US President Donald Trump is attending a gala in the Philippines celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte greeted Trump and other leaders one by one as they arrived at a convention centre in Manila for the glitzy event. Trump and Duterte shook hands twice and exchanged pleasantries before the leaders posed for a group photo and everyone filed into dinner.
Trump joined his fellow leaders in wearing Philippine formal…
Two men held over murder of expat in Bali village, months after gruesome killing of Japanese couple there
Two men have been arrested over the murder of an elderly Dutch man whose decomposing body was found at his home on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali.
The corpse of Robert Gilhooad, 80, was found on November 3 at his rental property in Jimbaran, a resort area in the southern part of the island.
An autopsy concluded the Dutch expatriate had been murdered, said policeman Aris Purwanto, the region’s criminal investigative chief.
“He had injuries to the left of his head,” he…
Japan mulling new missile interceptor deployment to guard against North Korea
To bolster protection against the threat posed by North Korean missiles, Japan is studying deploying a new land-based Aegis missile defence system in both Akita Prefecture in northeastern Japan and Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Japan, a government source said on Saturday.
Under the plan, the Ground Self-Defence Force would operate Aegis Ashore systems at SDF facilities in those two prefectures. But some defence Ministry officials are opposed to the plan, the source said.
The Cabinet of Prime…
Thai palace sacks top royal aide for having an affair, forcing mistress to have an abortion
A senior Thai royal official has been sacked for “evil acts” including having an extramarital affair and forcing his alleged mistress to get an abortion, the palace said, the latest top aide to be axed under King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Vajiralongkorn, 65, took the throne one year ago following the death of his widely revered father King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned for seven decades.
He has yet to attain his father’s widespread popularity but remains insulated from any…
Tax scheme negligence claims fail as time limits began to run before a tribunal decision on a similar scheme, says cCourt
Negligence claims against tax advisers who had given assurances about the effectiveness of tax schemes failed because the claims were not brought within the limitation period.
UK provides further details of ‘settled status’ for EU citizens and family members
Further details of how the proposed new ‘settled status’ for EU citizens and their family members will work after the UK leaves the EU have been published by the government.
Stray cat with human blood on its claws becomes key suspect in Japanese woman’s death
A Japanese police probe into the attempted murder of an elderly bedridden woman has reportedly led to an unlikely suspect: a stray cat. Mayuko Matsumoto’s daughter found her bleeding profusely from about 20 cuts to her face on Monday at her home in a mountainous region of southern Japan. Police launched an attempted murder investigation after seeing the wounds, some of them relatively severe, according to local broadcaster RKK. “When we found her, blood covered everything…
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam affirms city’s commitment to free trade at her first Apec summit
Hong Kong remains committed to international free trade despite its potential to cause social problems – that was the message the city’s leader, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, took to her debut appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Like US President Donald Trump, Lam was among the fresh faces attending the Apec forum, busying herself on Friday with conversations and meetings with fellow leaders ranging from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Chilean President…
‘Clarity and common sense’ as Supreme Court rejects challenge to offshore wind farm
A legal challenge to plans to construct major new wind farms off the east coast of Scotland has been rejected by the UK’s highest court.
FCA proposes customer ‘duty of care’ for financial firms
Financial firms could be made subject to a new duty of care, requiring them to exercise “reasonable skill and care” when providing services to consumers, the financial regulator has indicated.