International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
AFP – Japan’s ruling party and partners won enough votes to form a supermajority in an upper house election held just days after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, local media said Monday. The ex-premier’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito strengthened their hold by winning more than 75
TOKYO (AP) — A top police official on Saturday acknowledged possible security lapses that allowed an assassin to fire his gun into former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while he was addressing a campaign rally, raising questions how could the attacker get so close behind him. Abe was shot in the western city of Nara
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister agreed to resign Saturday after the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s severe economic crisis. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that rare talks with his Chinese counterpart in Indonesia were “constructive” but he voiced alarm over issues including Taiwan. “Despite the complexities of our relationship, I can say with some confidence that our delegations found today’s discussions useful, candid and constructive,” Blinken said after an unusually long
Russian troops pursued their “relentless” shelling of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region on Saturday, as the United States promised new military aid to Kyiv including powerful rocket launchers. Having endured long battles to capture cities in the neighbouring Lugansk region, Russia is now seeking to push deeper into Donetsk to consolidate its hold over the entire
Elon Musk announced Friday that he will abandon his tumultuous $44 billion offer to buy Twitter after the company failed to provide enough information about the number of fake accounts. Twitter immediately fired back, saying it would sue the Tesla CEO to uphold the deal. The likely unraveling of the acquisition was just the latest
NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Chinese counterpart on Saturday in a new effort to try to rein in or at least manage rampant hostility that has come to define recent relations between Washington and Beijing. Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi were holding talks in the
AFP – Japan on Saturday mourned the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, whose body was being moved to Tokyo from the western town where he was gunned down at close range on the campaign trail. The murder of Japan’s best-known politician rattled the country and sent shockwaves around the world, particularly given the nation’s
TOKYO (AP) — Shinzo Abe was a political blueblood groomed for power. Japan’s longest serving prime minister, he was also perhaps the most polarizing, complex politician in recent Japanese history. Abe, who was assassinated Friday, angered both liberals at home and World War II victims in Asia with his hawkish push to revamp the military
Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been confirmed dead after he was shot at a campaign event on Friday, public broadcaster NHK and Jiji news agency reported. “According to a senior LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) official, former prime minister Abe died at a hospital in Kashihara city, Nara region, where he was receiving medical
July 8 (Reuters) – Japanese former prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot on Friday while campaigning in the city of Nara, a government spokesman said. Here are reactions: US SECRETARY OF STATE ANTHONY BLINKEN BEFORE MEETING WITH INDONESIAN FOREIGN MINISTER “I do have to say before we meet how deeply saddened and deeply concerned we
TOKYO (AP) — Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an arch-conservative and one of the country’s most divisive figures, was shot and critically wounded during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan. He was airlifted to a hospital but officials said he was not breathing and his heart had stopped. Police arrested the suspected gunman
