Asia

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

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…

Read More Here

North Korea releases detained Russian fishing boat

North Korea has released a Russian fishing boat, the Xiang Hai Lin 8, held after being accused of violating entry regulations, the Russian embassy in North Korea said on Sunday,…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The spurned handshake

Brazil's Joao de Lucca (L) refuses to take the hand of China's Sun Yang as he comes out of the water after completing a 4X200m freestyle relay heat at the…

Read More Here

North Korea missile launch ‘a warning’ to South Korean

North Korea has called the test of two new missiles on Thursday a "solemn warning" against what it described as "South Korean warmongers". The short-range missiles were fired into the…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Three blasts kill at least seven people in Kabul

Afghan security forces inspect the scene of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, 25 July 2019. A series of three back-to-back bombs in the Afghan capital Kabul on 25 July…

Read More Here

Nissan to cut 12,500 jobs worldwide

Japanese car giant Nissan has announced 12,500 job cuts as it attempts to shore up its finances after recent troubles. It will reduce its production capacity and the number of…

Read More Here

North Korea fires ‘short-range missiles’ into sea

In the early hours of Thursday North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the sea. South Korean officials said the missiles travelled 430km and reaching an altitude of 50km…

Read More Here

China reiterates it is ‘ready to go to war’ if Taiwan tries to gain independence

China says it is “ready to go to war” over the issue of Taiwan’s independence, according to a defence ministry report that provides a rare insight into the country’s military…

Read More Here

India seems set to ban private cryptocurrencies

In a setback for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and start-ups, India seems all set to ban private cryptocurrencies after an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) suggested outlawing private cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, apart from declaring…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Presentation of the medals for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Tokyo Olympics medals (L-R: Silver, Gold and Bronze) are displayed after the One Year to Go Ceremony at Tokyo Forum in Tokyo, Japan, 24 July 2019. The Tokyo Organising Committee…

Read More Here

North Korea detains crew of Russian fishing vessel

North Korea is holding 15 Russian and two South Korean crew of a fishing vessel for violating entry regulations, the Russian Embassy in North Korea said on Wednesday. The crew…

Read More Here

South Korean petrol stations refusing to fill up Japanese cars

Petrol stations and garages in South Korea are refusing to fill up or service Japanese cars as part of a growing boycott of Japanese goods sparked by trade and political…

Read More Here

Concern as drug-resistant malaria strains spread through south east Asia

Strains of drug-resistant malaria are becoming more dominant in Vietnam, Laos and northern Thailand after spreading rapidly from Cambodia. Malaria is caused by parasites which are carried by mosquitoes and…

Read More Here

Li Peng: Chinese Prime Minister who ordered Tiananmen Square crackdown dies

The Chinese Prime Minister who ordered a bloody crackdown in Tiananmen Square to counter pro-democracy protests has died. Li Peng died at the age of 90 on Monday of an…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Joint Russian and Chinese air patrol heightens tension in Korean peninsula

Russia has said it carried out its first long-range joint air patrol with China in the Asia-Pacific region, a mission that triggered hundreds of warning shots from South Korean jets…

Read More Here

Photo Story: FINA Swimming World Championships 2019 in South Korea

Luxemburg's Alain Kohl competes in the Men's 20m high diving at the 2019 FINA World Championships at Chosun University in Gwangju, South Korea, on Monday 22 July 2019. Photo:…

Read More Here

India’s mission to the moon takes off

India has successfully launched its second lunar mission a week after it halted the scheduled blast-off due to a technical snag. Chandrayaan-2 was launched at 09:13 GMT on Monday from…

Read More Here

IAEA chief Amano dies aged 72

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Yukiya Amano has died aged 72, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday in a note to member states. “The Secretariat of the International…

Read More Here

Korean cargo ship attacked by pirates near Singapore Strait

Pirates attacked a South Korean-flagged cargo ship near the Singapore Strait early on Monday, assaulting the crew and making off with thousands of dollars in cash, Korea’s Yonhap news agency…

Read More Here

Armed mob storms Hong Kong station

Dozens of masked men armed with batons stormed a train station in the Hong Kong district of Yuen Long. The men, all in white T-shirts, violently attacked people on platforms…

Read More Here

Man dies after setting himself on fire at Japanese embassy in South Korea

A South Korean man died on Friday after setting himself on fire in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul, police said, amid ongoing trade and diplomatic disputes with…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Suicide bomb blast killed 12 people in Kandahar

Afghan security officials rush to the scene as smoke rises at the scene of a car bomb blast that targeted the Police headquarters, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. At least 12…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The FINA Swimming World Championships 2019

