South Asia

Representative image (ANI) SINGAPORE: Singapore police have arrested 10 foreigners for alleged money laundering and forgery offences, in a case involving about S$1 billion ($737 million) of cash, properties, luxury cars and other assets. The police conducted simultaneous raids on Tuesday across the city-state to arrest the suspects, their statement said on Wednesday. Prohibition of…

Taliban flags fly at the airport in Kabul. (Photo by AP) DUBAI: Two years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the United States has begun easing rules that could allow commercial airlines to fly over the country in routes that cut time and fuel consumption for East-West travel. But those shortened flight routes for India…

COLOMBO: China has requested permission for a research ship to dock in Sri Lanka, Colombo said Tuesday, following a visit by a spacecraft-tracking vessel last year that sparked security concerns from neighbouring India. Sri Lankan foreign ministry spokeswoman Priyanga Wickramasinghe said Beijing had sought permission for the Shi Yan 6 to dock, but that no…

BANGKOK: Thailand’s divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was transferred from prison to a hospital early Wednesday, less than a day after he returned from an extended exile and started serving an 8-year sentence. He had returned to Thailand after 15 years abroad on the same day a party linked to him won a parliamentary…

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (ANI file photo) COLOMBO: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed hope for a reconciliation process that addresses the aspirations of the minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka for equality, justice and self-respect, as he highlighted the implementation of the 13 Amendment to the Constitution to achieve the objective. The…

Bhutan cuts daily fees by half to lure tourists (Reuters) KATHMANDU: The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is to halve the $200 daily fee it charges tourists in an effort to boost a sector still struggling to recover a year after the end of COVID-19 restrictions. Bhutan raised its “Sustainable Development Fee” to $200 per visitor…

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin/ Reuters BANGKOK: Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will miss a regional meeting of Asia’s leaders in Jakarta next week, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.Srettha won a parliamentary vote to become prime minister last month and his cabinet was endorsed by the king on Saturday. The prime minister…

Defence pact with India to be presented in parliament, says Sri Lankan president (Credits: ANI) President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said that the defence pact with India would be presented in parliament soon. Dissanayake was responding to opposition criticism that his NPP government had entered a secret defence pact with India when Prime Minister Narendra…

Myanmar junta calls new ceasefire after quake (Photo: AP) Myanmar’s junta declared a new post-earthquake truce on Tuesday, days after the expiry of a previous humanitarian ceasefire it was accused of violating with a continued campaign of air strikes.The March 28 magnitude-7.7 quake near the central city of Mandalay killed nearly 3,800 and has left…

Representative Image (AI) KABUL: Every week, Bibi Jan scrapes together some of her husband’s meagre daily wage to buy precious water from rickshaw-drawn tankers that supply residents of Afghanistan’s increasingly parched capital.Kabul faces a looming water crisis, driven by unruly and rapid urbanisation, mismanagement over years of conflict, and climate change, meaning people like Bibi…