Asia

Three men have gone on trial in Mexico for the alleged murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend in 2024. The bodies of Callum Robinson, his younger brother Jake, and their friend Carter Rhoad from California – all in their early 30s – were found at the bottom …

Snaking queues formed at the departure halls in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Monday as stranded passengers sought refunds and tried to get updates on when they would be able to fly. A newly wed Malaysian couple, who had just spent a week in Bali, said they were told that …

Australians would be able to switch off social media algorithms under draft legislation to be proposed this week. Communications Minister Anika Wells, who last year helmed the government’s world-first social media ban for under-16s, said the digital duty of care laws would ensure “some basic safety protections on an industry …

Such experiences have fuelled calls from student activists and opposition politicians to scrap the NTA altogether. Educationists argue that scrapping the agency would not solve the underlying problem. The NTA needs deep structural reform to address recurring failures, but abolishing it is not the answer, said M Jagadesh Kumar, former …

It’s a tension that has played out in other states including Karnataka, where language activists fear their local language – Kannada – is being marginalised as many migrants believe they can get by using Hindi or English. In Maharashtra, the government says drivers are not expected to read or write …

The full impact of the flood in Tibet is unclear. China has released information through state media outlets showing the devastation around the border, but has given few details about the victims or the impact on local villagers. In Nepal, however, rescue operations are taking place at seven hydropower tunnels …

A tunnelling expert involved in the rescue operation at a blocked Nepalese hydropower tunnel has described to the BBC how they managed to reach survivors. Arnold Dix has been advising Nepal’s hydropower authorities on how to dig through the blocked tunnel to Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station, which was one of …

She described the impact of her father’s death on her mother Terri and her younger brother Robert, 22. “My mum lost the love of her life; my brother and I lost the greatest dad,” she wrote. “Grief never truly leaves us; we walk alongside it every day.” Bindi also shared …

Around 2,000 students and teachers across Indonesia have fallen ill with food poisoning over the past three days linked to the government’s free school meals programme. In the latest case, 777 people became unwell after consuming the food at a high school in Rembang, Central Java, the institution’s headteacher said. …

Eleven people have been sentenced to death by a court in Vietnam in one of the country’s largest drug trafficking cases, state media report. They are among 227 people accused in total, with prison sentences ranging from 18 months to life behind bars. Among those sentenced to death was the …

What also helped Asia’s third largest economy power ahead amid the disruption in global energy markets was a strong acceleration in exports and a surge in private corporate investments, which has long been a point of great concern for economists. Exports grew by a sharp 12% despite tariff uncertainties on …

“India should be worried. but not necessarily because of the Kosi river in Nepal,” says Rajiv Sinha. In other words, experts say, the real warning is about what is happening in the Himalayas – and what happens when water, rock, ice and enormous quantities of sediment suddenly combine. Sinha says …

A massive flash flood, believed to have been triggered by a glacial collapse, swept through a Himalayan valley last Wednesday, wiping out villages. Nearly 12,000 people have since been rescued, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. But thousands more, including hundreds of foreign nationals – from India, the UK, Australia, …

After a record 250 days at sea without a port stop, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has docked in Thailand, giving its nearly 5,000 crew members a much-needed break. The ship is docking close to the beach resort of Pattaya, known for its raucous nightlife and for sex …

Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to collusion with foreign entities, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison under Beijing’s sweeping National Security Law (NSL). The 29-year-old, who has become the poster child for political activism in Hong Kong, is already serving …

When a 21-member Chinese rescue team reached Gyirong on 28 August, one rescuer told Reuters: “As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but ruins.” The crossing had only recently recovered from another major flood. In July 2025, flooding shut Rasuwagadhi for nearly six months. It reopened on …

A weak orangutan was found laying on the ground in Ketapang, West Kalimantan on Borneo island. Indonesia has intensified efforts to contain haze from wildfires across six provinces in Borneo and Sumatra islands. The wildfires have destroyed part of the habitat of hundreds of orangutans and risking the survival of …

At the same time, Japan’s traditional markets for expansion have become increasingly less attractive, he says. “Investment into China has fallen sharply amid geopolitical tensions and changing economic dynamics, the US market is more challenging because of tariffs and domestic competition, and the market size of other Southeast Asian economies …

Relatives of those still missing in the massive flash floods in Nepal on Wednesday hold onto hope that their loved ones have survived. In total, 3,925 people are unaccounted for, with at least 939 known to have died. More on the Nepal flash floods here. Follow the latest developments on …

Thousands in Nepal are still waiting to be rescued, but unpredictable weather is making such operations increasingly difficult. BBC News