Foreign
Bali airport still closed as volcanic eruption continues
November 28, 2017, 3:13 pm
JAKARTA -- Transport authorities in Indonesia extended the closure of the Ngurah Rai International Airport on Tuesday as volcanic eruption in the resort island of Bali continued, officials said. The shutdown of the Ngurah Rai airport has been extended to 7 a.m. local time Wednesday from 7 a.m.… Read More
Britain maps out industrial strategy as it prepares to leave EU
November 28, 2017, 1:44 pm
LONDON -- Britain launched an industrial strategy on Monday as it prepares to leave the European Union and faces uncertain economic prospects. The country's business secretary Greg Clark said the flagship strategy could boost the economy, build on Britain's strengths and embrace the opportunities… Read More
Aqua City Odaiba wint treat: luxe ramen, kobe beef, ise ebi, fireworks
November 27, 2017, 6:45 pm
TOKYO/Kyodo JBN- AsiaNet/ -- AQUA CiTY ODAIBA, a commercial complex in Tokyo's Odaiba district operated by Mitsubishi Jisho Retail Property Management Co., Ltd., will offer a variety of ramen noodles on the special winter menus of six restaurants operating at Tokyo Ramen Kokugikan Mai,… Read More
Australia sets up counter-terrorism financing group in SE Asia
November 22, 2017, 4:08 pm
CANBERRA -- Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan announced on Wednesday the establishment of a new Southeast Asian group to counter the funding of terrorism in the region. Keenan, Australia's Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Counter-Terrorism, revealed the new South East Asia… Read More
Youth unemployment falls globally, but quality jobs scarce: ILO
November 21, 2017, 11:58 am
GENEVA -- There is a persisting overall trend of insufficient good jobs for young people seeking work, who are estimated to account for more than 35 percent of the unemployed worldwide in 2017, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Monday. Despite a significant fall in youth unemployment… Read More
Australia urged to sue tobacco industry for smoking-related illnesses
November 20, 2017, 2:03 pm
SYDNEY -- Leading Australian experts have called on the country's governments to hold tobacco companies accountable for damage done to people's health by taking them to court. In an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia, public health experts from Macquarie University and Curtin… Read More
US scientists predict more big earthquakes in 2018
November 20, 2017, 1:57 pm
WASHINGTON --- If a prediction by two US scientists were true, then the world could see an increase in the number of strong earthquakes in 2018 and the next few years. Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado and Rebecca Bendick of the University of Montana, who presented their research at the… Read More
Belt and Road Initiative hailed as ‘true game changer’
November 19, 2017, 12:40 pm
BEIJING, China – Former heads of state and think-tank leaders lauded the Communist Party of China (CPC) for inscribing Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in its constitution, calling it a 'true game changer' of the world. “It is a historic, substantive, a true game changer of the world. It will… Read More
Da Vinci’s USD450-M painting of Christ now ‘most expensive artwork’
November 16, 2017, 3:06 pm
MOSCOW -- A 500-year-old painting of Christ by Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci has been sold at auction in New York for startling USD 450 million. A rediscovered painting of Christ by Renaissance master Leonardo Da Vinci has sold for a record of USD 450,312,500 at Christie’s in New York,… Read More
At least 5 killed, 10 hurt in California mass shooting
November 15, 2017, 3:38 pm
LOS ANGELES -- At least five were killed, including the suspect, in a shooting near an elementary school Tuesday morning in Rancho Tehama, a rural and small community of California, about 194 km north of the state capital Sacramento. Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said Tuesday… Read More
US consumer group lists most dangerous toys of 2017
November 15, 2017, 3:26 pm
WASHINGTON -- A consumer safety group released Tuesday its annual list of worst toys as the holiday season nears. Fidget spinners, a Wonder Woman sword, and remote-controlled Spider-Man drone are among the toys on the list unveiled by World Against Toys Causing Harm, or WATCH, at a children's… Read More
Singapore mass rapid transit trains collide, 23 injured
November 15, 2017, 2:29 pm
SINGAPORE -- A Singapore Mass Rapid Transit Cooperation (SMRT Cooperation) train of the East-West line collided with a stationary train at Joo Koon MRT station at about 8 a.m. local time Wednesday, causing injury to at least 23 people, local media reported. Local media Lianhe Zaobao quoted… Read More
Majority of Australians vote ‘yes’ to same-sex marriage
November 15, 2017, 1:02 pm
CANBERRA -- More than 61 percent of Australians have voted in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, it was announced on Wednesday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced the results of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey on Wednesday with 7.8 million respondents, or 61.6… Read More
Millennials had unlucky start to adult life, global wealth report says
November 15, 2017, 12:53 pm
WASHINGTON -- Millennials have fared less well financially than previous generations, as young people are hit early on by the repercussions of the 2008 global financial crisis, alongside rising income inequality, showed a study published Tuesday. The millennial generation, defined by the US Census… Read More
Akio Fujimoto's 'Passage of Life' Wins at 30th Tokyo Int'l Film Fest
November 14, 2017, 1:37 pm
TOKYO/Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ -- "Passage of Life" director Akio Fujimoto won the 2017 Spirit of Asia Award by The Japan Foundation Asia Center at the 30th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) closing ceremony on Nov. 3. The award was bestowed on a promising director in the TIFF Asian Future… Read More
Update: 7.3 magnitude quake kills 328 Iranians in Iran-Iraq border
November 13, 2017, 8:56 pm
TEHRAN, -- At least 328 Iranians died in a huge 7.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the Iran-Iraq border area on Sunday, official IRNA news agency reported on Monday. The quake also injured nearly 4,000 people, the report said. The quake's epicenter was located approximately 32 km south of the… Read More
(Update) Death toll in Iran-Iraq border quake rises to 207
November 13, 2017, 3:53 pm
TEHRAN -- At least 207 people died in a huge 7.3 magnitude earthquake that hit the Iran-Iraq border area on Sunday, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday. The quake which centered at 103 km southeast of the city of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, also injured over 1800 people, the report said. The tremor was… Read More
129 dead as magnitude 7.3 quake hits Iran-Iraq border
November 13, 2017, 12:59 pm
TEHRAN -- A huge earthquake measuring 7.3 magnitude struck near the Iran-Iraq border area on Sunday, killing 129 and injuring over thousands, according to Iran's official media Monday. The quake's epicenter was located approximately 32 km south of the city of Halabja in a remote mountainous region… Read More
Russia ready to step up military cooperation with PH
November 10, 2017, 6:04 pm
DA NANG, Vietnam -- Russia is ready to step up military-technical cooperation with the Philippines, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in Vietnam. "I remember you being forced to cut… Read More
Digital marriages proposed in Finland
November 9, 2017, 10:44 am
HELSINKI -- People in Finland could in the future get married on the internet, without having to go to meet a civil servant at a Magistrates Office. The vista came on Wednesday from the Finnish Innovation Fund, SITRA. The digitization of "tying the knot" was part of a report about the future of… Read More
