SWEDEN: In the wake of the three states’ agreement to protect each other against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkey, a NATO ally, dropped its veto on Finland and Sweden joining the Western alliance on Tuesday (Jun 28). There had been a four-hour deadlock shortly before NATO’s annual meeting began in Madrid, and the breakthrough prevented a humiliating standstill at the …

INDONESIA: Raihan Fauzi, 25, had been looking forward to this game his entire life. Surabaya Persebaya and Bandung Persib were scheduled to face each other on June 17. The match was held in Persib’s home ground, Gelora Bandung Lautan Api (GBLA), where the contest was held. With the help of his distant relative, Asep Ahmad Solihin, 29, known as Ahmad, …

MALAYSIA: Earlier this month, Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was quoted as saying that the government was interested in bringing back the Goods and Services Tax (GST). While he acknowledged that the GST was unpopular, he also argued that the government’s alternatives were restricted because it had lost approximately RM20 billion (US$4.57 billion) in revenue as a result of …

CALIFORNIA: It was announced Tuesday that Russell Westbrook would return to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23 after he exercised his $47.1 million player option, ESPN and The Athletic reported. It’s the final year of a five-year, $206 million contract for the nine-time All-Star point guard and 2016-17 Most Valuable Player. He is entering his final season. To avoid missing …

MANILA: For Samsung, this world is an incredibly huge canvas waiting to be filled. Short films of five minutes or less were sought, with the only requirement being that they be shot with the new Samsung Galaxy S22 camera, during last year’s “Untold Stories at Night” film festival on June 17. A 4nm processor, the most powerful in a Samsung …

US: Tom Hanks has confessed that he didn’t expect the iconic “Forrest Gump” bus bench scenes would make it into the final cut when he shot them. In the 1994 film directed by Bob Zemeckis, Hanks played the title character, a man with a childlike innocence and a knack for falling into history. Telling the ReelBlend podcast about his new …

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte, a longtime foe of the Philippine news site co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, has ordered to shut it down, the firm announced on Wednesday (Jun 29). Duterte and the allegedly murderous drug campaign he unleashed in 2016 have drawn Ressa’s ire, and she and Rappler have been subjected to a slew of legal …

THAILAND: On Tuesday, Thailand‘s finance minister predicted that the country’s GDP will increase by around 3.5 percent this year, mostly due to a rise in tourism and exports. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, the minister of tourism, told reporters that the ministry now expects 9.5 million international visitors this year. According to the official, the government plans to take other steps to help …

VIETNAM: Officials in Vietnam have imposed a restriction on swimming and scuba diving at a famous tourist destination in an effort to save the country’s coral reefs (Jun 27). The country’s 3,200-kilometer coastline, which features beautiful waters, an abundance of marine life, and white sand beaches, is a major tourist attraction. Researchers have warned that the devastation of Southeast Asian …

PAKISTAN: Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan, the country’s aviation regulator has mandated the use of masks for all domestic flights, according to a statement. After Karachi reported a COVID-19 positivity ratio of 21 per cent, compared to a national average of just 2.8 per cent, the federal government has issued an order for …