King Maha Vajiralongkorn granted pardons to selected prisoners to mark Queen Suthida's birthday on Jun 3, the official royal gazette stated.

South Korea allows certain foreign nationals to vote in local elections - those aged 18 or older who have held permanent residency status for at least three years are eligible to cast ballots. 

The raid came just hours after President Prabowo Subianto sacked the head of the agency, Dadan Hindayana, which an official said was linked to governance and food quality concerns.

Beijing has long called for easing the burden of local cadres and reining in formalism and bureaucratic excess - a long-standing challenge within China’s vast administrative system.

Authorities say the registration system will help regulate the refugee population, strengthen security oversight and improve refugees' welfare.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a commentary by analyst Kim Myong Chol, who said remarks by a US General showed the US as "the chieftain of harassing peace and the world's worst war empire".

Evacuation advisories were issued to hundreds of thousands of residents in eight prefectures across southwestern, central and eastern Japan.

Critics have called for the free school meals programme to be suspended over hygiene concerns and accusations of corruption.

China cannot keep boosting only one part of the economic growth equation, says public policy professor Donald Low.

Indonesia is counting on waste-to-energy plants to tackle its waste crisis, but experts say it’s no substitute for reducing trash at the source.

Speaking at a special lecture in Singapore, Minister Hakan Fidan touched on Israel and the Middle East conflict, finding alternative connectivity routes to the Straits of Hormuz and Ankara’s foreign policy approach in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia’s defence minister said Norway cannot absolve itself of responsibility and should help facilitate the refund process, arguing that Oslo’s decision to revoke export licenses triggered the dispute.

The bear was first spotted at a car parts factory in Fukushima, prompting an emergency call.

Experts say Manila, if elected, would likely use its security council seat to advance regional priorities such as Myanmar, while carefully balancing relations with major powers.

The move by Cambodia to begin the mediation process follows Thailand's cancellation last month of a 2001 bilateral agreement on overlapping maritime claims and energy exploration.