Asia

Photo Story: EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Labrang, China

An aerial view of Labrang Monastery, in Xiahe County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, China. Visiting Labrang Monastery is a trend among thousands of Chinese tourists eager to discover…

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Hong Kong Airport cancels flights as thousands occupy terminal

Hong Kong International Airport has cancelled departing flights, as anti-government protests in its main terminal continue for a fourth day. Thousands are gathered at the airport - which is one…

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Jio and Microsoft announce alliance to accelerate digital transformation in India

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, and Microsoft Corp. are embarking on a unique, comprehensive, long-term strategic relationship aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of…

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Photo Story: The Mukha masks of Assam

Masks which are known as Mukha locally are displayed during an exhibition in Guwahati, India. The roots to Mukha, the masks made locally, could be traced to Majuli, the…

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Hong Kong continues to be rocked by violent clashes

Hong Kong police have once again clashed with anti-government protesters as the city enters its 10th week of mass demonstrations and unrest. Several people, including a police officer, were injured…

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At least 90 persons killed in flooding in India

At least 90 people have died and some 360,000 evacuated to relief camps after torrential rain brought flash flooding in southern India. The rain brought deadly flooding and mudslides to…

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Photo Story: The Eid al-Adha celebrations

Indonesian Muslims look at balloons during an Eid al-Adha prayer service in Depok, Indonesia, 11 August 2019. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year,…

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Hong Kong braces for fresh protests

Hong Kong protesters readied to take to the streets again on Sunday, defying a police ban on marches in the Chinese-controlled territory and continuing a restive weekend of demonstrations which…

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Nearly 30 fatalities from typhoon in eastern China

The death toll from a major typhoon in eastern China rose to 28 on Sunday, with 20 people missing, state media reported, after torrential rains triggered a landslide that forced…

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Police worried for survival of Irish girl missing in Malaysia

Police in Malaysia said they were concerned about the survival of an Irish teenager who went missing on holiday as search efforts continued into their eighth day on Sunday. In…

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Chaos at Hong Kong airport as three days of protests begin

Demonstrators have gathered at Hong Kong's airport, marking the start of three days of unauthorised rallies in the Chinese territory. Activists dressed in black sat in the arrival’s hall waving…

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Photo Story: Floods in Maharastra, India

A handout photo made available by India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) shows people being taken to safety by an NDRF team during a rescue operation in the…

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China on red alert as Typhoon Lekima approaches

Chinese authorities have declared a red alert as a powerful typhoon heads towards the eastern coast. Typhoon Lekima is currently battering Taiwan with winds of more than 190km/h and is…

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Train linking Pakistan and India suspended as tension escalates

Tension shows no sign of abating between Pakistan and India because of recent developments in Kashmir, as Pakistan's railways minister announced the suspension of the railway link between the two…

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Cathay Pacific registers severe drop in bookings amid Hong Kong protests

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd is facing a decline in forward bookings for travel to Hong Kong “in the region of double digits” due to widespread protests in the Asian financial…

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Powerful earthquake rattles Taiwan

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast on Thursday, shaking buildings and cutting power to around 2,000 buildings. The earthquake shook buildings in the capital, Taipei. The quake near…

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Troops storm home of Kyrgyzstan’s ex-President Atambayev

Security forces in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan have stormed the home of former President Almazbek Atambayev in an attempt to detain him. Atambayev's supporters clashed with the troops…

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Pakistan to close its airspace for Indian flights as Kashmir tension escalates

Pakistan plans to close its airspace to Indian flights as part of retaliatory measures over New Delhi’s move to strip its portion of Kashmir of autonomy, local media reports say.…

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Several killed, over 30 injured in Kabul explosion

Several people were killed, and more than 30 others wounded after a massive car bomb explosion ripped through a busy neighbourhood at the western side of Afghanistan's capital of Kabul.…

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North Korea says missile tests ‘warning’ to South Korea, US

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Chinese official says Hong Kong facing biggest crisis since 1997

Hong Kong is facing its biggest crisis since it returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the head of China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs office said on Wednesday.…

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Search continues for Irish girl missing in Malaysia

It has been 72 hours since the search and rescue (SAR) operations activated to locate Nora Anne Quoirin, 15, a missing Irish teenager. The scope of this SAR operation which…

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Philippines declares epidemic after dengue fever kills more than 600

An outbreak of dengue fever in the Philippines has been declared a national epidemic after causing hundreds of deaths this year. The country has recorded 146,062 cases of dengue from…

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Photo Story: Street Art Peace Campaign in Dili

East Timorese graffiti artists work on a mural at a main street in Dili, East Timor, also known as Timor Leste. The graffiti is part of a peace campaign in…

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China’s yuan slips to 11-year low

The Chinese yuan fell more than 1% on Monday, dropping below the 7-per-US-dollar mark for the first time since the global financial crisis. The dip came days after Beijing warned…

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London girl, 15, feared abducted in Malaysia

Police in Malaysia are treating the disappearance of a "very vulnerable" 15-year-old London girl as an abduction and a missing person case, a charity has said. Nora Quoirin, who has…

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India revokes special status for Kashmir

India's government has said it plans to revoke the part of the constitution that gives Indian-administered Kashmir special privileges. Article 370, which gives Jammu and Kashmir more autonomy than any…

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Photo Story: Mogherini visits Vietnam

Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (L) shakes hands with Federica Mogherini (R), Vice-President of the European Commission and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs…

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Citywide chaos in Hong Kong, reports that one person was injured as car rams crowd

Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters are close to creating a "very dangerous situation", the city's leader Carrie Lam warned Monday as train travel and international flights in the global financial hub…

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Huge power black-out hits Indonesian capital

Power has been mostly restored to Indonesia's capital Jakarta, and nearby cities, 12 hours after a huge blackout began on Sunday. The outage hit tens of millions of people, and…

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Oil prices drop as U.S.-China trade war fuels growth concerns

Oil prices fell on Monday amid concerns about weaker crude demand after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs on more Chinese imports, potentially ramping up a trade…

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6.2 earthquake strikes off Fukushima, Japan.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 and a lower 5 on the Japanese intensity scale hit off Fukushima Prefecture on Sunday evening. No tsunami warning was issued. The strong…

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Japanese charity transforms empty houses into homes for single mothers

Tokyo-based charity Little Ones is helping to tackle poverty and discrimination faced by single mothers. With an estimated nine million homes in Japan lying empty and more than half of…

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Hong Kong braces for largest citywide strike in decades

Hong Kong police said on Sunday they arrested more than 20 people after violent clashes with anti-government protesters overnight, as the Chinese-controlled territory braced for more protests and a general…

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Protesters once more gather in Hong Kong

More than a thousand mostly black-clad activists gathered in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok district ahead of a protest march on Saturday, as the Chinese-controlled city braced for another weekend of…

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Photo Story: The Earthquake in Indonesia

A resident walks out her damaged house after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit the area, in Mandalawangi, Banten province, Indonesia, 03 August 2019. More than a hundred houses were damaged…

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Trump says new nuclear pact should include China

US President Donald Trump has said he wants a new nuclear pact to be signed by both Russia and China. Mr Trump said he had spoken to the two countries…

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Strong earthquake kills at least one in Indonesia

A powerful undersea earthquake that struck off the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java has killed at least one person and briefly displaced more than 1,000 coastal dwellers who feared…

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Tsunami warning after quake off coast of Indonesia lifted (UPDATED)

Indonesia's authorities have urged people living near the coast to move to higher ground after a powerful earthquake off the island of Java. Officials said the quake, estimated by US…

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Trump escalates trade war with more China tariffs

US President Donald Trump has said he will impose a fresh 10% tariff on another $300bn of Chinese goods, in a sharp escalation of a trade war between the two…

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Japan drops South Korea as a preferred trading partner

Japan removed South Korea from its list of trusted trade partners, deepening a bitter row between the two countries. The decision to strike South Korea off its so-called "white list"…

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UPDATED: Several small blasts in Bangkok

Several small explosions were heard in Bangkok in at least three locations on Friday and police said that two street cleaners had been hurt by what appeared to be a…

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North Korea shoots another missile

North Korea has fired another short-range missile twice, in the country's third weapons test in just over a week. The launches happened in an area on the country's eastern coast…

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North Korean diplomat who defected has left Italy

National Intelligence Service (NIS) officials, South Korea’s spy agency, told lawmakers in Seoul on Thursday that a North Korean diplomat who went into hiding in Italy last year is now…

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Photo Story: Sinkhole in Seoul

Officials inspect a sinkhole on a road in Jung Ward of Seoul, South Korea on the 01 August 2019. It is believed that torrential rain may have been the…

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Japan approves human-animal embryo experiments

Japan has become the first country to allow the birthing of human-animal embryos to create human organs. Experts at the Science Ministry approved a proposal by University of Tokyo researcher Hiromitsu…

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Arabic, Muslim symbols ordered to be taken down in Beijing

Authorities in the Chinese capital have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signs, part of an expanding national effort…

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North Korean soldier defects across the DMZ

South Korea has detained a North Korean soldier who crossed the heavily guarded demilitarised zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas. According to the South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff…

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Photo Story: India criminalizes Muslim instant divorce

Indian Muslim women show victory sign as they pose for a photograph during a gathering organized by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to celebrate passing a law outlawing instant divorce practice…

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Photo story: Founder of India’s largest cafe chain found dead

People walk near the logo of a Cafe Coffee Day, India's Largest cafe chain in New Delhi, India, 30 July 2019. According to a news report, VG Siddhartha, the founder…

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Photo Story: Monsoon rains in Pakistan

People make their way through a flooded road during heavy monsoon rains in Karachi, Pakistan. At least eight people, including an 11-year-old girl, lost their lives due to electrocution as…

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Second missile launch in a week by North Korea

North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, the second such launch in a week. The two missiles were launched from the Wonsan area early on…

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17 persons die as Pakistani military aircraft crashes while on training flight

A Pakistani military aircraft on a training flight crashed in a built-up residential area in the garrison city of Rawalpindi early on Tuesday, killing all five crew members and 12…

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Photo Story: Fatal suicide bombing and gunfight in Kabul

Security personnel are seen among damaged buildings a day after a suicide attack followed by a gunfight against the office of Afghan former chief of intelligence and current candidate for…

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China to hold military drills near Taiwan

China is holding military exercises in the East China Sea and the South China Sea near Taiwan this week, days after a defence white paper said Beijing would not rule…

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Hong Kong demonstrators defy police ban again

Thousands of protesters in Hong Kong have taken to the streets, blocking major roads and defying a police ban. The protesters wore black and held umbrellas, chanting anti-police slogans while…

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Photo Story: Over 1,000 train passengers rescued near Mumbai

A handout photo made available by the Indian Navy shows the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express train stranded, surrounded by rain water near Vangani, on the outskirts of Mumbai, India Indian authorities…

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