TheJakartaPost

Military-backed party in Myanmar takes lead in first phase of polls

Partial results from Myanmar's first election since 2020, released by the Union Election Commission (UEC) for 56 constituencies, showed the junta-backed party winning by a wide margin as expected, despite thin turnout. ...

2 hours ago

South Korean court issues fresh arrest warrant for ex-president Yoon

Prosecutors indicted Yoon in November on several charges of aiding the enemy, alleging that he ordered drone flights over North Korea to strengthen his effort to declare military rule. ...

4 hours ago

The Latest

An activist holds a banner reading “Saudi Arabia, is a criminal of humanity“ during a protest against the execution of Indonesian migrant worker Ruyati outside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Jakarta, in this file photo taken on June 21, 2011.

Saudi Arabia sets executions record in 2025, putting 356 people to death

Official data released by the Saudi government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in 2025 alone, according to AFP's tally.

19 hours ago

Police control access to the street where a fire ripped through a crowded bar during New Year's Eve celebrations in the Alpine ski resort town of Crans-Montana on Jan. 1, 2026. Several dozen people are presumed dead and around 100 injured after a fire ripped through a crowded bar in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, Swiss police said on Jan. 1.

Tears and stunned silence at vigil for Swiss fire victims

Around 40 people died and more than 100 were injured in the fire that ripped through the crowded Le Constellation bar around 1:30 a.m. local time.

21 hours ago

French President Emmanuel Macron appears on a screen as he delivers his New Year's speech to the nation at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Dec. 31, 2025.

Macron wants to ban under-15s from social media from September 2026, Le Monde reports

The French government will submit draft legislation for legal checks in early January, Le Monde and France Info reported.

22 hours ago

Pro-China supporters hold China and South Korea flags near Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea on Oct. 30, 2025, the day of a bilateral meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on trade tensions and bilateral relations on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

China's Xi to host South Korea's Lee in New Year amid Japan tensions

Xi's invitation to Lee for a state visit from Sunday is a calculated move aimed at deepening bilateral relations especially before the South Korean leader visits Japan, analysts say.

23 hours ago

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (left) and his wife Rama Duwaji react as confetti falls during his inauguration ceremony in New York City, the United States, on Jan. 1, 2026.

Americas

New York Mayor Mamdani vows to enact democratic socialist agenda

In a speech following his public swearing-in, Mamdani promoted core campaign promises of universal childcare, affordable rents and free bus service.

1 day ago

This picture taken on Dec. 31, 2025 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on Jan. 1, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his daughter Kim Ju Ae (center) and wife Ri Sol Ju (left) watching a New Year's celebration performance at the May Day Stadium in the capital Pyongyang.

North Korean leader's daughter in first visit to symbolic mausoleum

South Korea's spy agency said last year Kim Ju Ae was now understood to be next in line to rule North Korea after accompanying her father on a high-profile visit to Beijing.

1 day ago

A boy holding a supply stands among people waiting to collect supplies at Batthkav refugee camp in Chong Kal, Oddar Meanchey Province, Cambodia, on Dec. 12, 2025, amid clashes between Thailand and Cambodia along a disputed border area.

Ceasefire holds, but half a million Cambodians remain displaced four days on

The Cambodian Ministry of Interior reported that 5,192 displaced persons returned home during the latest reporting period, but large populations remain in temporary shelters or host communities, particularly in Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear provinces.

1 day ago

Explosive barrels placed by Taiwan military at the Tamsui River, as part of a series of emergency combat readiness drills, in response to China conducting “Justice Mission 2025“ military drills around Taiwan, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesdayy, Dec. 31, 2025.

Taiwan vows to defend sovereignty after China's military drill

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te says 2026 a crucial year for Taiwan, while Chinese President Xi Jinping says 'reunification' cannot be stopped

1 day ago

A journalist holds the blood-covered camera belonging to Palestinian photojournalist Mariam Dagga, a journalist who freelanced for AP since the start of the war and who was killed in an Israeli strike on Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, during her funeral on August 25, 2025. Gaza's civil defense agency said five journalists, including Mariam Dagga, were among at least 20 people killed on August 25 when Israeli strikes hit Nasser hospital in the south, with Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera mourning their slain contributors.

Middle East and Africa premium

128 journalists killed worldwide in 2025: press group

The press group voiced particular alarm over the situation in the Palestinian territories, where it recorded 56 media professionals killed in 2025 as Israel's war with Hamas ground on in Gaza.

2 days ago

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during a press conference to announce the appointment of Sam Levine as a Commissioner of the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) in New York City on Dec. 22, 2025. New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to become the United States city's first Muslim mayor, and the youthful optimism of his Democratic Socialist platform will be put to the test as he takes office on Jan. 1, 2026, with high expectations.

Americas

Leftist Mamdani to take over as New York mayor under Trump shadow

"Our campaign was built around listening to the people of New York, and we will govern in the same way. Tomorrow, we get to work," Mamdani says.

2 days ago

Fireworks light up the midnight sky during 2026 New Year's Day celebrations in Jakarta on Jan. 1, 2026.

World welcomes 2026 with fireworks after year of Trump and turmoil

In Indonesia, major cities like Jakarta and Denpasar in Bali opted for muted celebrations in honor of the 1,154 people killed and nearly 400,000 displaced in the Sumatra floods and landslides.

2 days ago

Trucks carrying goods from Jordan move near the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan after it was reopened, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Dec. 10, 2025. The UN says the crossing is a major route for bringing food, tents and other goods into Gaza.

