Bankrupt Sri Lanka will receive a conditional $2.9 billion bailout to repair its battered finances, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday, following a bruising economic crisis that saw the island nation's president chased from the country.. The IMF's announcement of a $2.9 billion package, spread over four years, is short of the $3-4 billion sought by Sri Lanka.
Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Thursday he plans to call a snap presidential election this autumn and will reduce the presidency to one seven-year term.. The term of the presidency would meanwhile be limited to one term of seven years, he said, from the current two five-year terms.
Rosmah Mansor, the wife of Malaysia's ex-premier Najib Razak, was found guilty of graft Thursday, just over a week after her husband began serving a 12-year jail term.. "The accused is found guilty of all three charges," High Court Judge Mohamed Zaini Mazlan said as Rosmah sat quietly in the dock.
The southern Pakistan village of Karim Bakhsh is almost entirely under muddy water after catastrophic monsoon rains -- hardly any stable buildings are left for shelter, the wheat silos are empty and venomous snakes are a constant threat.. Most homes and structures were ruined, and villagers were desperate for any material that might help build temporary shelter from both the rain and -- when it came out -- the scorching sun.
Around 16 million people in the Chinese city of Chengdu will be effectively under lockdown from Thursday as authorities race to snuff out a new Covid-19 outbreak.. Last month, travellers in the southern island province of Hainan protested after more than 80,000 tourists were stranded in a resort city because of a Covid-19 flare-up.
A colourful Taiwanese tycoon unveiled plans Thursday to train more than three million "civilian warriors" to help defend the democratic island in the event of a Chinese invasion, donating TW$1 billion ($33 million) of his own money.. The tycoon said he would put TW$600 million towards training three million "black bear warriors" in the next three years who could work alongside the military.
The symbolism is not lost on the White House: US President Joe Biden heads Thursday to Philadelphia, the cradle of American statehood, to deliver a rare primetime speech on what he calls "the battle for the soul of the nation.". "We are living through a battle for the soul of this nation," Biden wrote then.
A hit Netflix K-drama about a high-functioning autistic lawyer is prompting soul-searching in South Korea, where some on the spectrum say they can feel invisible.. - Limited understanding - "Public awareness or understanding of high-functioning autism is still very limited in South Korea," said Kim Hee-jin, professor in psychiatry at Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul.
Longstanding Cambodian opposition figure Sam Rainsy will face a French court on Thursday in defamation cases brought against him by top officials in his home country.. Dy Vichea has brought a second case against Rainsy over a separate 2019 Facebook post, which will also be heard on Thursday.
As Hong Kong students return for the new academic year, veteran teacher Wong is counting down the days until the political maelstrom sweeping the city leaves him no choice but to quit.. "The students are leaving not because they dislike the school, but because of Hong Kong's environment."
