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Former Thai PM Yingluck questions junta move to freeze bank accounts

Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Tuesday questioned a move by Thailand's military government to freeze her assets in relation to a $1 billion fine it imposed over her government's rice buying scheme.

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Philippines' Duterte says drugs war will go on, despite criticism

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday vowed to forge on with his controversial war on drugs and said no amount of criticism or international pressure would deter him.

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Vietnam says Indonesian navy shot its fishermen in South China Sea

Indonesia's navy shot and wounded four Vietnamese fishermen aboard a fishing boat in the South China Sea at the weekend, Vietnamese authorities said.

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Japan PM Abe denies favors for friend amid falling support

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his ratings sinking over a suspected cronyism scandal, on Monday said he had never instructed officials to give preferential treatment to a long-time friend, adding that the latter had never sought favors.

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French President Macron's popularity rating drops

French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity rating has slumped by 10 percentage points this month, according to an Ifop poll on Sunday - the biggest decline for a new president since 1995.

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Trump open to signing Russia sanctions legislation: official

The White House said on Sunday that U.S. President Donald Trump was open to signing legislation toughening sanctions on Russia after Senate and House leaders reached agreement on a bill late last week.

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Thousands ordered to evacuate as heavy rains hit northeast Japan

Tens of thousands of people in northeast Japan were told to evacuate their homes on Sunday as heavy rain caused major flooding and cut some rail links, authorities said.

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Britain's May to stay as PM until at least 2020, close ally predicts

British transport minister Chris Grayling, one of Prime Minister Theresa May's closest cabinet colleagues, has predicted she will remain in the job until at least 2020 and could even fight another national election.

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India's BJP-backed candidate Kovind wins presidential election

Ram Nath Kovind, a low-caste politician backed by the ruling Hindu nationalist-led coalition, easily won India's presidential election on Thursday, tightening the government's hold on positions of power.

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New Zealand mental patient's death puts Japan under spotlight

A Japanese campaign group whose members include lawyers and academics called on Wednesday for a change in psychiatric hospitals' practice of putting patients under prolonged restraint after the death of a New Zealand man.

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Iran's Rouhani says new U.S. sanctions violate nuclear accord: state TV

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday new U.S. economic sanctions imposed against Iran contravened the country's nuclear accord with world powers and he vowed that Tehran would "resist" them, state television reported.

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Thai judge hands down verdicts in major trafficking trial

A judge began handing down verdicts in Thailand's biggest human trafficking trial on Wednesday before dozens of defendants, including a Thai army general, accused of smuggling and trafficking migrants on the Thai-Malaysia border.

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Bad weather brought down Myanmar army plane, say investigators

Investigators have concluded that a Myanmar military plane that crashed last month with 122 soldiers, family members and crew on board stalled and nosedived into the Andaman Sea due to bad weather, state media said on Wednesday.

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U.S. puts new sanctions on Iran over ballistic missile program

The United States slapped new economic sanctions against Iran on Tuesday over its ballistic missile program and said Tehran's "malign activities" in the Middle East undercut any "positive contributions" coming from the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.

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Trial of Thailand's Yingluck fails to break Shinawatra machine

As the trial of former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over an extravagant rice subsidy program winds to a close, her rural supporters are resisting attempts by the ruling junta to silence her family's political machine.

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Japan doctor who practiced until months before his death dies at 105

A centenarian Japanese doctor who saw patients until just months before his death and helped set up the medical systems that have made Japan one of the world's longest-lived nations died on Tuesday at the age of 105.

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Philippine president asks Congress to keep martial law until end of year

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked Congress to extend martial law in the southern island of Mindanao until the end of the year to crush rebels inspired by the Islamic State militant group, his spokesman said on Tuesday.