New Delhi (AFP) May 9, 2024 The Maldives pledged “enduring friendship” with India on Thursday ahead of a deadline for New Delhi to withdraw a troop garrison from the luxury tourist destination that has strained ties between the neighbours. Pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu won office last year while campaigning on a promise to downgrade ties…

Male, Maldives (AFP) May 13, 2024 The International Monetary Fund warned the Maldives against looming “debt distress” Monday, as the small but strategically placed luxury tourist destination looks set to borrow more from main creditor China. Since winning office last year, President Mohamed Muizzu has reoriented the atoll nation – known for its upmarket beach…

Jakarta (AFP) May 8, 2024 Indonesia experienced its hottest April in more than four decades, two senior weather agency officials said Wednesday, as the region endures a suffocating heatwave and global temperatures break records. Extreme heat has blasted Asia from India to the Philippines in recent weeks, triggering heatstroke deaths, school closures and desperate prayers…

Bangkok, Thailand (AFP) May 15, 2024 A Myanmar military air strike on a medical clinic wounded around 20 people in western Rakhine state, according to an ethnic armed group, a resident and local media on Wednesday. Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked security forces in November, ending a ceasefire that had…

Kathmandu (AFP) May 9, 2024 Nepali conservationists condemned on Thursday new regulations permitting hydropower and hotel projects in protected nature reserves, saying they threatened to damage the habitats of tigers and other endangered animals. A fifth of the Himalayan republic’s total lands have been designated as protected areas established to forbid infrastructure projects that could…

New Delhi (AFP) May 8, 2024 Indian authorities have arrested four people accused of “trafficking” citizens of the country to fight for the Russian army in Ukraine. Two years since Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow has been on a global quest for more troops….

Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 11, 2024 Visual experiences in early infancy play a critical role in the development of human vision, offering a unique visual ‘diet’ that differs significantly from that of older children and adults. This was demonstrated in a recent study titled “An edge-simplicity bias in the visual input to young infants,”…

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) May 8, 2024 Malaysia intends to gift orangutans to palm oil-purchasing countries as part of an initiative similar to China’s panda diplomacy, the commodities minister said on Wednesday. Johari Abdul Ghani said the “orangutan diplomacy” strategy would gift the endangered great apes to palm oil trading nations, especially major importing territories like…

Washington (AFP) May 7, 2024 Changing the way food is produced around the world could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, the World Bank said Monday. The so-called agrifood industry is responsible for almost a third of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, the Bank said in a report. Two-thirds of…