Việt Nam News

By Ong Keng Yong *
Executive Deputy Chairman, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Retno L. P. Marsudi* 
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Indonesia

Roberto F. de Ocampo* 
Former Finance Secretary, Philippines

In the context of growing rivalries between major world powers, ASEAN needs to demonstrate strong political will and unity to promote peace, security and prosperity, foreign policy experts said on Friday.

A senior Islamic State commander directed a group of Australian men to build a bomb destined for an Etihad Airways flight out of Sydney, with a second poisonous gas plot also in the works, police alleged Friday.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury to investigate Russia's interference with the 2016 presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday -- a step toward possible criminal indictments.

Chile's Congress on Wednesday eased a strict ban on abortion in effect since the final days of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship nearly three decades ago.

The United States is pressuring China to decide in the coming days on whether to back tougher UN sanctions on North Korea after weeks of negotiations on a response to Pyongyang's missile launches, diplomats said.

Qatar on Wednesday created a new permanent residents status for certain groups of foreigners, including those who have worked for the benefit of the emirate.

The world's blind will increase threefold from about 36 million today to 115 million in 2050 as populations expand and individuals grow ever older, researchers said on Thursday.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is obstructing deliveries of jet fuel to UN planes bringing desperately-needed humanitarian aid to the rebel-held capital Sanaa, a UN official said Tuesday.

French and German support for a regional Sahel force to battle jihadists will persuade other European nations of the benefits of backing the counter-terror measure, Germany's defence minister said Tuesday.

A suicide bomber and a gunman killed at least 29 people and wounded 63 at a packed Shiite mosque in Afghanistan's main western city of Herat Tuesday, the latest attack to highlight the country's deteriorating security situation.