Asia

Hivsa Walid describes the moment she noticed smoke coming out of a maternity ward at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital. She was with her sister-in-law who had given birth days earlier. All three survived, but 14 babies who were in the ward were killed in the blaze. …

Video shows the moment a deadly massive flash flood and mudslide hit the Nepal-Tibet border. At least 31 people have been killed, and hundreds of tourists are missing. This video has been edited by the BBC with white flashes, due to the distressing content. Follow the story live. BBC News

At least 17 people have been killed after a massive flash flood and mudslide along the Nepal-Tibet border washed away villages and damaged roads and infrastructure, according to police. The flood hit early on Wednesday in Rasuwa, just north of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, reportedly caused by excessive snow melting into …

An Indian jewellery brand has removed their new advertisement for the upcoming festival of Rakshabandhan, also known as Rakhi, after backlash over the outfit worn by the female lead. The ad featured popular Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon celebrating the Hindu festival in which sisters tie a thread called Rakhi over …

A Chinese artist known for his satirical sculptures of Mao Zedong has been handed a maximum three-year jail term for “slandering China’s heroes”, according to rights groups. A court in Hebei province had ruled on Tuesday that Gao Zhen’s work “infringes upon the hero’s reputation and harms public interest”. Among …

At 14, *Xiaomei, a high-performing student from a coastal province in China, decided to overdose on cough medication. She wanted to impress an older boy who told her it would help her relax. The tablets were usually only available with a doctor’s prescription, but she managed to buy them online. …

Singapore has charged a British man for theft more than two years after he allegedly made away with a denim jacket from a store at the airport shopping mall. The police were alerted to the theft in the evening of 14 August 2024 when a retail assistant at Singapore’s Changi …

A New Zealand court has jailed a religious sect leader over the death of an elderly follower who had travelled from China to live with his family. Kaixiao Liu was found guilty of manslaughter and kidnapping, and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. The body of 70-year-old Shulai …

The complexity of the role has risen in recent years as the “collective losses of the new businesses are more than the cashflow generated by older companies like TCS, the group’s software arm whose business model has been challenged by AI”, Nirmalya Kumar, who previously headed strategy at Tata Sons, …

Authorities in China have launched an investigation into reports of formaldehyde being used to preserve the freshness of cabbages for human consumption. Officials in the northeastern Hebei province confirmed that they had verified footage showing individuals dipping cabbages in a solution before loading them onto trucks for transportation. An environmental …

Others have accused Gen Z Vietnamese of plotting a “colour revolution” – a term used to refer to mostly nonviolent protest movements that use specific colours or flowers as their symbol. This is a familiar line of critique from Vietnamese authorities, who have previously labelled people’s grievances or resentments as …

Fast-fashion giant Shein says it plans to raise up to HK13.86bn (£1.3bn; $1.77bn) when its shares start trading on the Hong Kong stock market on 1 September. In a filing on Monday, external, Shein said it will offer nearly 280 million shares for between HK$47.60 and HK$49.50. At the top …

An Australian woman bitten by a shark at a popular Sydney beach earlier this year says she has been given a “second chance at life” and will be making the most of it. Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by a shark during a morning swim at Coogee Beach in June, …

Many among India’s Gen Z may not see Narendra Modi as a friend. But the Indian prime minister is trying to talk to them like one. The 75-year-old leader – who has long cultivated a strongman image through scripted speeches, formal broadcasts and carefully choreographed appearances – has in recent …

But now Zhu can sense this freedom being curtailed. She says she finds herself encountering authorities more often in Hong Kong than in mainland China. At one bookshop event, she recalls government officials entering the premises. “They just sat there listening alongside us.” Increasing raids have not only targeted explicitly …

Nanda Malini, a famed Sri Lankan singer whose voice was seen as a soundtrack to some of the country’s political and social upheavals, has died at 82. Songs from her album Pawana, which touched on social issues and urged people to stand up to injustice, were banned from national airwaves …

Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been found guilty of inciting others to subvert state power under the city’s controversial national security law. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail after …

The two Koreas are technically still at war since they did not sign a peace treaty after the Korean War. Reuniting with the South had always been a key, if increasingly unrealistic, part of the North’s ideology until Kim abandoned it in 2024. Despite this, the threats against the South …

Four workers in Japan have died after being struck by a train at Shin-Kanuma Station, north of Tokyo, authorities say. The collision happened around 10:46 local time (01:46 GMT) while the workers were removing weeds from the train tracks, local media reported. When emergency services arrived at the scene three …

The body of a woman has been found in Australian bushland, following an eight-day search for a Sydney teenager reported missing last Wednesday. Police said that while the body was yet to be formally identified, it was believed to be that of 18-year-old Lily Hooper. The confirmation came after local …