Asia & Pacific

Australia has been paying its last tributes to beefcake kangaroo Roger, who hit international headlines in 2015 with a photo of himself crushing a metal feed bucket.

The earlier record of continuous operation by a nuclear power plant was maintained by Unit 2 of the Heysham Nuclear Power Station, United Kingdom, which operated non-stop for 940 days.

Market experts predict a crucial time for the Indian economy cautioning that in the eventuality of the BJP not managing to retain power in the states that recently went to polls; the party that is in power at the center may go on a populist measures spree at the cost of crucial market reforms.

The proposal for a logistic support agreement was made by Russia in July this year. As the defense ties between the two countries are deep and intense, it took less than five months for them to complete the draft agreement in comparison to the 2016 agreement with the US that almost a decade to be finalized.

The two countries had suspended the annual military exercise in 2017 following a 73-day bitter standoff at the Doklam plateau which ended thanks to diplomatic efforts in August 2017.

The unprecedented public face-off between the Indian government and the country’s central bank Governor Urjit Patel, who was appointed by the Narendra Modi government itself, has resulted in the unceremonious exit of Patel ten months before the expiry of his three-year term.

The British High Commission in India had requested Indian Government to provide consular access to Michel who was extradited from UAE last week. Christian Michel is accused of routing the bribe in a $750 million chopper deal.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was on the verge of tears when she apologised for the death of a British backpacker in Auckland. Social media users have also been urged not to identify the man because of a legal technicality his lawyer has deployed.

Narendra Modi’s BJP is in control of 22 out of 29 states in India. However, exit polls predict a close contest with the opposition Congress in the five states that recently went to polls. BJP hoping to win another 5-year term in the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japan has decided to stop using network equipment from China’s Huawei telecom giant and ZTE Corporation over security concerns, local media reported on Monday.

Considered a major deterrent against China, Agni-V is expected to join India's Strategic Forces Command very soon. The missile is capable of hitting targets anywhere in Asia, and parts of Africa and Europe.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver earlier this month and reportedly charged with fraud for telling UK-based banking company HSBC that the Chinese tech giant fully complied with US sanctions against Iran while one of its subsidiaries was not in compliance with the restrictions.

Carlos Ghosn was arrested on 19 November over suspicions of financial misconduct, namely, of concealing around 8 billion yen ($71 million) of his income between 2010 and 2017.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) will be recruiting female staff for its submarine crews in a bid to make up labor shortage, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Yoon Young-chan, the top press secretary of the South Korean presidential office, said on Sunday that there was no evidence of progress on the possible visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the South.

The Tokyo Diet passed a controversial new bill on Saturday to overhaul Japanese immigration control laws.

The celebration, held in the city of Udaipur a few days ahead of the wedding itself, was attended by a number of prominent business tycoons, star athletes, movie stars and politicians.

BANGKOK (Sputnik) - Over 50,000 of Muslim Malays rallied on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur to protest against the government's intention to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, The Star reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Police of China's southwestern city of Kunming in Yunnan province arrested 36 people suspected of a large-scale internet fraud, the Xinhua News Agency Saturday.

The whereabouts of Grace Millane, a 22-year old girl who recently graduated from the University of London, remain unknown; she vanished in Auckland while attempting a round-the-world trip.