BANGKOK -- Leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations closed their face-to-face meetings in Britain on June 13 after showing to the world a unified front against China.

The summit was also extended to include leaders in four other democracies -- Australia, South Korea, South Africa and India -- as guests.

For Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended online because of the COVID crisis in his country, his G-7 appearance marked his second meeting with the leaders of Britain, Germany

TOKYO -- Prices of mineral resources and other commodities have been rising sharply since the middle of 2020, reflecting not only a rapid recovery in demand but also tightened supply resulting from stagnant mining operations and distribution services.

While soaring resource prices are led by near-term factors, some experts warn that the trend will be temporary. However, there are medium- and long-term structural factors such as curbs on investment and an increase in demand in anticipation of further decarbonization efforts.

The Thomson Reuters/Corecommodity

JAKARTA -- Garuda Indonesia suffered a net loss of $2 billion last year, the airline's top executive told parliament, a figure highlighting the dire financial situation faced by the nation's flagship carrier during the coronavirus pandemic.

The number was revealed in a presentation by CEO Irfan Setiaputra to lawmakers at a parliamentary hearing on Monday. Garuda has yet to officially release full-year results for 2020, but a $2 billion net loss would mark its biggest since 2005, the oldest

DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi on Monday backed talks between Iran and six world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal but flatly rejected meeting U.S. President Joe Biden, even if Washington removed all sanctions.

In his first news conference since winning Friday's presidential election, the hardline judge said his foreign policy priority would be improving ties with Iran's Gulf Arab neighbours, while calling on Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia to immediately halt its intervention

Only 33 years old, Daniel Calvert has already spent more than half of his life working in kitchens.

By the time he was 23, he was already cooking at the highest level -- as Thomas Keller's sous chef at Per Se in New York -- before moving to Hong Kong in 2016 to open neo-bistro Belon for which he later earned a Michelin star.

Relocating to Tokyo last autumn, Calvert is now preparing to launch a new restaurant infusing the elegance of French haute

NEW YORK -- Andrew Yang, a 46-year-old entrepreneur and former presidential candidate who is running for New York mayor, has been a political star among many Asian Americans.

But the more the Taiwanese American tweets and speaks, the more some of his supporters start to shake their heads. From a controversial opinion piece in response to rising anti-Asian hate to his pro-police stance and a tweet about Israel and Palestine, Yang has drawn a backlash from his progressive supporters.

Earlier this month,

JAKARTA -- Indonesia posted a record 14,536 new daily confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, its highest since the pandemic started, with cumulative cases surpassing the 2 million mark.

The grim milestone comes as Indonesia struggles to contain the second wave of the pandemic, with hospitals becoming overloaded amid worries that the more virulent delta variant, which originated in India, might be spreading silently.

Another 294 deaths were also reported on Monday, taking the overall death toll to 54,9

HONG KONG -- Taiwan's top official on mainland policy vowed Monday to keep representative offices open in Hong Kong and Macao, even after both territories recently closed their Taipei operations.

Chiu Tai-san, minister of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, told reporters online that Taiwan would maintain its presence in Hong Kong by making certain immediate "adjustments." It was unclear what that would entail.

His comments came after several Taiwanese personnel at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong were required to leave the Chinese

SINGAPORE -- A pair of Singaporean startups have developed breath tests for COVID-19 that deliver results in less than 2 minutes, adding new tools to the city-state's efforts to open up the economy while controlling coronavirus infections.

Silver Factory Technology has begun testing its device at Singapore Changi Airport, while Breathonix has launched a trial of its system at a checkpoint linking Singapore with Malaysia.

The tests are suited for large events and for border control. The government plans to continue testing a large number of people