United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo opened talks in India on Monday, kicking off a four-country Asia tour that he has said will focus on the "threats" posed by China.Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper, who is joining him for the two-day visit, will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday amid heightened tensions since a border clash between India and China in June.Pompeo opened his trip with talks and a dinner with External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaish

Thousands gathered Sunday at a major Bangkok intersection to renew calls for Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha to resign, after he ignored a deadline to step down set by protesters who have issued unprecedented challenges to the regime.The former military chief, who staged a 2014 coup, is facing pressure from a student-led pro-democracy movement that has organised massive demonstrations for months.They regard his hold on power -- extended after last year's widely disputed elections -- as illegit

Malaysia's king Sunday rejected a proposal by the premier to declare a state of emergency and suspend parliament to fight the coronavirus after the plan sparked a massive backlash.Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin sought the drastic measures following a recent spike in virus cases, but critics claimed he was mainly concerned with crushing mounting challenges to his leadership. Muhyiddin seized power without a vote in March after a reformist government collapsed but his administrat

The United States (US) said Friday it will deploy Coast Guard patrol ships in the western Pacific to counter "destabilising and malign" activities by China in disputed fishing grounds of the South China Sea. The US is accusing China of "illegal" and "unregulated" fishing, as well as "harassment" of fishing boats from regional countries. White House National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said in a statement that the US Coast Guar

When Bikamal Kaken's husband vanished during a 2017 visit to Xinjiang in north-western China, she had good reason to believe he would not be returning home to Kazakhstan anytime soon.But she did not anticipate just how dire his fate was, or that it would be revealed during a spat online between United States (US) and Chinese diplomats.Rights groups at the time of Adilgazy Muqai's disappearance were sounding the alarm over a mushrooming network of facilities for the massive incarcera

The European Union's (EU) disease control agency on Friday joined frantic health workers across Europe in sounding the alarm about the surge in coronavirus infections as the World Health Organization (WHO) warned of an 'exponential' rise in cases.Several countries in Europe are reporting infection rates higher than during the first wave of the pandemic in March and April, with Spain saying it has now more than three million cases.Governments across the continent are slapping ur

China on Thursday threatened to make a "legitimate and necessary" retaliation over the United States (US) sale of US$1 billion worth of missiles to Taiwan as Beijing becomes increasingly strident over its claims to the self-ruled island.The US State Department said on Wednesday it had approved the sale of 135 air-to-ground missiles to Taiwan in a move Taipei's defence ministry said would build its combat capabilities.Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under constant threat

Thailand's premier on Thursday revoked an emergency decree that had been intended to quell pro-democracy rallies despite it failing to stamp out daily protests demanding he resign and for reforms of the unassailable monarchy.The student-led pro-democracy movement has been gaining momentum since mid-July, with mostly young demonstrators calling for Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha's removal and a rewrite of a 2017 military-scripted constitution. Some protest leaders have also issue

Thailand's embattled premier announced Wednesday he might lift an emergency decree that has failed to stifle a growing protest movement demanding his resignation and reforms to the monarchy.After a day of anti-government and rival royalist protests across the country, thousands of angry democracy activists marched on Government House, defying an emergency decree imposed last week banning gatherings of more than four people.As they chanted for him to resign, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-c