Members of Team Brazil perform during the Free Combination Artistic Swimming preliminary at the FINA Swimming World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea, 18 July 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO…

Read More Here

At least 24 dead in arson attack on Japanese animation studio

At least 24 persons died and dozens more have been injured in a fire at an animation studio in the Japanese city of Kyoto. Police say the blaze broke out …

Read More Here

China’s economy slows down

China's economy grew at its slowest pace since the early 1990s in the second quarter, official figures showed. In the three months to June, the economy grew 6.2% from a…

Read More Here

Hundreds evacuated after 7.3 quake in Indonesia

At least one person has been found dead and hundreds were evacuated after a major 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit the remote Maluku islands in eastern Indonesia on Sunday. The shallow quake…

Read More Here

India space launch delayed by technical problem

The launch of India's second lunar mission has been halted less than an hour before the scheduled blast-off, due to a technical problem. The countdown stopped 56 minutes before…

Read More Here

7.3-magnitude quake rattles eastern Indonesia

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit southeast of the city of Ternate, in the Moluccas in the eastern area of Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Beside Sumbawa,…

Read More Here

Former Bangladesh military dictator Ershad dies, aged 90

Former Bangladeshi military dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad died on Sunday at the age of 90, local media reported. Ershad was suffering from kidney and liver complications and was admitted…

Read More Here

Huawei planning extensive layoffs in the United States

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is planning extensive layoffs in the United States as the Chinese telecoms equipment company grapples with its U.S. blacklisting, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing…

Read More Here

Monsoon floods wreck havoc in Nepal and India

Dozens of people have been killed as monsoon floods rip through Nepal and north-eastern India. At least 43 people have lost their lives in Nepal as torrential rains hit the…

Read More Here

Photo Story: FINA Swimming World Championships 2019

Eunbi Cho and Nayun Moon of South Korea perform in Diving Womens 10 m synchro platform of FINA Swimming World Championships 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea, 14 July…

Read More Here

Second Chinese cybersecurity centre opens in Brussels

China’s ZTE is opening a cybersecurity centre in Brussels, four months after a similar move by Huawei. ZTE said in a press release that its “lab” will be installed…

Read More Here

Malaysia looks to revamp its gambling laws

As concern grows in Malaysia due to illegal gambling, authorities are taking action to stop the activity before it gets worse. In order to do so, lawmakers are going to…

Read More Here

Indonesia sending back dozens of containers of waste back to Western nations

Indonesia is sending dozens of containers of waste back to Western nations after finding it was contaminated with used nappies, plastic and other materials, adding to a growing backlash in…

Read More Here

Chinese warship heads toward U.S.-Australia war games

Australian defense officials said they were tracking a Chinese surveillance ship that is expected to position itself just outside of its territorial waters to monitor military exercises between Australia…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Fire in New Delhi

Indian firefighters douse a fire that broke out in the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) office in New Delhi, India. According to a media report, around 22 fire tenders…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Building Collapses in Seoul

Rescue work is under way at the site of a building collapse in southern Seoul, South Korea. The five-story building under demolition collapsed, killing one person and injuring…

Read More Here

Chinese Muslim children being separated from their families in Xinjiang

The BBC reports that China is deliberately separating Muslim children from their families, faith and language in its far western region of Xinjiang, according to new research. At the…

Read More Here

Photo Story: The Rath Yatra Festival

Traditional dancers participate the Rath Yatra, or Chariot journey festival in Puri, Odisha, India, 04 July 2019. The Rath Yatra of Hindu god Jagannath is one of the most important…

Read More Here

Fears protests could worsen in Hong Kong as police make arrests

There is concern in Hong Kong that the situation could worsen after police arrested more than a dozen people following protests earlier this week. Weeks of mass protests in the…

Read More Here

Australian student released from arrest in North Korea

Alek Sigley, an Australian student who went Sigley had been pursuing a graduate degree in Korean literature at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang. He also runs several social media…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Floods in Japan

The Wada river is reaching its overflow level in Kagoshima, Kagoshima prefecture, southwestern Japan. According to media reports, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings of heavy rain that could…

Read More Here

North Korea accuses the US of being “hell-bent on hostile acts”

North Korea has accused the US of being "hell-bent on hostile acts", despite a recent agreement between the two countries to resume nuclear talks. Pyongyang's delegation to the United Nations…

Read More Here

Photo Story: Rain showers in Bhopal

An Indian vendor sells umbrellas during monsoon rain in Bhopal, India on 03 July 2019. A monsoon shower is expected to affect the city. Photo: EPA-EFE/SANJEEV GUPTA

Read More Here