Nepal unveils new map amid row with India

Nepal has drawn-up a new political map that includes strategically important territory it disputes with India, officials said yesterday, as the Himalayan country takes a tougher stance against its giant neighbour.
19 May 2020

Saudi attacker on US base had al-Qaeda ties: US

The Saudi military student who killed three Americans at a US naval base in December had longstanding ties to al-Qaeda and planned an attack
19 May 2020

Rocket hits near US embassy in Baghdad

One rocket hit near the US embassy in Baghdad early yesterday morning, security sources told AFP, the first to land in the high-security zone in
19 May 2020

China offers farmers cash to give up wildlife trade

Farmers in China are being offered cash to quit breeding exotic animals as pressure grows to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade that has been
19 May 2020

Today in History (May 19)

1906: The Simplon Tunnel opened, connecting Italy and Switzerland through the Alps.
19 May 2020

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: updates

The novel coronavirus has killed at least 318,517 people so far, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 1100 GMT yesterday.
19 May 2020

New drug can stop pandemic

A Chinese laboratory has been developing a drug it believes has the power to bring the coronavirus pandemic to a halt.
19 May 2020

Afghan forces repel Taliban attack on key city

Afghan security forces yesterday repelled a fierce Taliban attack on Kunduz, a strategic city in northern Afghanistan that had briefly fallen to the militants twice in the past, officials said.
19 May 2020

WHO states agree to independent probe of coronavirus response

World Health Organization member states agreed Tuesday to an independent probe into the UN agency's coronavirus response as US criticism mounted over its handling of the pandemic.
19 May 2020

Plan for bankruptcy court-led restructuring of Thai Airways approved

Thailand’s cabinet approved a plan to restructure troubled Thai Airways International Pcl’s (THAI.BK) finances through a bankruptcy court, the Southeast Asian country’s prime minister says.
19 May 2020

Trump threatens permanent freeze on WHO funding in 30 days

President Donald Trump threatens to permanently freeze US funding to the World Health Organization unless "substantive improvements" are made within the next 30 days.
19 May 2020

Virus may ‘burn out naturally’

Coronavirus could “burn out naturally before any vaccine is developed”, according to a former World Health Organisation chief.
18 May 2020

Asia’s biggest-ever drugs bust: Huge fentanyl haul seized in Myanmar

Myanmar police say they have seized a huge haul of liquid fentanyl, the first time one of the dangerous synthetic opioids that have ravaged North America has been found in Asia’s Golden Triangle drug-producing region.
18 May 2020

Virus a ‘wake-up call’ for the world

The coronavirus pandemic should serve as a “wake-up call” to the world which must be more united in responding to the crisis, UN chief Antonio Guterres said yesterday.
18 May 2020

Malaysia’s king upholds PM’s appointment

Malaysia’s king yesterday said the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as PM during turmoil this year was proper and constitutional. Muhyiddin’s
18 May 2020

Taliban blast near Afghan base kills 7, injures 40

Taliban fighters yesterday detonated a car bomb near an Afghan intelligence agency installation in the central province of Ghazni, killing at least
18 May 2020

Libyan forces aligned with Tripoli govt claim key air base

Forces aligned with Libya’s internationally recognised government yesterday said they had taken control of an air base south-west of Tripoli in
18 May 2020

Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria: Iran

Americans will be expelled from Iraq and Syria, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday, renewing Iran’s demand for US
18 May 2020

Ardern NZ’s most popular PM in a century

Jacinda Ardern became New Zealand’s most popular prime minister in a century, a Newshub-Reid Research poll showed yesterday, thanks to her
18 May 2020

Today in History (May 18)

1974: India successfully tested its first nuclear device in the Rajasthan Desert.
18 May 2020