Asia News Feeds

The social media giant is accused of fuelling violence against the persecuted minority in Myanmar.

The White House says no US diplomats will attend the games in China, over human rights concerns.

The Muslim minority group are requesting $150 billion in damages for the role the social media giant played in facilitating a campaign of genocide against them.

Thousands of pleas for help went unread and the foreign secretary lacked urgency, an ex-official says.

Russia and India signed a flurry of trade and arms deals during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, including one that will see India produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

Indian firm Byju’s faces allegations of pursuing hyper growth using high pressure sales tactics.

One Cathay Pacific pilot said he had spent almost 150 days in quarantine this year alone.

A trailblazing figure with a 50-year career, he helped vastly improve cultural representations.

Watch as this survivor describes how he escaped the deadly Mt Semeru eruption in Indonesia.

India and Russia have signed several agreements to bolster military and trade ties as the countries’ leaders met for the first in-person talks since 2019.

Governments and international organizations have said Myanmar’s most prominent pro-democracy figure did not receive a fair trial, and accuse the ruling junta of sacking the rule of law in a bid to hold power.

Human Rights Watch says that more than 100 former Afghan security personnel have disappeared or been killed by the Taliban since they came to power in August. The actual number could be much higher than that.

India’s draconian anti-terror law, known as the UAPA, has come under fire by human rights organizations for stifling the freedoms of civil society actors.

The ex-leader of Myanmar, who faces a total of 11 charges, is sentenced to two years in prison.

Myanmar’s junta chief reduced the jail sentence of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to two years on Monday, after initially doling out four years for incitement against the military and breaching Covid-19 rules.

The charges included incitement against the military and violating COVID regulations. The first ruling since her ousting and arrest following a military coup was met with global outrage.

Embattled Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare survived a no-confidence vote Monday, while accusing “Taiwan’s agents” of orchestrating recent political violence that plunged the Pacific island nation into crisis.

More than 100 have been arrested over the lynching of a Sri Lankan man accused of insulting Islam.

It comes after riots which were fuelled by a decision to switch relations from Taiwan to China.

Myanmar’s deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had her sentence reduced from four years to two after a partial pardon by the head of the military-appointed government, the country’s state television reported on Monday.

Russia and India ties are facing challenges from fast-changing geopolitics in Asia and beyond.

The Fukushima disaster turned Japan away from nuclear. A new energy source may help it quit coal.

The ITF says it has not followed the WTA in suspending tournaments in China because it “does not want to punish a billion people”.

Several people have been injured during a demonstration against the country’s military rulers.

At least 14 people are dead and dozens injured after Mt Semeru erupted on Indonesia’s Java island.

Hopes were high in 2015 after Aung San Suu Kyi and her party gained power. However, her attempt to lead the country into a better future with nonviolent means has been unsuccessful, says DW’s Rodion Ebbighausen.

Ten people trapped after Indonesia’s Semeru volcano erupted have been evacuated to safety, the disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said on Sunday, as the death toll from the disaster climbed to at least 13 with dozens injured.

Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s new CEO, is the latest of several Indian-Americans leading global tech firms.

A British engineer believes he may help solve one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.

It took more than a magic wand, but Pakistani university students transformed their 150-year-old campus into Hogwarts this week as they kicked off a festival celebrating the fictional young wizard Harry Potter. With its vast halls and soaring archways, Government College University in the eastern megacity of Lahore has long reminded students of the magical school created by British author J.K. Rowling.

Residents fear their city’s unique identity has been lost as Beijing cracks down on critical discourse. In the face of possible legal trouble, many are self-censoring or turning to alternative forms of expression.

An interpreter who had to flee Afghanistan is given a new home by a woman who was moved by his plight.

Kuttiyamma, from the southern Indian state of Kerala, aced a government test that measures literacy.

A WW2 air raid on Broome killed scores of people – historians say it should be better remembered.

How did a former Wimbledon mixed doubles player end up taking on China over a case that is “bigger than business”?

A video distributed by the International Olympic Committee is not enough to reassure the tennis world. The Women’s Tennis Association is suspending all tournaments in China until it is sure that doubles star Peng Shuai is safe and sound, following the 35-year-old Peng’s quickly deleted post on Chinese social media last month denouncing sexual assault by a former vice premier. How far will the ripple effects go?

The death of a rare breed of lion at a Pakistani zoo has drawn outrage after poor conditions were revealed on social media. Now advocates are concerned about the health of other animals at the country’s zoos.

How much pollution comes from farm fires, factories and other sources in the Indian capital?

Moves to privatize India’s public services are being met with strong opposition. However, proponents of the plans say privatization can streamline services and boost the economy.

Myanmar’s junta on Thursday slammed a UN decision to deny its chosen representative a seat at the world body and keep in place an envoy appointed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s ousted government.

Since September, the name Evergrande has caused panic on stock exchanges around the world. Paralysed by $300 billion in debt (€260 billion), or the equivalent of 2 percent of Chinese GDP, the country’s second-largest real estate developer is now threatening Chinese growth. Evergrande has more than 1,300 construction projects across China, as well as financial products, electric cars, livestock, bottled water and even a football club.

Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, saddled with around $300 billion in debt, has been struggling to meet interest payments on its loans. If it collapses, some of its partner firms could be driven to bankruptcy, prospective homebuyers could lose deposits and some banks would lend less money, which would lead to a credit crunch in the world’s second-biggest economy. Property developers in China have in fact created an oversupply: there is enough empty property in the country to house more than 90 million people. FRANCE 24’s team reports.

US President Joe Biden’s top Pacific envoy on Tuesday accused China of trying to “drive Australia to its knees” through a barrage of sanctions that amounted to “economic warfare”.

Families of militants killed by Indian forces are decrying a ban on returning the bodies. Authorities have cited COVID-19 and fears of new recruitment as reasons for burying those killed in remote border areas.

In China, patriotic brands are popular. Not so long ago, the label “Made in China” was synonymous with goods of poor quality, but today it is a driver of consumption. Western brands’ share of the Chinese market is shrinking every year, supplanted by local alternatives. In a move encouraged by the authorities, buying Chinese-made products has become a way to show support for the country, the economy and its traditions. Our team on the ground reports.

The fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus had on Tuesday been detected in a number of new countries, including in Japan. Despite mounting concerns, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that a new Covid-19 lockdown in England was “unlikely” at this stage.

A Myanmar junta court on Tuesday postponed giving a verdict in the incitement trial of deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the first judgement from her many cases that could see her jailed for decades.

China will deliver another 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa and encourage Chinese companies to invest no less than $10 billion in the continent over the next three years, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.