North Korea's escalating nuclear provocations are putting putative ally China in an increasing bind, and may be part of a strategy to twist Beijing's arm into orchestrating direct talks between Pyongyang and Washington, analysts said. The North's Kim dynasty has repeatedly used nuclear brinkmanship over the years in a push to be taken seriously by the United States but traditionally avoided caus...

Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai and Muslim countries in Asia led a growing chorus of criticism on Monday aimed at Myanmar and its civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the plight of its Rohingya Muslim minority. Nearly 90,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh in the past 10 days following an uptick in fighting between militants and Myanmar's military in strife-torn western Rakhine stat...

US President Donald Trump declared Sunday that "appeasement with North Korea" will not work, after Pyongyang claimed it had successfully tested a missile-ready hydrogen bomb. "North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test," Trump said. "Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States." His comments came hours after the US Geological Survey picked up a 6.3...

One of Cambodia's few remaining independent newspapers announced on Sunday it would close hours after the country's opposition leader was arrested for treason, the latest in a string of blows to critics of strongman premier Hun Sen. The Cambodia Daily, which is often critical of the government, said Monday's edition would be its last after it was slapped with a multi-million dollar tax bill that...

A third criminal charge against the fugitive heir to Thailand's Red Bull fortune over a fatal hit-and-run expired on Sunday but prosecutors said it would not affect their heavily-criticised attempts to bring him to justice. Worayuth Yoovidhya, better known as "Boss", is wanted for drunkenly ploughing his Ferrari into a policeman riding a motorbike in Bangkok in 2012, dragging the officer to his ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ranks among the world’s youngest heads of state, but has some of its most powerful weapons at his disposal. Sunday’s test of what appeared to be a powerful, full-fledged thermonuclear bomb, marked yet another watershed in Kim’s relentless drive as leader to turn the North into a credible -- and feared -- nuclear-armed state. In the process, he has simply shrugged...

The UN Security Council denounced North Korea's latest missile test Tuesday, unanimously demanding that Pyongyang halt the program after a rocket was fired over Japan into the Pacific. The 15-nation body maintained its unity after Kim Jong-Un's latest provocation, with China and Russia agreeing to sign up to a statement condemning his isolated regime's action. But the US-drafted statement, whil...

STOCKHOLM - Copenhagen police said Tuesday they were scanning an inventor's homemade submarine for possible hidden rooms as they investigate the death of a Swedish journalist last seen on board before her headless torso was found. Peter Madsen, 46, who has been held in formal custody since August 12 and accused of "negligent manslaughter," has insisted that Kim Wall died in "an accident" aboard ...

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May, due in Tokyo on Wednesday, is "outraged" by North Korea firing a ballistic missile over Japan, her Downing Street office said. "The prime minister is outraged by North Korea's reckless provocation and she strongly condemns these illegal tests," a spokeswoman said Tuesday. "From our perspective, we are willing to continue to work with our internationa...

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, multiple governments said, in a major escalation by Pyongyang amid tensions over its weapons ambitions. No North Korean missile had overflown Japan for years, and the launch came after a strained period on the peninsula following Pyongyang's testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles las...

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday said North Korea's launch of a missile over its territory was an "unprecedented, serious and grave threat" as he called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. Abe vowed to enhance pressure on the nuclear-armed state as tensions spike over Pyongyang's weapons development ambitions. "Their outrageous act of firing a missile over our country is a...

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres held talks with Israeli leaders Monday on his first visit since taking office, making a forceful argument for a two-state solution with the Palestinians and speaking of his "dream" for peace. Guterres also spoke of what he called obstacles to peace when meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including Israeli settlement buildin...

North Korea has cancelled this year's Wonsan Air Show, travel agents said Monday, with reports suggesting tightened travel restrictions by several countries due to nuclear tensions with Pyongyang could be behind the move. The first-ever Wonsan International Friendship Air Festival was held in September last year, attracting hundreds of foreigners as the isolated North showcased a line-up of civi...

An Indian guru convicted of rape awaited sentencing Monday, with authorities ramping up security amid fears of fresh violence days after protests over his guilty verdict left 36 dead. Barbed-wire barriers were erected and residents warned to stay indoors in the northern city of Rohtak, where Ram Rahim Singh is being held and will be sentenced, while senior members of his sect were placed under d...

Looking like a furry brown pincushion, eight-month-old French bulldog "Dan Jiao" whimpers nervously as he waits for the end of a Chinese acupuncture session aimed at curing partial paralysis caused by a puppyhood injury. "Dan Jiao" ("Egg Dumpling"), would obviously rather be chewing on a bone somewhere than sitting strapped against his will into a harness that resembles a medieval torture device...