the wrong place during a training exercise, resulting in civilian injuries. “Eight MK-82 general-purpose bombs were abnormally released from an Air Force KF-16 aircraft, landing outside the designated firing

FRANCFORT (Germany): A German court found on Wednesday that American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German firm BioNTech violated a patent to make their COVID-19 vaccine. Siding with Moderna, an American pharmaceutical firm that brought the case, the court in Duesseldorf said BioNTech and Pfizer would have to provide estimates of

VATICAN CITY (Holy See): Pope Francis was in stable condition on Wednesday with no new respiratory attacks, the Vatican said as the 88-year-old spent his 20th day in hospital with pneumonia. “He spent the day in an armchair,” did some work and called the parish priest of Gaza, the Holy

WASHINGTON (United States): Twelve Chinese nationals, including two public security ministry officers, have been indicted for a series of hacking attacks, including a 2024 breach of the US Treasury, the Justice Department said on Wednesday. Other alleged victims include US-based Chinese dissidents, the foreign ministries of several Asian countries, religious

BANGLADESH: A lack of funds will force rations to be halved for around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from next month, the United Nations food agency has said. Huge numbers of the persecuted and stateless Rohingya community live in squalid relief camps in Bangladesh, most arriving after having fled

TAIPEI: The United States will not abandon the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo said, days after US President Donald Trump’s heated exchange with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky raised concerns over US support for Taiwan. Taiwan, facing a constant threat from China, relies heavily on Washington for security.  Trump’s

Inuvik: Muslims in Inuvik, a remote Canadian Arctic town, gathered this week at the Midnight Sun Mosque to break their Ramadan fast, enjoying Sudanese home-cooked meals amid stunning yet challenging surroundings. For some, the town’s isolation is a struggle. “Every year I say, ‘This is my last year in Inuvik,’”