Asia

Locals in Bangkok have transformed a flooded street in front of a shopping mall into a temporary floating market during flooding in the city. Bangkok was declared a disaster-affected zone after continuous heavy rains caused widespread flooding in the Thai capital. As sellers waded through floodwaters to sell produce like …

More than a decade after her death, the voice of Australian rock icon Chrissy Amphlett will be heard like never before after three lost songs were discovered in a garage. The trailblazing frontwoman of rock band Divinyls, Amphlett’s trademark husky voice and charismatic stage presence brought the world the 1990 …

The war scenario playing out before us is part of a major joint exercise known as “Southern Jackaroo” – a training programme involving the Australian, American and Japanese armed forces aimed at strengthening defence co-operation across the Indo-Pacific. “We like to call ourselves America’s 911 response force,” US Marine Kevin …

The White House factsheet made no mention of Taiwan, but the issue was clearly a priority for Xi Jinping. According to Beijing’s accounts of the talks, Xi urged Donald Trump to formally oppose Taiwan independence and handle the issue with caution. After their previous meeting in May, Trump revealed that …

Visitor numbers have surged, fuelled partly by social media posts about Hanle’s night skies and its location on the route to Umling La, which is among the world’s highest motorable mountain passes. But more tourists also mean more traffic, construction and artificial light – all threats to the darkness they …

Today, the practice of giving lavish gifts mostly exists in Gulf states and autocratic governments. “Autocracies like China give much more expensive gifts,” says Morten Skumsrud Anderson, who co-authored a study on diplomacy and gifts with Sending. In the West, Anderson says, the tradition has been watered down by democratic …

British rapper Yung Filly will face a retrial for rape in Australia next June after a jury failed to reach a verdict during an earlier trial. In July, a jury acquitted the 31-year-old – whose real name is Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos – of three counts of rape, one of …

There is something pleasingly improbable about Angh. The film comes from Nagaland, a mountainous state of fewer than two million people on India’s northeastern frontier, and is in Konyak, a tribal language unfamiliar to most Indians, never mind audiences abroad. It was director Theja Rio’s first feature and most of …

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said a wave of Pakistani air strikes had killed four civilians in the latest escalation between the two sides. The strikes hit provinces including Kandahar, the Taliban’s base of power, sources told the BBC. A resident told AFP news agency they heard a jet, followed by a …

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said a wave of Pakistani air strikes had killed four civilians in the latest escalation between the two sides. The strikes hit provinces including Kandahar, the Taliban’s base of power, sources told the BBC. A resident told AFP news agency they heard a jet, followed by a …

Within hours of the Indian Express report and statements from opposition leaders, the Election Commission put out a statement, external defending its way of working. “Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution. They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision …

Foremost among them is a shortage of grid capacity. The renewables’ build out has significantly outpaced transmission infrastructure, a point of major concern for policymakers. “In the first quarter of 2026, transmission constraints accounted for nearly two-thirds of all renewable energy curtailment at 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh),” according to Ember, a …

Nene Royal, a 16-year-old rocker, has been crowned the latest winner of America’s Got Talent – making her the first ever Thai winner of the long-running talent show. For the show’s finals on Tuesday in California, Nene, whose real name is Rattikarn Amloy, performed a rendition of Seven Nation Army …

US President Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week in Washington. The BBC’s China correspondent Laura Bicker and US editor Sarah Smith explain what’s at stake for the two global superpowers. More on Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the US. BBC News

US President Donald Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week in Washington, with everything from AI to trade and Taiwan on the agenda for the leaders of the global superpowers. Xi is expected to be greeted personally by Trump at Andrews Air Force Base on Wednesday, followed by …

Some 175,000 people in Indonesia have suffered from respiratory illness since August, its health ministry said, as it continues to battle wildfires that have raged for weeks. More than 40,000 cases – which range from coughs to bronchitis and more serious conditions like pneumonia – involve toddlers. Forest fires have …

Bus passengers in Singapore can now be fined up to $500 Singapore dollars ($391; £293) for placing their feet on seats or playing loud audio, as well as eating, drinking or littering onboard. A fine of up to $5,000 will be imposed for more serious offences, such as causing obstruction …

A Sri Lankan court is set to rule on Naufer Moulavi, who is accused of masterminding the Easter bomb attacks that killed 270 people and injured more than 500 in 2019. Twenty-three others will also receive verdicts for their involvement in planning and carrying out the co-ordinated suicide bombings. The …

A Sydney policeman accused of killing his ex-partner and his new boyfriend while dressed as an Uber Eats rider says he was acting in self-defence, a court has heard. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to killing Jesse Baird, 26, and Baird’s partner Luke Davies, 29, at a home …

A young girl has broken the women’s world record for the 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube twice in three days at the World Cube Association. At age six, Lian Yunzhi has become the only female cuber in the world to have an average time under 4.5 seconds. She first broke the record …