HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong customs officials have arrested seven people linked to the territory’s largest ever money laundering case, involving about 14 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.8 billion) some of it linked to a scam case in India. The seven local residents, aged between 23 and 74, were part of a large-scale transnational … Read more
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian voters were choosing a new president Wednesday as the world’s third-largest democracy aspires to become a global economic powerhouse a quarter-century after shaking off a brutal dictatorship. The front-runner, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, is the only candidate with ties to the Suharto era. He was a special forces commander at … Read more
TOKYO (AP) — Will she make it? Taylor Swift’s last song will still be ringing in the ears of thousands of fans at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday night when the singer is expected to rush to a private jet at Haneda airport that will take her on a time-zone-spanning journey to see her boyfriend, … Read more
Pakistan’s 2024 general elections were dubbed the “most rigged” in the country’s history, with the popular Imran Khan barred from running and the military seen as backing former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. That was before results showed Khan-backed independent candidates leading the race. Sharif on Friday claimed victory, setting the stage for a turbulent period … Read more
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court gave a suspended death sentence to a China-born Australian democracy blogger on Monday. The Australian government, which has repeatedly raised his case over the years, said it was appalled. Yang Hengjun was found guilty of espionage and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang … Read more
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Saturday convicted and sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to seven years in prison on a charge that their 2018 marriage violated the law, officials and a defense lawyer said. The verdict follows another case in which Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced … Read more
TOKYO (AP) — Crowned Miss Japan this week, Ukrainian-born Carolina Shiino cried with joy, thankful for the recognition of her identity as Japanese. But her Caucasian look rekindled an old question in a country where many people value homogeneity and conformity: What does it mean to be Japanese? Shiino has lived in Japan since moving … Read more
Updated Jan. 16, 2024 12:39 pm ET Chinese Premier Li Qiang gave global business elites a big hint on highly anticipated growth figures, as he sought to reassure them that investing in China is an opportunity—not a risk. Li delivered the message in an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as Chinese … Read more
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior Pakistani politician met the Taliban supreme leader in Afghanistan, the politician’s office said Saturday. It’s the second publicly known meeting between a foreign official and the reclusive Hibatullah Akhundzada, who rarely appears in public and seldom leaves the southern Afghan province of Kandahar. It’s also the first known meeting between … Read more
Updated Jan. 8, 2024 1:17 pm ET SINGAPORE—China has taken into custody an alleged British spy, the country’s national security agency said Monday, as Beijing steps up warnings over national security and the infiltration of foreign spies in the country. In a social-media post, China’s Ministry of State Security alleged that MI6, the U.K. foreign-intelligence … Read more