BANGKOK —The political party led by Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to face automatic dissolution by the military-appointed election commission on midnight Tuesday because it declined to register for a planned general election it denounced as a sham.Critics say the polls will be neither free nor fair in a country ruled by the military that has shut free media and arrested most of the leaders of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.We absolutely do not accept that

NEW YORK —A resolution put forward Monday by Russia at the United Nations calling for an international investigation into the apparent sabotage last year on the Nord Stream gas pipelines has failed to win Security Council support and led to more finger pointing between the U.S. and Russian envoys.“I think that after today’s vote, suspicion as to who is behind the act of sabotage on the Nord Stream is just obvious,” Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said.Russia’s draft resolution received

FRANKFURT, GERMANY —Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund have agreed on a $15.6 billion loan package aimed at shoring up government finances severely strained by Russia's invasion and leveraging more support by assuring other donors that Ukraine is pursuing strong economic policies and fighting corruption.Ukraine's finance ministry said Wednesday that the program will help to mobilize financing from Ukraine's international partners, as well as to maintain macro-financial stab

BANGKOK —Thailand dissolved its parliament on Monday to clear the way for an election in May, a vote set to reignite a long-running power struggle between a military-backed establishment and a political movement that has dominated elections for two decades.King Maha Vajiralongkorn endorsed a decree to dissolve parliament, according to an announcement in theRoyal Gazetteon Monday, ahead of an election that must be held within 45 to 60 days.No date has been announced, but two sources with knowled

BERN, SWITZERLAND —UBS is set to take over its troubled Swiss rival Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion following weekend crunch talks aimed at preventing a wider international banking crisis, but Asian equities sank Monday on lingering worries about the sector.The deal, in which Switzerland's biggest bank will take over the second largest, was vital to prevent economic turmoil from spreading throughout the country and beyond, the Swiss government said.The move was welcomed in Washington, Frank

French President Emmanuel Macron imposed a highly unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 on Thursday by shunning parliament and invoking a special constitutional power.Lawmakers were shouting, their voices shaking with emotion as Macron made the risky move, which is expected to trigger quick motions of no-confidence in his government. Riot police vans zoomed by outside the National Assembly, their sirens wailing.The proposed pension changes have prompted major strikes and protes