Asia News Feeds

At least 40 people have been killed with 150 more missing in northern Afghanistan after flash floods ravaged an area northeast of the capital Kabul, officials said on Thursday.

Experts say India has "a lot of catching up to do" in the domain of technological advancement, such as artificial intelligence. The country faces security challenges from multiple fronts, including China and Pakistan.

Maps of Afghanistan show who controls districts in fighting between the government and Taliban forces.

A pro-democracy Hong Kong radio host went on trial Thursday for sedition in the first use of the colonial-era law since the city’s handover to China as authorities broaden their criminalisation of dissent.

New Delhi’s Central Vista used to be a favourite spot with residents of the Indian capital. But the large public space, close to the president’s house and heritage buildings, is being remodelled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The €2 billion construction caused uproar when it was deemed an “essential service” at a time when Indians were dying by the thousands from Covid-19. The move reopened debate around heritage conservation and public spaces in India’s ancient capital. Our correspondents report.

With the Olympics underway, more Covid cases continue to be reported at the Games and across Japan.

Three members of the Australian athletics team remain in isolation after close contact with American pole vaulter Sam Kendricks, who has tested positive for Covid-19.

The Afghan government faces an “existential crisis” after the Taliban doubled their attacks following the February 2020 US deal with the insurgents, a watchdog report said Thursday.

Six state capitals have seen record prices for the third quarter in a row, the survey said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments came after Taliban envoys went on a visit to China.

Sun Dawu has in the past been vocal in criticising authorities and has spoken out about human rights.

Just under 1% of Indonesia’s 17 million Indigenous people have been vaccinated against COVID. Bureaucratic and geographical obstacles are to blame for the low rate of inoculation.

It is building a site that will have extra capacity to store and launch missiles, scientists say.

A Chinese court sentenced agricultural tycoon Sun Dawu to 18 years in jail on Wednesday for a catalogue of crimes including “provoking trouble” after the outspoken billionaire and grassroots rights supporter was tried in secret.

Intent on shaking up Thailand’s current political order, the pro-democracy movement has broken a long-standing taboo by openly criticizing the all-powerful and wealthy monarchy.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Paris owed “a debt” to French Polynesia over nuclear tests conducted in the South Pacific territory between 1966 and 1996, but stopped short of apologising.

The victims were migrant workers who were going home to meet their families.

It comes as hospitals are overwhelmed, with pictures showing patients sharing oxygen cylinders.

A growing rape allegation controversy centering on Kris Wu has renewed discussion on sexual consent.

They range from an arena built by a father and son, to a legendary home of Japanese martial arts.

Foreign journalists reporting on the flood disaster in China have been hindered in their work by normal citizens who feel the reporters are presenting a distorted picture of the country.

With the Taliban once again rising to a position of power, some fear that New Delhi might be forced to the margins in Afghanistan.

Raids on the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper and Bharat Samachar television network have sparked accusations of intimidation by a government angry with the media’s response to its handling of the pandemic.

South and North Korea have restored hotlines that were severed last year and the two countries’ leaders have agreed to rebuild trust and improve ties, the South’s presidential Blue House said on Tuesday.

The first person charged under Hong Kong’s national security law was found guilty on Tuesday of terrorism and inciting secession in a landmark case with long-term implications for how the legislation reshapes the city’s common law traditions.

The 24-year-old had flown a flag with a protest slogan while riding a motorcycle into police officers.

Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka suffers a surprise exit in her home Olympics as Czech Marketa Vondrousova earns a straight-set win.

The “Serendipity Sapphire” was accidentally found by a gem trader in Sri Lanka’s Ratnapura region.

French President Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to apologise for the devastating legacy of decades of nuclear testing in French Polynesia as he wraps up his first official trip to the region. Many islanders believe the tests caused an increase in the population’s cancer rate and are demanding more transparency as well as compensation.

The two countries have not spoke since Pyongyang cut off all channels of communication last year.

North and South Korea said Tuesday they had restored cross-border communications, more than a year after Pyongyang severed all official hotlines between the two rivals, who technically remain at war.

Neha Paswan was allegedly beaten to death by relatives who disagreed with her choice of clothes.

Over 100 years, the Archibald Prize has become better at reflecting Australian diversity.

Even though a majority of Indians seem to have antibodies against the coronavirus, vaccination and COVID precautions remain the way out of the pandemic, experts say.

A 27-year-old woman was first shot and then slaughtered by a male acquaintance in Islamabad last week. Experts say Noor Mukadam’s brutal murder puts a spotlight on toxic misogyny in Pakistani society.

Dust clouds towered at least 100 metres (330ft) over Dunhuang.

Beijing urged the US to stop “demonising” China during Monday talks with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the highest-level official to visit under President Joe Biden’s administration.

Yinka Oshiletu, a British-Nigerian hip hop dancer is bringing Afrobeats sounds to Japan’s young dancers.

Training for the Olympics can be a full-time job but Jo Brigden-Jones has combined it with much more.

The United States will continue air strikes in support of Afghan forces fighting the Taliban, a top US general said Sunday, as the insurgents press on with offensives across the country.

Days of landslides and flooding triggered by heavy monsoon rains in western India’s Maharashtra state killed at least 113 people and injured 50, officials said Sunday, as rescuers scrambled to find at least 100 missing.

Chinese commercial hub Shanghai and neighbouring coastal regions cancelled all flights, slowed or suspended subway trains and shuttered businesses ahead of Typhoon In-fa’s expected landfall on Sunday afternoon.

Afghan authorities on Saturday imposed a night-time curfew across 31 of the country’s 34 provinces to curb surging violence unleashed by a sweeping Taliban offensive in recent months, the interior ministry said.

Australia’s natural wonder faces a battle to survive – here’s a simple guide.

Seoul had been hoping that the opening ceremony of the games might be an opportunity to rebuild damaged bilateral relations. But an inappropriate comment and historical disagreements have put a stop to that.

Pakistani citizen Abdul Rasheed died in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province earlier this month. Hundreds of people attended the 22-year-old’s funeral near Peshawar and chanted pro-Taliban slogans.

Cinema complexes are shutting down nationwide, while hundreds of films have been indefinitely postponed. Bollywood has estimated losses in the millions.