Asia

An algal bloom catastrophe which has turned usually pristine South Australian waters toxic green and suffocated masses of marine life is a “natural disaster”, the state premier has declared. The algal bloom – a rapid increase in the population of algae in water systems – has been spreading since March …

Koh Ewe BBC News, Singapore Getty Images Many of the victims were students who had just come out of class when a F-7 jet crashed into their school Bangladesh is observing a day of mourning after at least 27 people were killed when a military jet crashed into a school. …

When the preliminary report into the crash of Air India Flight 171 – which killed 260 people in June – was released, many hoped it would bring some measure of closure. Instead, the 15-page report added fuel to a firestorm of speculation. For, despite the measured tone of the report, …

At least 16 people have died and more than 100 were injured after a Bangladeshi air force training aircraft crashed into a school campus in the capital, Dhaka. Footage of the scene at Milestone School and College in the northern suburb of Uttara shows a huge fire and a thick …

An investigation into last December’s Jeju Air plane crash has found that the aircraft’s pilot mistakenly shut the wrong engine, local media reported. The release of the report, scheduled for over the weekend, has been delayed after heated protests from families of the victims. The families had been briefed on …

Tessa Wong BBC News, Singapore Getty Images The dam is situated in the Yarlung Tsangpo canyon, said to be the world’s largest and deepest canyon on land Chinese authorities have begun constructing what will be the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibetan territory, in a project that has sparked concerns …

Shaimaa Khalil Tokyo correspondent Reuters Sohei Kamiya, who launched Sanseito in 2020, has threatened that Japan would become a “colony” if it did nothing to “resist foreign pressure” For three years, a once fringe opposition party held just one seat in Japan’s 248-seat upper house. But on Sunday, Sanseito emerged …

Faisal Bashir An unrelenting heatwave has gripped Kashmir over the last few months Zaina Begum stood helplessly next to her withering paddy field. A farmer in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pulwama district, she had been waiting for rainfall for more than a month, hoping to save her crop from dying. So when …

Shaimaa Khalil Tokyo correspondent Getty Images Shigeru Ishiba has been Japan’s prime minister since October 2024 Exit polls from an election in Japan project the ruling coalition is set to lose its majority, putting the country’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba under immense political pressure. Voters headed to the polls earlier …

A sports coach at a Taiwanese university has issued a formal apology over a research project that allegedly involved her coercing students into giving blood, according to local media. Chou Tai-ying, 61, said that her intention was to help her team “because I had only a few players and they …

At least 14 people have died in floods and landslides caused by days of torrential rain in South Korea, the country’s disaster management office has said. There are fears the death toll could rise as rescue efforts continue, with 12 people reported missing. Nearly 10,000 people have evacuated their homes …

Soho House A modern avatar of the private members-only club has emerged as India births new millionaires For decades, the Indian elite have sought escape in Raj-era private clubs and gymkhanas, scattered around the swankiest neighbourhoods in the country’s big cities, hillside resorts and cantonment towns. Access to these quintessentially …

North Korea has announced that its newly opened seaside resort will not be receiving foreign tourists. The Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, opened on 1 July, has been touted as a key part of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s ambitions to boost tourism. In the lead-up to its opening, …

Four people have died and another 1,300 evacuated as torrential rains pound South Korea, with authorities warning that the unseasonal deluge will continue. Among those killed were two men in their 80s. Authorities believe one of them was trying to drain flood waters from the basement of his home. A …

Indonesian police have uncovered an international baby trafficking syndicate which has allegedly sold at least 25 infants to buyers in Singapore since 2023. Authorities made 13 arrests related to the syndicate in the Indonesian cities of Pontianak and Tangerang this week, and rescued six babies who were about to be …

Getty Images Nashi joins a growing list of people facing intense scrutiny in China over their privilege This was supposed to be a breakout year for Chinese actress Nashi, with major roles in two blockbuster films and a highly anticipated TV drama. But then in June, the 35-year-old’s star crashed …

Washington and Delhi are “very close” to finalising a trade deal, US President Donald Trump has said, as high-level talks between the two sides continue. “We’re very close to a deal with India where they open it [the market] up,” Trump told reporters at the White house on Wednesday. Later …

Torrential rains in Pakistan’s Punjab province have killed at least 63 people and injured 290 in the 24 hours since downpours started on Wednesday morning. Most of the victims were crushed by collapsing buildings, while the rest either drowned or were electrocuted, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Authorities …

Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has been cleared of fraud charges, concluding a decade-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal. Lee, the grandson of Samsung’s founder and the de facto head of the company since 2014, had been accused of using stock and accounting fraud to try …

Tessa Wong BBC News, Asia Digital Reporter Getty Images Volunteers rehearsed taking cover in a supermarket basement in an air raid rehearsal in Taipei earlier this month Taipei is due to come to a standstill as the capital of Taiwan holds one of its largest-ever civil defence exercises against a …