Asian News

The former Nissan chairman is accused of misreporting his salary and misusing company assets.

There is no opposition candidate for prime minister, hundreds of people have been arrested and incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina stands accused of ignoring democratic checks on her power, but Bangladesh began campaigning on Monday for a year-end election. More than 100 million people are registered to vote on December 30 for either Hasina’s Awami League and its allies, or a beleaguered opposition that says it is being hobbled by police. On the eve of the campaign launch, the Bangladesh...

Japanese prosecutors have formally charged Carlos Ghosn with financial misconduct for under-reporting his salary, local media reported on Monday, three weeks after the auto tycoon’s arrest stunned the business world. Former Nissan chairman Ghosn, 64, has been in detention since his November 19 arrest on suspicion of under-declaring his income by some 5 billion yen (US$44 million) between 2010 and 2015. Authorities are also widely expected to re-arrest him later on Monday over separate...

A transport aircraft of Japan’s Air Self-Defence Forces (ASDF) touched down in the Marshall Islands en route to joint exercises in the US on Friday, delivering wheelchairs, sporting equipment and other aid to the central Pacific nation. The brief visit to Majuro marked the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two governments, but was also the first time an ASDF aircraft has stopped on its way to military manoeuvres in the US to carry out “cultural exchanges” in...

December 10, 2018 1:10 PM

DHAKA (AFP) - There is no opposition candidate for prime minister, hundreds of people have been arrested and incumbent premier Sheikh Hasina stands accused of ignoring democratic checks on her power, but Bangladesh began campaigning on Monday (Dec 10) for a year-end election.

Jacinda Ardern held back tears as she commented on the murder of British tourist Grace Millane.

December 10, 2018 1:08 PM

PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) -  The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested former prime minister Najib Tun Razak on Monday (Dec 10) for his alleged role in the tampering of the final audit report on graft-plagued state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

December 10, 2018 12:39 PM

PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The federal government is not an "outsider", said Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a rebuttal to Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's remarks over the controversial Pulau Kukup issue.

December 10, 2018 12:36 PM

TOKYO (AFP) - Carlos Ghosn has gone from heading a powerful auto alliance to occupying a Tokyo cell on allegations of financial misconduct.

Japan decided on Monday to effectively exclude Chinese telecommunication equipment giants Huawei Technologies and ZTE from public procurement, the government said, widening the list of countries that have pushed back against the Chinese technology companies on security issues. The decision comes amid concerns about security breaches that have already prompted the US and some other counties to ban the two Chinese companies from supplying infrastructure products. Cybersecurity officials of...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern choked back tears on Monday while offering a heartfelt apology to the family of murdered British backpacker Grace Millane, as the man accused of killing the young traveller made his first court appearance. Her voice cracking with emotion, Ardern said there was a collective feeling of shame in the South Pacific nation over the fate of Millane, whose body was found on Sunday in parkland just outside Auckland. “There is this overwhelming sense of...

December 10, 2018 12:13 PM

WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern choked back tears Monday (Dec 10) while offering a heartfelt apology to the family of murdered British backpacker Grace Millane, as the man accused of killing the young traveller made his first court appearance.

The Ambani-Piramal wedding seeks to top India's wedding season with even more glitz and glamour.

Australia will take delivery of its first two F-35A Joint Strike Fighters, with the aircraft arriving at the Williamtown RAAF base on Monday. The F-35A Joint Strike Fighter has been labelled the most advanced in the world but it has also been widely criticised for cost overruns and technical problems. The commonwealth auditor general last week released a report into the US$17 billion procurement of the fighter jets, which found the total could be even higher and the cost of maintaining and...

Roger, who stood at more than 2m tall, won viral fame over the years for his muscular physique.

December 10, 2018 10:50 AM

TOKYO (AFP) - Carlos Ghosn is expected to be charged and face new allegations of financial misconduct on Monday (Dec 10), meaning the once-revered auto tycoon is likely to be spending Christmas in a Japanese prison.

December 10, 2018 9:56 AM

SEOUL (KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho's trips to the communist state's allies - China, Syria and Vietnam - show the North's desperation amid stalled denuclearisation talks between Pyongyang and Washington, experts say.

December 10, 2018 9:52 AM

SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Australia's competition watchdog on Monday (Dec 10) recommended a new regulatory body be set up to monitor tech giants Facebook and Alphabet's Google and their dominance of the online advertising and news markets.

Australia’s competition watchdog on Monday recommended a new regulatory body be set up to monitor tech giants Facebook’s and Alphabet’s Google and their dominance of the online advertising and news markets. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a preliminary report on the US firms’ market power that extra oversight was justified to ensure advertisers were treated fairly and the public access to news was unfettered. The report, ordered by the...

December 10, 2018 9:39 AM

BAN NAPIA, LAOS (THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION) - With a long-stemmed ladle, Vanthon pulls shiny, molten metal from a kiln and deftly pours it into a mould carved in a wooden block.