WASHINGTON —Thailand's tourist industry hoped for a quick revival when Beijing ended its zero-COVID policy late last year, unleashing a crush of Chinese travelers freed from pandemic-related travel restrictions.Data from Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports showed that more than 517,000 Chinese travelers visited Thailand during the first three months of 2023, up from 13,700 arrivals during the first quarter of 2022. In the first quarter of 2023, Chinese travelers were in the top fi

New developments:The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency characterized the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as extremely vulnerable after Europe's largest nuclear power station in occupied Ukraine lost external power temporarily and had to switch to its emergency diesel generators. Shelling around the plant must stop, he said, to avert a potential nuclear disaster.Northern European defense ministers strongly supported F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots in Poland, but Washington sa

ATHENS —Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose conservative party scored a landslide election Sunday but without the seats in parliament to win outright, indicated Sunday he will seek a second election in a bid to consolidate victory without need of a coalition partner.Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party was a full 20 percentage points ahead of its main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, nearly complete results showed. But a new electoral system of proportional representation meant his 40

BANGKOK —Thailand’s opposition has announced an eight-party coalition in a bid to create a new government following Sunday’s general elections.The Move Forward Party, or MFP, was announced as the unofficial winner in the elections, gaining the most seats in Thailand’s lower house and comfortably defeating conservative and military-backed parties.Seven other political parties, including pre-election favorite Pheu Thai, have agreed to support the MFP as leader of the coalition and leader Pita

The symbolism will be palpable when leaders of the world's rich democracies sit down in Hiroshima, a city whose name evokes the tragedy of war, to tackle a host of challenges including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions in Asia.The attention on the war in Europe comes just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy completed a whirlwind trip to meet many of the Group of Seven leaders now heading to Japan for the summit starting Friday. That tour was aimed at adding

Opposition voters expressed dismay and disbelief on Monday after Tayyip Erdogan took a solid lead in the first round of Turkey's election, while the president's overjoyed supporters expressed confidence that he would prevail in the May 28 runoff.Until now I have witnessed many elections. My 14-year-old daughter who waited up all night for the election results went to bed disappointed. They have left me devastated this time, said 55-year-old Menser Ozakdag, a taxi driver.All I want is fre