Indonesia

PADANG, Indonesia - A boy band belted out songs about loving the Prophet Muhammad. A young woman wearing a full-face veil was moved to tears by the faith of new converts. Later, the crowd applauded as a 15-year-old girl converted to Islam before their eyes. Many posted selfies on social media, delighting in their shared faith.

A Japanese government panel is set to recommend the closure of a controversial vocational training scheme for young people from developing countries, an immigration official said yesterday.

The country's "technical intern" program was launched three decades ago and has long been criticised by campaigners as a hotbed of abuse and discrimination.

BELGRADE - The Serbia men's national basketball team has qualified for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup after beating Great Britain 101-83 (28-20, 18-21, 28-19, 27-23) in a decisive qualifying game in Belgrade on Monday evening.

In five months, Bulgaria exported weapons with a total value of 1,016,336,858 euros, reported BGNES.

The information is from the period March 1 to August 1, 2022. For the specified period, 289 permits were issued for the export and transfer of defense-related products.

Presidency of Hope, Harmony and Peace

Crete is among the top 10 destinations that in 2023 will set the trends in adventure, nature and wellness tourism around the world, according to the Spanish magazine Hosteltur, which cited the findings of a recent survey conducted by Mabrian Technologies, a Spanish travel intelligence services provider.

After COVID restrictions had wiped out Vienna's glamorous winter ball season for two years in a row, 50-year-old Wahyuni couldn't wait any longer to get all dolled up and put on her dazzling floral-patterned ballgown to once again waltz the night away.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that his country would invest in the development of Indonesia's new capital on Borneo island, which both nations share.

In Tokyo's Asakusa tourist district, caricaturist Masashi Higashitani is dusting off his Chinese as he prepares for an influx of travelers after Beijing ends inbound quarantine rules.

"We used to say 'ni hao' all the time," he said with a laugh as he whipped up a portrait in minutes.

Fish that have lost food due to mass coral bleaching are getting into more unnecessary fights, causing them to expend precious energy and potentially threatening their survival, new research said on Jan 3.

With the future of the world's coral reefs threatened by climate change, a team of researchers studied how a mass bleaching event affected 38 species of butterflyfish.