Indonesian authorities raised the alert for the volatile Mount Merapi volcano on the densely populated island of Java and ordered people within 3 kilometres (2 miles) to evacuate.
Merapi has erupted four times since Monday, sending out a 3,500 metre (11,483 feet) column of volcanic material and dusting the surrounding region in ash.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the national disaster mitigation agency’s spokesman, said some 660 people living within the exclusion zone have evacuated since early…
Mylan boss calls for supplementary protection certificates manufacturing waiver
Generic drug manufacturers should be able to manufacture medicines that are within the scope of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for export to non-EU markets during the time that those SPCs apply, Mylan’s European president has said.
Asia falling out of love with rice as new wave of superfoods make their way onto dining tables
Lunchtime in Taipei’s Ximending district is a test of wills and patience as tourists and locals jostle at restaurants and street stalls to choose between steamed and fried dumplings, flat and thin noodles, stuffed pancakes, grills and desserts.
In this foodie haven, one item makes only an occasional appearance on menus and on plates – rice.
Once a staple of Taiwanese diets, rice consumption per person has fallen more than two-thirds in 50 years, according to the United Nations…
Journalist who helped bring down Najib’s government returns to a ‘reforming’ Malaysia
Clare Rewcastle Brown was harassed and vilified for years for waging a campaign to expose Malaysian corruption that helped topple the country’s long-ruling government.
The British investigative journalist is now back in the country of her birth after being blacklisted for years, and being treated like a celebrity in a sign of the whirlwind changes since the May 9 elections.
No one is more stunned than Rewcastle, who said she expects to see further startling revelations of corruption and…
‘It is a nightmare’: Parents of Pakistani exchange student killed in Texas prepare for her funeral
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral Sunday in Texas of Sabika Sheikh, the young Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting Friday at a Texas high school, organisers told AFP.
The sombre ceremony is to take place at an Islamic centre in the Texas town of Stafford, not far from Santa Fe High School, where the shooting took place, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston said in a statement.
Girl turned down Texas teen – ‘so he killed her and 9 others…
Malaysia’s Najib seeks police protection, visits hometown, claims he’s a scapegoat
Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak fears for his safety and has asked for police protection, his spokesman said on Sunday, a day after the ex-leader complained about the conduct of police searching properties for evidence of corruption.
Having ruled Malaysia for nearly 10 years, Najib – and his wife, Rosmah Mansor – have been barred from leaving the country after his coalition’s defeat in an election on May 9. The new government led by his mentor-turned-foe,…
Key ally of Narendra Modi quits as leader of Indian state after two days in the job due to lack of support
The chief minister of a key Indian state plunged into a political crisis that saw Supreme Court hearings and accusations of bribery quit on Saturday after admitting he did not have enough support to form a government.
B.S. Yeddyurappa of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped down after just two days in the post and minutes before he was to have faced a vote of confidence in the Karnataka state assembly.
His move ended a week of mounting acrimony between Prime Minister…
Malaysians celebrate the downfall of Rosmah Mansor, the big-spending, reviled wife of ousted PM Najib Razak
Malaysia’s unpopular former first lady on Saturday lamented the “trying times” since her husband Najib Razak’s ouster from power, in a plea for public sympathy just a day after police seized a huge trove of cash, jewels and designer handbags linked to the couple.
Rosmah Mansor, who is widely reviled for her reported luxurious tastes and tone-deaf attitude towards the struggles of ordinary Malaysians, issued a statement lashing out at the police raids, complaining that…
Despite claim by acupuncture specialists, it does not improve IVF live birth rates, new study says
One of the most popular wellness services at fertility clinics is acupuncture, a traditional Chinese treatment that involves placing sterile needles at various points on the body to manipulate the “chi”, or energy flow – but a new study suggests that its usefulness is limited.
Acupuncture practitioners say the procedure may increase blood flow in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), which may increase the chances of an embryo that has been fertilised in a…
Planning ruling goes to heart of Northern Ireland decision making
Civil servants cannot make decisions on behalf of government departments in Northern Ireland where those decisions would ordinarily be taken by ministers, the High Court in the country has ruled.