Thailand

Jailed former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to be freed, the kingdom's justice minister said Tuesday, possibly as soon as the weekend — just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile.

Rent and home prices in the province of Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, have been declining as many Russians, which constitute the largest group of foreigners living in the city, are relocating to Serbia and Dubai.

Rents and home prices skyrocketed in the city after thousands of Russians and Ukrainians arrived in Antalya after the war broke out between the two countries.

The Bulgarian actor Julian Kostov has been chosen to participate in the third season of the series "The White Lotus" on HBO. He will replace Serbian-Russian actor Miloš Biković who was initially selected for the role, but left the project on Friday, following accusations of supporting the war in Ukraine.

China's vice foreign minister met with North Korea's top diplomats in Pyongyang on Friday, state media said, as the nuclear-armed state has accelerated its weapons testing and threats toward Seoul in recent months.

China's vice foreign minister was in Pyongyang on Friday for a meeting with his North Korean counterpart.

China and Russia are North Korea's traditional allies, and Washington warned last year that military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow were "growing and dangerous".

The United States has called on Beijing — the North's biggest economic benefactor — to restrain Pyongyang.

Cambodian cuisine may be highly sought after, and Japan may offer the best of the best, but the shining star of Asia is unquestionably Bangkok. The unstoppable rise of Bangkokian cuisine continues, fueled by the creativity of gifted chefs and the flood of inquisitive foodies visiting the city.

Renowned British artist Tracey Emin is recovering in Thailand after her small intestine "nearly exploded" due to complications following an operation, she said in a social media post.

Emin, one of Britain's best-known living artists, said on Dec. 17 on Instagram that she felt she had used "another one of my nine lives."

A prestigious U.S. museum will hand back more than a dozen valuable antiquities to Cambodia, a prosecutor has said, after they were plundered and illegally trafficked into the institution's collection.

They were originally stolen by prolific antiquities trafficker Douglas Latchford who in 2019 was charged with operating a major network that stole treasures from Southeast Asia.

A major crackdown on a child pornography network operating through the encrypted chat app "Signal" has led to the arrest of thirty-one individuals across Europe, including two in Bulgaria, according to AFP.

The second phase of the release of Hamas hostages has been successfully completed after some delays due to disagreements over the admission of aid trucks into the northern Gaza Strip.