James Patterson

Four Indonesian police officers and two civilians have been arrested for the kidnapping of a British man in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. The kidnappers were attempting to collect a ransom of about $900,000.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is urging for progress toward an official code of conduct between the Communist superpower China and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

A picture taken 10 months ago showing a female Chinese student in the cockpit of an airplane during a commercial flight has resulted in the permanent grounding of the pilot. Allowing the young woman to enter the cockpit and sit in the pilot’s seat is considered a violation of aviation safety rules.

The owner and resident of a unit at the Eight Riversuites condominiums in Singapore, worth about 1.5 million Singapore dollars, was recorded on video arguing with a security guard over a $7.34 parking fee for one of his guests.

During an exclusive interview with The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad discussed the rising tensions between the USA and China and made a prediction that Australia will soon become “more Asian than European”.

Japan's Environment Ministry officials have confirmed that 90 bags of contaminated soil were washed away by Typhoon Hagibis in early October. Of the 90 bags, 65 were later recovered intact but 25 were empty meaning that the tainted soil was swept away in the floodwaters.

Amazon is offering a Halloween mask of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to which his spokesperson Salvador Panelo called “amusing”. Panelo added, “It means he has arrived” in reference to the $33 USD mask sold by Caili's Company, which specializes in different kinds of masks and Halloween props that they sell through the giant online retailer.

A lightning strike near Port Macquarie, Australia, is the reported cause of a bushfire that is raging out of control and has burned over 2,000 hectares. Hundreds of koalas, an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to the continent are believed to have perished in the blaze. The area is described as the “heartland of their prime habitat” and is an important breeding ground for the mammal.

The 2020 Summer Olympics is to be held in Tokyo beginning July 24 through Aug. 9. In September, South Korea requested the Japanese “rising sun” flag be banned from the event and are intensifying their efforts to get Japan to comply.

With the current unrest in the former British Colony, the release of the movie “Joker” has resulted in some pro-democracy protesters finding inspiration not from Batman, but rather from the evil Joker calling him "the symbol of the resistance and the spiritual leader of the rebels."

Former FBI director James Comey was interviewed on C-Span (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) and was asked what he would do if current USA President Donald J. Trump is re-elected in 2020. He replied, “From my new home in New Zealand, I still will believe in America.” a response that caused his audience to laugh.

A 63-year-old Australian man was arrested in Sydney after he live-streamed on social media a 12-year-old Filipina girl being sexually abused.

The indigenous Aboriginal people who attach spiritual significance to Uluru are rejoicing but tourists and those who earn a living from tourism are not so happy about the closure.

Hong Kong's technical and financial professionals are now looking at the United States and other countries as alternate places to operate their businesses.

For nearly 20 years a Malaysian-born woman whose true name is Cheah Siew Im, defrauded people out of their money using a variety of stolen identities and false stories.

Bahareh Zare Bahari's biggest “crime” likely occurred at last year’s Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant in Manila where she competed as Miss Iran.

Upon returning home from Japan, Duterte met with doctors who ruled out any surgical procedures.

South Korean naval vessels equipped with the Aegis defense system failed to detect missiles launched from North Korea over the past few months. This indicates a shortcoming in South Korea’s ballistic missile defenses and will draw attention to the August decision to end a 2016 bilateral military intelligence sharing agreement, known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, with Japan.

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said on Thursday that leader Kim Jong-un calls his relationship with USA President Donald J. Trump “special”. The statement comes after the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) broke off talks over denuclearization that have been stalled for months.

China, well known for using “bullying” techniques to have its way in the South China Sea, also engages in “hostage diplomacy”, using individuals as pawns against foreign governments. The latest case involves a two-year-old Australian citizen who is stuck in China with his mother unable to leave and reunite in Australia with her husband.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook has been appointed the new chairman of the Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management (SEM) of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Cook, who will serve as chairman for three years succeeds Breyer Capital founder Jim Breyer in that role. The appointment comes at a time of increasing tensions between the Chinese Communist government and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

On Monday, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers announced they were planning to file a “slew of charges” against Duterte.

Malaysia’s Film Censorship Board has demanded that a children’s film titled “Abominable” cannot be shown in Malaysian cinemas unless a certain scene showing China’s Nine-Dash Line is cut from the film. The film was scheduled for a Nov. 7 release.

Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a well-known critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his infamous war on drugs, is calling for his administration to admit that it has “miserably failed” to put an end to the illegal drug activities in the country. Her sentiments echoed those of Amnesty International, an international rights group that has repeatedly called for Duterte to end his Philippine drug war.

20-year-old Chan Tong-kai has decided that he wants to return to Taiwan in the hope that it may bring some calm to the beleaguered city.

United States Navy Rear Admiral George Wikoffhas praised the “professionalism” of the Chinese navy during an encounter with them in disputed regions of the South China Sea. He has described the interactions as “cordial” as the Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan, one destroyer and two cruisers passed through the region that China has claimed control of.

The mother of 3-year-old Myca Ulpina, who was killed in June, has filed cases against 40 members of the police force whom she holds accountable for the child’s death.

Lee has a good reason to be concerned because the Singaporean economy needs investors to have confidence in all of Asia of which Hong Kong and China play a big part.

All fishermen from commercial trawlers to lone amateur anglers are looking to catch “the big one” but some Vietnamese fishermen may have gotten more than they wished for when an 11,000-ton Chinese Navy Jin Class ballistic missile submarine surfaced near their boats.