TOKYO: The Japanese lower house on Tuesday defeated a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet, submitted by four opposition parties that criticised his economic and other policies ahead of the July upper house election. Opposition parties argue Abe’s decision, expected to be announced on Wednesday, to postpone a proposed sales tax hike is […]
Region
China to ‘pressurise’ US on maritime issues, paper says
BEIJING: China will ‘pressurise’ the United States on maritime issues at key talks in Beijing next week because of Chinese concerns over the increased US military presence in the disputed South China Sea, a major state-run newspaper said on Tuesday. China has been angered by what it views as provocative US military patrols close to […]
Bangladesh sentences six militants to death for bank robbery
DHAKA: A court in Bangladesh sentenced six Islamist militants to hang on Tuesday for a bank robbery on the outskirts Dhaka in April that left eight people dead, prosecutors said on Tuesday. The gang killed the branch manager of state-run Bangladesh Commerce Bank to get the key to the vault and made off with 700,000 […]
Myanmar’s Suu Kyi to lead new effort on restive Rakhine State
YANGON: Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi will lead a new effort to bring peace and development to Rakhine State where violence between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims in recent years has cast a cloud over progress on democratic reforms. More than 100 people were killed in violence in the western state in 2012, and some […]
17 killed in fire at Indian army ammunition depot
NEW DELHI: A fire broke out at a major ammunition depot in western India on Tuesday, killing at least 17 army personnel, the Defense Ministry said. At least 19 other people were injured in the blaze, said ministry spokesman Nitin Wakanker. The fire at the Pulgaon ammunitions depot started before dawn, said an official at […]
In defence of Ben Rhodes, Obamas foreign policy supremo
Until earlier this month, relatively few people outside the US foreign policy community knew the name Ben Rhodes. I suspect he wishes that were still the case. Washington is packed with highly educated and experienced foreign policy specialists, many of whom spend much of their time trying to demonstrate just how insightful and well-connected they […]
For Europe, the partys over but not clear what comes next
“Peace, joy and pancakes” could have been the European Union’s motto. That silly German expression — Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen — refers to glossing over problems. It can also describe the blithe optimism with which most Europeans marched into the glorious future of a unified Europe. Today that promise seems to have evaporated. As the […]
Can Donald Trump buzz his way to the White House?
Creating buzz — that curious mixture of baloney and authenticity that generates excitement — is not exactly new as a campaign strategy. But Donald Trump is taking it to new heights. By the new Trump metric, the more the public knows about your crackpot ideas and your sex life, the better for buzz that translates […]
In Asia Pacific, a tense game of political brinksmanship
WASHINGTON: American ships and fighter jets maneuvering across the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan represent the “new normal” in US-Pacific relations despite rising tensions with China and Moscow. US moves in recent months have led to angry protests from China and Russia, which contend the Obama administration is fueling unrest in the […]
The never-ending vigil for millions yearning to bury their dead
THE HAGUE: Nameless migrants laid to rest in unmarked scrubland, murder victims dumped in mass graves, desperate searches for the missing after natural disasters. Around the world, millions of families wait in vain to bury their dead. “You cannot close the book on the life of a loved one if you do not know the […]