On 2nd September 1945, at Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the birth of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam). The Declaration, which demonstrates the strong will and aspirations of

Australia is raising its cap on permanent migration for the first time in a decade to help fill massive workforce shortages. It will take up to 195,000 people this financial year - an increase of 35,000. The pandemic and Australia's tough border policies have exacerbated

Iran has sent a “constructive” response to US proposals aimed at reviving Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said, prompting a less positive impression from the United States. “The text that was sent (by Iran) has a

The United Nations nuclear agency chief says his experts are staying put after they cross into Russian-held territory in Ukraine and reach Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, where both sides warn of potential catastrophe. An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection

The chairman of Russia's Lukoil oil giant, Ravil Maganov, has died after falling from a hospital window in Moscow, reports say. The company confirmed his death but said only that Maganov, 67, had "passed away following a severe illness". Russian media said he was being

The wife of ex-Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak has been sentenced to ten years in prison on each of three bribery charges. Rosmah Mansor was found guilty on three charges of soliciting and receiving bribes to help a company win a 1.25bn ringgit project ($279m, £240m). The

A Taliban official has said that Islam grants women the right to education, work, and entrepreneurship, and reiterated that the group is working to create a so-called “safe environment” for girls and women in secondary schools and the workplace. “I must say that Islam

China’s detention of Uighurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang may amount to “crimes against humanity”, the United Nations human rights office said in a long-delayed report that was finally published late on Wednesday.

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has been admitted to hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. A statement from Mahathir’s office said he had been confirmed to have the virus on Wednesday morning and had been admitted to the National Heart Institute

Taiwan has fired warning shots at three unidentified drones that flew near its outlying islands. It is not clear who was flying the drones, but all three were seen flying back towards the Chinese mainland, said Taiwan's defence ministry. It comes as Taipei has over the past

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader who brought the Cold War to a peaceful end, has died aged 91. Mr Gorbachev, who took power in 1985, opened up the then-USSR to the world and introduced a set of reforms at home. But he was unable to prevent the slow collapse of the Soviet

The last of his people, a Brazilian Indigenous man known only as “the man of the hole”, has been found dead, decades after the rest of his uncontacted tribe were killed off by ranchers and illegal miners, officials said. The man — whose real name was never known to

At least 15 people have been killed in clashes between Iraqi security forces and supporters of a powerful Shia cleric in the capital, Baghdad. Officials say dozens more were injured after protesters loyal to Moqtada al-Sadr stormed the presidential palace. The violence began after

United States President Joe Biden plans to ask Congress to approve an estimated $1.1bn arms sale to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, including 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles, according to Politico. The package, which is still in an early stage, includes 60 AGM-84L

Pakistan's planning minister says early estimates show the devastating floods that hit the country have caused at least $10bn (£8.5bn) of damage. His comment comes as another government minister said that one-third of the South Asian nation has been submerged. Separately

The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday injected a ray of hope in the standoff over the beleaguered Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant, announcing that its mission of top experts “is now on its way” to the facility, which has seen relentless shelling as a focal point in the

Police in the US city of Detroit launched a manhunt Sunday for a suspect believed to have shot four people at "random", killing three of them, authorities said. The Midwestern city's police chief, James White, told media that the first three victims -- two women and a man

Russian rocket and artillery strikes hit areas across the Dnieper River from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian officials said Sunday, as fears persisted that fighting in the vicinity could damage the plant and cause a radiation leak. Russian forces took control of

Clashes between militias backed by Libya’s rival governments have killed at least 23 people and wounded dozens more, according to the country’s health ministry. The fighting in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, on Saturday was the worst there in two years and has raised fears

Two US warships are passing through the Taiwan Strait, the US Navy has announced. It is the first such operation to take place since tensions between Taiwan and China increased following a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan earlier in August. China reacted by holding