Car crash, rifts, and scandal: A tough year for the British royals
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will deliver her Christmas Day address to Britons next week after a tumultuous year for her royal family.
Blair tells UK Labour: Overturn Corbyn’s ‘quasi-revolutionary socialism’
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday urged moderates in the opposition Labour Party to grab back control from outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn whom he said personified a brand of “quasi-revolutionary socialism” that had failed.
India court dismisses appeal against death penalty over 2012 bus rape
India’s top court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal against the death penalty by one of four men convicted of gang-raping and murdering a woman on a bus in New Delhi, saying it found no reason to review the sentence.
Indian Kashmir sees more than $2.4 billion losses since lockdown: group
A lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir has cost its economy more than $2.4 billion since the government stripped it of its special status, officials of the Himalayan region’s main trade organization said on Wednesday.
Indonesia faces backlash over baby lobster export ban
A proposal by Indonesia’s new fisheries minister to remove a cap on exporting baby lobsters has come under fire, with critics saying it could deplete stocks around the archipelago and boost the fishing industry in competitor countries.
Hong Kong’s New Year’s fireworks canceled amid security concerns
Hong Kong’s popular New Year’s Eve fireworks will be canceled for the first time in a decade, as more than six months of protests heighten security concerns, the Hong Kong Tourism Board said on Wednesday.
Kazakh president reshuffles senior officials
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Wednesday named Kanat Bozumbayev, previously energy minister, a presidential aide, and reshuffled a number of other senior officials.
Japanese man sentenced to life in prison for fatal stabbing on bullet train
A Japanese man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday after a stabbing attack on a speeding bullet train in 2018 that left one dead and two others inured, sparking a national debate about safety as Tokyo prepares to host the 2020 Olympics.
Indian court turns down petition to stop implementation of citizenship law
India’s top court on Wednesday refused to stall the implementation of a new law that lays out a path for non-Muslim minorities from some neighboring countries for Indian citizenship, despite violent protests across the country.
Two Indonesian soldiers killed in separatist attack in Papua
Two Indonesian soldiers have been shot dead in Indonesia’s easternmost province of Papua, ambushed by separatist rebels while transporting goods to a village in a remote area, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.
