Domino

Home ministry data reveals that there were 1,936 incidents of Maoist violence in 2010, which came down to just 374 in 2024 - a drop of 81%.

The number of Maoist-affected districts has also seen a steep fall, going from 126 in 2013 to 70 in 2021 and just 18 as of April this year.

Japan is supporting its companies to grow their business in Africa and develop trade ties across a continent where it’s mainly been seen as a key donor.

The second-biggest Asian economy’s emergence from a three-decade period of deflation has boosted its private sector’s risk appetite, Takehiko Matsuo, vice-minister for International Affairs at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in Abidjan, the commercial hub of Ivory Coast.

The move comes as global tensions rise, partly driven by past trade conflicts and ongoing economic uncertainty.

"Just now, representatives of 32 countries signed the Convention, making these countries the founding members of the IOMed. High-level representatives of more than 50 other countries and nearly 20 international organizations are also present at the ceremony. You have come here from across the world for a common goal: promoting the peaceful resolution of disputes and advancing friendship and cooperation between countries." Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister said at the signing ceremony.

Police in Georgia have detained a second opposition leader within days as protests against the ruling Georgian Dream party and its perceived Russia-friendly stance continue in the South Caucasus country.

Lawyers for Nika Melia, one of the figureheads for Georgia's pro-Western Coalition for Change, said his car was stopped by police on Thursday

Washington and Beijing agreed to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tariffs after talks in Geneva.

But Trump said on Friday that China had "totally violated its agreement with us". He did not give details but US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer later said China had not been removing non-tariff barriers as agreed under the deal.

China on Friday appeared to move closer to lifting its ban on Japanese seafood imports, with the foreign ministry pledging to “study” Tokyo’s request on the matter.

The move is another sign that Beijing is trying to reset ties with its East Asian neighbour amid growing US trade uncertainty, according to an analyst of China-Japan relations.

The trial of an American content creator whose disruptive and culturally insensitive acts sparked outrage in South Korea has fuelled calls for sterner responses to these so-called nuisance influencers.

Johnny Somali, whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael, has been barred from leaving South Korea and faces seven charges, including obstruction of business and violations of the Minor Offences Act, according to local media.

A South African woman convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her six-year-old daughter has been sentenced to life in prison, along with her two accomplices.

The jail terms for Racquel "Kelly" Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn come more than a year after Joshlin Smith mysteriously disappeared outside her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.

A new poll by the Pew Research Centre has found that transgender people experience less social acceptance in the United States than those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, according to LGBTQ adults.

About six out of 10 LGBTQ adult participants in the poll said there is “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of social acceptance in the US for gay and lesbian people, according to “The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today” report released on Thursday.

China has launched a spacecraft that promises to return samples from an asteroid near Mars and yield "groundbreaking discoveries and expand humanity’s knowledge of the cosmos," the country's space agency said.

The Tianwen-2 probe launched early on Thursday from southern China aboard a Long March 3-B rocket.

Almost two years after he led a coup to end more than five decades of Bongo dynasty rule, Gabon’s military leader Brice Oligui Nguema has announced he will run in April’s presidential elections.

After the ouster of President Ali Bongo in August 2023, Nguema had vowed to give power back to civilians following a transitional period.