MANILA, Aug 19 — The Philippines has detected a new case of the mpox virus in the country, the first since December last year, its health department said today, adding it was awaiting test results before being able to determine the strain.

HYDERABAD, Aug 19 — Nearly 12 per cent of tested spice samples failed to meet quality and safety standards, according to data obtained by Reuters of tests by Indian authorities after several countries took steps over contamination risks in two popular brands.

SINGAPORE, Aug 19 — Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has outlined several new initiatives across four key areas  — economy, family, education and housing  — as part of the government’s refreshed outlook for the next chapter of the Singapore Story.

KOLKATA, Aug 18 — Some Indian junior doctors remained off the job today, demanding swift justice for a colleague who was raped and murdered, despite the end of a 24-hour strike called by the country’s biggest association of doctors.

BANGKOK, Aug 18 — Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister today, two days after Parliament elected her, paving the way for the formation of a cabinet in coming weeks.

BANGKOK, Aug 18 — Thailand’s billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra received a royal pardon, shortening his parole by two weeks, his lawyer said yesterday, a day after his daughter was elected prime minister by Parliament.

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Aug 18 — Safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit a perimeter access road yesterday, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi.

KOLKATA/BHUBANESWAR, Aug 17 — Hospitals and clinics across India turned away patients except for emergency cases today as medical professionals staged a 24-hour shutdown in protest over the rape and murder of a doctor this month in the eastern city of Kolkata.

BANGKOK, Aug 17 — Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has received a royal pardon, ending his parole tomorrow, said his lawyer Winyat Chartmontri.

JAKARTA, Aug 17 — Indonesia celebrated its 79th Independence Day on Saturday with a grand ceremony in the new capital, Nusantara, located on the island of Kalimantan, marking the first time the celebration was held there.

WASHINGTON, Aug 17 — United States (US) President Joe Biden has said that no party in the Middle East should undermine efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that he claimed was now in sight, but he warned that it was "far from over." Key Quotes "No one in the region should...

NEW DELHI, Aug 17 — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended support to a “democratic, stable” Bangladesh yesterday in its first high-level contact with Dhaka.

BANGKOK, Aug 17 — China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand discussed cross-border crimes Friday at the Informal Discussion Between the Foreign Ministers of China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

MANILA, Aug 16 — The Philippines has sought to assure China that the presence of a United States (US) intermediate-range missile system on its territory posed no threat to China and would not destabilise the region.

JAKARTA, Aug 16 — Indonesia's outgoing government submitted a 2025 budget plan to Parliament today, targeting a narrower deficit than this year, which analysts said signalled Southeast Asia's largest economy would remain fiscally prudent under its next president.

HANOI, Aug 16 — Vietnam's ruling Communist Party has added the country's most senior police officer to its elite Politburo today, another sign of the growing political clout of its powerful internal security agency.

LONDON, Aug 16 — Over 1,000 people have been arrested and nearly 600 charged in connection with the far-right riots that erupted across the United Kingdom (UK) following a stabbing incident in Southport on July 29, reported Anadolu Agency.

BANGKOK, Aug 16 — Thailand's new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra plans to improve the quality of life and empower all Thais when she officially assumes office.

PESHAWAR, Aug 16 — Pakistan's Health Ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said today, as provincial health authorities reported they had detected at least three cases.

MUMBAI, Aug 16 — Anger over the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in eastern India showed no signs of dying down today, as medics called for the largest shutdown of hospital services in recent times, and political parties geared up for protests.