Sri Lanka has no PM or cabinet after no-confidence vote: parliament’s Speaker
The Speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament, Karu Jayasuriya, on Thursday said that in his view the country did not have a prime minister or cabinet after Wednesday’s no-confidence vote.
Fiji prime minister leads provisional election count
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was set to win re-election on Thursday, with a provisional count showing his Fiji First party holding a comfortable lead, although some voting has been delayed due to bad weather in the South Pacific nation.
Japanese, South Korean trawlers collide in Sea of Japan, 13 rescued
A South Korean trawler and a Japanese fishing boat collided in the Sea of Japan on Thursday about 330 km (205 miles) northeast of an island claimed by both countries, officials said.
Ethiopia arrests former deputy intelligence chief
Ethiopia’s former deputy intelligence chief has been arrested, Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye said on Thursday, in the latest move targeting security officials for human rights abuses and corruption.
Pence says ’empire and aggression’ have no place in Indo-Pacific
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told leaders of Southeast Asian nations on Thursday that there was no place for “empire and aggression” in the Indo-Pacific region, a comment that could be interpreted as a reference to China’s rise.
Three South Korean firms to plead guilty to rigging price of U.S. military base fuel: Justice Department
Three South Korean companies will plead guilty to criminal charges and pay $236 million for their role in a conspiracy to fix the price of fuel sold to U.S. military bases in South Korea, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
U.S.’s Pompeo to meet incoming Mexican foreign minister on Thursday
U.S. Secretary of States Mike Pompeo will hold talks with incoming Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard in Houston on Thursday, according to the U.S. State Department.
U.S. returns ‘Bells of Balangiga’ to Philippines a century after clash
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday formally returned church bells to the Philippines that were taken as war trophies over a century ago following gruesome clashes, seeking to close a contentious chapter in the two allies’ shared history.
From fugitive to governor, a Peruvian mining foe rises again
For most of this year, Walter Aduviri, the governor-elect of Peru’s Andean region of Puno, had been a fugitive.
U.S. carriers join up in East Asia for ‘complex’ warfare drills
Two U.S. aircraft carriers with around 150 fighter jets are conducting “complex” warfare drills in the Philippine Sea, the U.S. Navy said on Thursday, in a show of force in waters south of China and within striking distance of North Korea.
