Tag Archives: Asia

Reuters reports: Multiple loud explosions were heard in several places in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday as India said it had attacked “terrorist infrastructure” in nine sites and Pakistan vowed to respond to the attacks. After the explosions, power was blacked out in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, witnesses said. “A little while ago, the Indian armed forces …

The Associated Press reports: An Islamic Shariah court in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Monday sentenced two men to public caning for having gay sex. The couple, aged 24 and 18, were arrested on Nov. 7, after neighborhood vigilantes in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, suspected them of being gay and broke into their rented room to catch them naked …

NPR reports: Hundreds of same-sex couples tied the knot across Thailand on Thursday, as the country became the first in Southeast Asia to legally recognize equal marriage. A luxury shopping mall in Bangkok hosted over 150 same-sex weddings alone, as members of the LGBTQ+ community celebrated the landmark ruling. “I feel more secure in our life because we can be …

Via press release from the city of Sydney: The event features one of the world’s largest, most technologically advanced displays of fireworks, lighting and projections. Sydney New Year’s Eve plays live to more than 1 million spectators along the Sydney Harbour foreshore, and reaches a global audience of more than 425 million. For the first time ever, fireworks will dazzle …

Axios reports: A South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Tuesday morning local time, Yonhap News Agency first reported. The warrant related to Yoon’s brief martial law declaration this month that sparked widespread protests and shocked allies would mark the first time one has been issued for an incumbent president in South Korea, per …

NPR reports: South Korea’s parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for his attempt to impose martial law eleven days ago, the first time such a measure has been imposed on the nation in more than four decades. The vote passed 204 to 85 in the 300-member National Assembly. Around a dozen ruling party lawmakers joined the opposition in voting to …

The Associated Press reports: Japan’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, a high court ruled Friday, the latest victory for the LGBGQ+ community to add pressure on the reluctant government. Friday’s decision marks the eighth victory out of nine rulings since the first group of plaintiffs filed lawsuits in 2019. In Friday’s ruling, presiding Judge Takeshi Okada noted that …

The BBC reports: South Korean MPs have begun impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol after thwarting his shock move to impose martial law. The president had said martial law was needed to protect the country from “North Korea’s communist forces” and to “eliminate anti-state elements.” Though he cited North Korea, President Yoon’s decision was seen as a response to …

CBS News reports: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared an “emergency martial law” on Tuesday, accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament, sympathizing with North Korea and paralyzing the government with anti-state activities. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements… I hereby declare emergency martial …

The Associated Press reports: Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself is killed, in a brazen public threat that she warned was not a joke. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the “active threat” against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to an …

The Associated Press reports: A second high court in Japan ruled on Wednesday that the government’s policy against same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, the latest in a series of decisions upholding plaintiffs’ demands for marriage equality. The Tokyo High Court called the ongoing ban “a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation”, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of right to …

Reuters reports: Hundreds of thousands of members of South Korea’s Christian groups held a service in Seoul on Sunday to protest against a landmark court ruling that acknowledged same-sex the rights of partners in same-sex couples to state health insurance. The supreme court in July upheld a high court ruling that a same-sex partner was eligible for spousal benefits from …

ABC News reports: The Chinese military test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific on Wednesday, marking its first known launch of an ICBM in decades, officials said. The People’s Liberation Army launched the ICBM carrying a “dummy warhead” into the “high seas” at about 8:44 in the morning, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The missile …

The South China Morning Post reports: The Thai king has signed same-sex marriage into law, the official Royal Gazette said Tuesday, making Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise marriage equality. King Maha Vajiralongkorn gave royal assent to the new law, passed by parliament in June, which will take effect in 120 days – meaning the first gay …

Reuters reports: Thailand’s Senate passed the final reading of a marriage equality law on Tuesday, paving the way for it to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex couples. The bill comes after more than two decades of effort from activists and politicians, after previous drafts did not reach parliament. With the support of nearly all lawmakers …

Reuters reports: South Korea accused North Korea on Wednesday of sending a large number of balloons across their heavily fortified border to drop objects including trash and excrement, calling the act base and dangerous. The military’s explosives ordnance unit and chemical and biological warfare response team were deployed to inspect and collect the objects, and an alert was issued warning …

Reuters reports: Manipulated videos are taking centre stage as campaigning heats up in India’s election, with fake clips involving two top aides of Prime Minister Narendra Modi triggering police investigations and the arrest of some workers of his rival Congress party. In what has been dubbed as India’s first AI election, Modi said last week fake voices were being used …

The Associated Press reports: Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century rocked the island during the morning rush hour Wednesday, damaging buildings and highways and leaving nine people dead. Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring agency said the quake was 7.2 magnitude while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 7.4. It struck about 18 kilometers (11.1 miles) south-southwest of Hualien and was …

The Associated Press reports: Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives in …

Reuters reports: China’s population fell for a second consecutive year in 2023, as a record low birth rate and a wave of COVID-19 deaths when strict lockdowns ended accelerated a downturn that will have profound long-term effects on the economy’s growth potential. The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, or …