US pledges $2 billion in new UN model for delivery of humanitarian assistance

But some areas that are priorities for the UN, including Yemen, Afghanistan and Gaza, will not be receiving US funding under the new mechanism, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said.

4 days ago

Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit pose with documents during a special General Border Committee (GBC) meeting at a border checkpoint, in Chanthaburi province, Thailand on Dec. 27, 2025.

Thailand and Cambodia halt fierce border conflict with second ceasefire

Saturday's pact will not impact any border demarcation activities under way between both countries, leaving the task of resolving disputed areas along the frontier to existing bilateral mechanisms.

6 days ago

People walk past an election banner ahead of a general election in Thingangyun Township, Yangon, Myanmar, on Dec. 27, 2025.

Myanmar polls open amid civil war, junta-backed party tipped to win

Following the initial phase on Sunday, two rounds of voting will be held on Jan. 11 and Jan. 25, covering 265 of Myanmar's 330 townships.

6 days ago

United States President Donald Trump (center) meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (left) as US Vice President JD Vance (right) reacts at the White House in Washington, D.C., the US, on Feb. 28, 2025.

Zelenskiy to hold high-stakes talks on land, security with Trump on Sunday

Territorial issues remain a hurdle to negotiations moving forward, as the Ukrainian president saying any compromises on territory should be decided by the Ukrainian people in a potential referendum.

6 days ago

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol (center) arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, on July 9, 2025.

South Korea prosecutor seeks 10-year jail term for ex-president Yoon

The requested 10-year sentence was the first jail term sought by special prosecutors over the multiple charges Yoon faces.

1 week ago

A general view of the destroyed buildings in the Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Dec. 24, 2025.

Fuel shortage forces Gaza hospital to suspend most services

Ravaged by more than two years of war, the Al-Awda Hospital in central Gaza's Nuseirat district cares for around 60 in-patients and receives nearly 1,000 people seeking medical treatment each day.

1 week ago

Jailed former prime minister of Malaysia Najib Razak (left) arrives for a court hearing where he seeks to land a ruling allowing him serve the rest of his six-year sentence under house arrest instead of in the Kajang Prison, at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Dec. 22, 2025.

Judge jails ex-Malaysian PM Najib for 15 more years after new graft conviction

Sequerah convicted the 72-year-old former leader on all four counts of abuse of power as well as all 21 counts of money laundering, involving around 2.28 billion ringgit (US$554 million) from the fund.

1 week ago

Supporters of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak hold banners featuring his portrait outside the Palace of Justice, as the high court will deliver its verdict on Najib for four corruption charges and 21 counts of money laundering involving the illegal transfer of about 2.2 billion ringgit (US$539 million) from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), in Putrajaya, Malaysia on Dec. 26, 2025.

Malaysia court finds ex-PM Najib Razak guilty of abuse of power in biggest 1MDB trial

The judge had yet to announce sentencing of Najib over his role in massive embezzlement from 1MDB, after finding him guilty on four counts of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering.

1 week ago

This photograph taken on Dec. 17, 2025 shows a Rohingya refugee carrying relief materials after collecting them from a distribution point at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh's Ukhia.
Myanmar's military portrays its general election as a path to democracy and peace, but the vote offers neither to a million Rohingya exiles, robbed of citizenship rights and evicted from their homeland by force.

Stateless Rohingya rue Myanmar's election from exile

For the Rohingya minority, violence began well before the 2021 coup, with a military crackdown in 2017 sending legions of the mostly Muslim group fleeing Myanmar's Rakhine state to neighboring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

1 week ago

Political stability at stake as Malaysia's Najib awaits verdict in biggest 1MDB trial

A Malaysian high court will decide whether to convict Najib of four more charges of corruption and 21 counts of money laundering involving the illegal transfer of about US$539 million from 1MDB.

1 week ago

Myanmar soldiers from the 77th light infantry division walk along a street during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar in this file photo taken on Feb. 28, 2021. Myanmar will hold a third phase of voting for its general election on Jan. 25, 2026, according to an announcement on state media amid a raging civil war. The junta regime plans to hold a ballot beginning Dec. 28, 2025.

Myanmar to hold third phase of election voting on Jan. 25, state media reports

The third phase of voting will be held in 63 townships, the ruling junta announced in a state-run media outlet, although dates for the counting of votes have not yet been declared.

1 week ago

Pope Leo XIV waves as he stands on the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to deliver the traditional Christmas Day “Urbi et Orbi“ speech to the city and the world at the Vatican on Dec. 25, 2025.

In first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza

Leo, celebrating his first Christmas after being elected in May by the world's cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis, has a quieter, more diplomatic style than his predecessor and usually refrains from making political references in his sermons.

1 week ago

Algeria supporters cheer with flags ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group E football match between Algeria and Sudan at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on Dec. 24, 2025.

Algeria passes law declaring French colonization a crime

The legislation lists the "crimes of French colonization", including nuclear tests, extrajudicial killings, "physical and psychological torture", and the "systematic plundering of resources".

1 week ago

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stands at Israel's “checkpoint 300“ along the controversial separation barrier near Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Dec. 24, 2025.

Chorus of countries condemn Israel's expansion of West Bank settlements

The condemnation is a response to Israel's decision to green-light new settlements, which is said to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.

1 week ago

Myanmar protesters residing in Japan hold placards and raise three-finger salutes during a rally denouncing an upcoming election led by the military junta and demanding the immediate release of Myanmar's detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, outside Myanmar's embassy in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 14, 2025.