The US said on May 18 it is confident Finland and Sweden will become part of NATO, despite vocal Turkish protests – an expansion that would dramatically realign European security in the wake of Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Sweden on Monday officially announced it will apply for NATO membership as a deterrent against Russian aggression, entering a “new era” and reversing two centuries of military non-alignment.
President Joe Biden has ordered the reestablishment of a US troop presence in Somalia to help local authorities combat the Al-Shabaab militant group, a senior American official told reporters on May 16.
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un criticised “irresponsible” officials over the country’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said on May 16, as Seoul offered Covid-19 aid.
A Chinese immigrant who padlocked a church and opened fire on its Taiwanese-American congregation, killing one person and injuring five others, was motivated by hatred of the island and its people, US investigators said on May 16.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief economic manager warns against moves to repeal the rice tariffication law (RTL), pointing to its benefits to Filipino consumers such as the big reduction in rice prices as more imports we
At least 14 people were killed and more than a dozen others injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed into an advertising sign in Indonesia’s East Java province early on May 16, police said.
The National Assemblies of Laos and Vietnam have signed an agreement on continued cooperation.
NATO on May 15 pledged open-ended military support for Ukraine, as Finland hailed its “historic” bid to join the alliance and Sweden’s ruling party said it backed a joint membership application.
Shanghai announced a gradual reopening from Monday of businesses, though it remains unclear when the millions of people still locked down in China’s economic capital will finally be allowed out of their homes.
Somalia handed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud the presidency for a second time following Sunday’s long-overdue election in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, which is confronting an Islamist insurgency and the threat of famine.