A highly addictive drug that became Syria’s economic lifeline over a decade of isolation may now be serving as a bargaining chip as it tries to normalize ties with neighboring states, analysts say. Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 09:40AM

He’d spent years backpacking around the world, and Japanese traveler Daisuke Kajiyama was finally ready to return home to pursue his long-held dream of opening up a guesthouse.Story Published at: April 10, 2023 at 01:22PM

The Italian Coast Guard is escorting a boat carrying 400 migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the volunteer-run service Alarm Phone, which received the boat’s distress call on Sunday. Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 09:14AM

There is a forensic cleanliness about the warren of corridors at Castle Buildings on the Stormont estate — now the department of justice building in Belfast, outside “the room where it happened.”Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 07:09AM

Taiwanese are rushing to buy patches being worn by their air force pilots that depict a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh — representing China’s leader Xi Jinping — as a defiant symbol of the island’s resistance to Chinese military exercises.Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 07:41AM

A severe sandstorm has cloaked Beijing and China’s northeastern regions for the fourth time in a month forcing some residents to stay indoors protect themselves from dense air pollution.Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 07:35AM

High pollution levels in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai and surrounding provinces are keeping tourists away and alarming locals, with the government on Monday, April 10, urging residents to avoid outdoor activities.Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 04:27AM

The streets of Dhaka are filled with constant clamor. Among the chorus of honking horns and ringing bells, roaring cars and rattling rickshaws, you can hear the electric hum of the city’s three-wheeled open taxis, called tuk-tuks, as they weave through traffic.Story Published at: April 11, 2023 at 01:28AM

The assistant referee who appeared to elbow Liverpool’s Andy Robertson during an English Premier League game on Sunday will not be involved in any matches while English football’s governing body investigates the incident, the body responsible for Premier League referees said in a statement. Story Published at: April 10, 2023 at 03:07PM

In an unusual coincidence, the US jobs report was released on a holiday Friday — meaning stock markets were closed when the closely-watched economic data came out. Story Published at: April 10, 2023 at 12:16PM