Asia

    North Korea vowed Monday to bolster its nuclear arsenal and launch thousands fold revenge against the United States in response to tough U.N. sanctions imposed after its recent intercontinental ballistic missile launches. The warning came two days after the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved new sanctions to punish North Korea, including a ban on coal and other exports worth over $1 billion. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, called the U.S.-drafted resolution the single largest economic sanctions package ever leveled against North Korea. In a statement carried by state media, the North Korean government said the sanctions were a violent infringement of its sovereignty that was caused by a heinous U.S. plot to isolate and stifle North Korea. It said the ...

    North Korea might be the last place in the world you would want to visit in the current political climate, but officials in the country’s capital have chosen this week to unveil the latest renovations to its landmark hotel. Towering over the rest of Pyongyang, the Hotel of Doom, as it has been dubbed by Western media, is a futuristic but failed pyramid-shaped 105-storey hotel – and the world's tallest unoccupied building. After decades of delays and embarrassing rumours that the building may not even be structurally sound, there are signs that construction work might once again begin on the vanity project. Photographer captures photos of North Koreans' daily life in summertime and it's bleak Walls that had surrounded the property to keep people out were pulled down around ...

    Hamza bin Laden (L), one of the sons of Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden. Terror organisation al-Qaeda is expected to be taken over by one of Bin Laden’s sons. Hamza Bin Laden has been called the Crown Prince of Terror and he is the only son of Bin Laden’s “favourite” wife. Hamza Laden was also regarded as the “poster boy” of al-Qaeda’s re-emergence on the terrorism front. He was introduced as a lion from the den of Al-Qaeda by the group’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. He is the son of Bin Laden’s third of six wives, Khairiah Sabar, and the eighth born of around 20 Bin Laden siblings. His mother came from a wealthy family and was known as a “strong-willed” woman. He was raised as Bin Laden’s designated heir and grew up hating several things about the USA. He is wanted by t...

    A village council in Pakistan ordered the rape of a 16-year-old girl as punishment for a crime committed by her brother. Police have arrested fourteen members of the council from Raja Ram, outside the city of Multan, for ordering the punishment after a 12-year-old child was allegedly raped by the girl’s brother. The council was initially approached by the 12-year-old’s brother, who they told to rape the 16-year-old in return for the alleged crime - an order which he carried out shortly after. The man who raped the 12-year-old remains at large according to Rashid Taheem, the local officer leading the investigation. Local disputes in rural areas of Pakistan are traditionally judged by village councils, called jirgas, but the decisions made by councils are not legally viable....

    If you're in the market for a new #ManCrushMonday, we have just the stud to make your heart skip a beat. Meet Chuando Tan, the 50-year-old Singaporean photographer who's taking the internet by storm with his six (eight? 10?) pack of abs, porcelain skin, and Hulk-like arm muscles. And yes, you read that correctly. Chuando is, in fact, 50 years old — as in half of 100 — and yet he has the ripped physique of a 20-something university dude. We're not too sure how on earth this sorcery is possible, but we're just gonna go with it for the sake of good ol' fashioned eye candy. Though now a photographer, this hottie with a body used to be behind the lens as a model back in the day (hah, shocker). It's no surprise he has more than 170,000 Instagram followers, who are graced with co...

    North Korea has criticised a practice bombing run on the Korean peninsula by two US B-1B bombers as a dangerous move, raising the risk of nuclear war. A commentary on Sunday in the ruling party’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper accused the US of reckless military provocations that are escalating tensions. The US Air Force bombers released inert weapons on Friday on a training range in South Korea. South Korean and US fighter jets joined the drill. The bombers also flew with Japanese fighter jets on their way back to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The 10-hour mission came three days after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. US military officials described the exercise as a defensive show of force and unity that demonstrated the iron-clad US commitment to our...

    A three-ship Chinese navy task group arrived in the port city on Saturday and were accorded a warm welcome. According to Pakistan Navy, the task force was led by Rear Admiral Shen Hao. Pakistan Navy chief said that Pak-China friendship is highly valued and the continued cooperation between them has proven to be a source of strength for both the countries. During the stay at Karachi, the officers and men of the ship will hold professional discussion and interaction with counterparts from Pakistan Navy on the subjects of mutual interest. Moreover, official calls on senior Pakistan Navy officers and civilian dignitaries, operational training activities, joint interactive sessions, table top discussions on professional topics and social events are also planned. At the end of t...

    The Panama Papers Joint Investigation Team has intensified it's investigations into the case and has now received the Hudaibya Papers Mills case record from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Abid Hussain, SECP’s executive director and head of the department of corporate supervision department submitted the Hudaibya Paper Mills records to the JIT that has almost completed half of its work. The paper mills case echoed during the proceedings of the apex court last year. It basically relates to the confessional statement of Ishaq Dar who admitted to laundering Rs1.2 billion and opening fake bank accounts at the behest of the Sharif family. Dar, a close confidante of Sharif family, later retracted his confessional statement claiming that it was taken un...

    Superstar Shah Rukh Khan prefers taking everything with a pinch of humour and he did the same following the death hoax around him. Earlier this week, the 51-year-old became a victim to a death hoax when an European news network titled El Pais TV reportedly announced a breaking news that Shah Rukh was killed along with seven others when a private jet he was travelling in crashed. The ‘Fan’ star had also escaped an accident on the sets of his upcoming film being helmed by Aanand L Rai on Tuesday when a portion of the ceiling fell off. Shah Rukh on Friday took to Instagram and Twitter, where he shared a photograph of himself holding his head. A caption on the photograph read: Phew. Survived the week in spite of a plane crash, fatal accident on sets and yet another title of Im...

    A telephonic contact has been restored between the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan and his ex wife Jemima Khan. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has contacted his ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith for the record of transfer of funds for the purchase of his Bani Gala estate. Imran Khan telephoned Jemima on Tuesday night and asked her for record of bank transactions pertaining to the purchase of land in Bani Gala. Jemima Khan told the PTI chief that the bank through which the money was transferred has been merged in Lloyds Bank, UK. She has also contacted Lloyds Bank and assured of providing it to Khan's lawyers as soon as she received it. Jemima khan, the former wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan has finally tracked down 15 years ...