PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia Highlighting the depth of Indonesia’s air safety problems, the transportation ministry revealed harsh measures today against everyone who allowed AirAsia Flight 8501 to take off without proper permits — including the suspension of the airport’s operator and officials in the control tower. The licenses and schedules of all airlines flying in the […]

DHAKA, BANGLADESH Two men on a motorbike opened fire on a group of anti-government activists in northwestern Bangladesh today, killing two amid heightened tensions on the anniversary of a general election boycotted by a major opposition alliance last year, a local opposition leader said. The shooting took place in Natore district, 160 kilometers (100 miles) […]

KABUL, Afghanistan A suicide car bomber struck near the headquarters of the European police training mission in Kabul today, killing one Afghan civilian and wounding 16 people, police and EUPOL said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the first against a foreign target in the Afghan capital in 2015. According to EUPOL, the driver […]

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA Here are three things to know about new U.S. sanctions against North Korea over a cyberattack on Sony Pictures, whose movie depicting the fictional assassination of North Korea’s leader has infuriated Pyongyang, which denies responsibility for the cyberattack: North’s reaction aimed at domestic audience and U.S. Pyongyang’s rhetoric over the weekend criticizing […]

YANGON, MYANMAR Church colleagues today proudly welcomed home Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, a day after his appointment by Pope Francis as Myanmar’s first Roman Catholic cardinal. Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, was one of 20 new cardinals whose appointments were announced Sunday and who assume their new jobs next month. They are from 18 countries, […]