South Korean tech giant Samsung has pulled an online advert in Singapore that featured a hijab-wearing Muslim woman hugging her drag queen son after it sparked a backlash from socially conservative corners. LGBTQ rights remain a sensitive topic in the prosperous city-state, where a rarely...

Restaurants and bars will close early in Tokyo and a dozen other areas across Japan beginning Friday as the country widens COVID-19 restrictions due to the omicron variant, which has caused cases to surge to new highs in metropolitan areas. The restraint, which is something of a pre-state...

The European Union has urged Israel to halt demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem, calling the displacement of Palestinians illegal under international law. The EU urged Israel not to proceed with its plan to construct 1,450 settlement-housing units between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos,...

Syria needs to import more than 1.5 million tonnes of wheat a year, with majority from Russia, Interfax news agency reported Syrian economy minister Mohamed Samer al-Khalil as saying. Syria’s crop was hit by low rainfall last year…, adding pressure on an economy already hit by ten years...