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The Taliban government in Afghanistan said at least nine civilians were killed in Pakistani airstrikes on two provinces overnight. Pakistan said it had struck militant hideouts, killing 22 fighters.

Capt Smit Machchhar was attacked by another pilot onboard the Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv.

The Afghan Taliban says nine civilians have died while Pakistan says the strikes killed 22 militants.

The member of K-pop band Winner was given a suspended prison sentence for repeated absences from his national service work.

The hikes are part of immigration policy changes introduced to manage Japan’s growing foreign population.

At least 32 children have died in India’s Balaghat district since May amid outbreaks of measles and malaria.

Beijing has cracked down on AI chatbots that can replicate human relationships. Experts are asking if this is the right thing to do.

A month after mass catastrophic flooding, around 30 people have died in landslides and heavy rain.

British universities are being urged to sever ties with China General Technology Research Institute which is linked to the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS).

Iran’s nuclear program is entering a critical phase as Tehran debates dropping out of a nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Satellite images also show activity at known nuclear sites.

A former Fulbright scholar, Junaid Hafeez was sentenced to death under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. His family and lawyer told DW there is now hope a court will overturn the conviction.

Jeremy and Jemma Cooper were 500 miles off the coast of New Zealand when their yacht, the Tai Tam, collided with a sperm whale.

Indonesian lawmakers on Wednesday ordered the demolition of a controversial luxury compound inside a penitentiary near the capital.

The launch of FirstDate comes as the ageing nation wrestles with a record-low fertility rate.

The South Korean port of Busan says that a stranded shark has become a major tourist draw. It’s also named the ocean predator an honorary ambassador to the city.

In the emotional letter, the judge describes the survivor as “the bravest little girl this court has ever seen”.

India’s opposition leaders meet in New Delhi to push back against voter roll revisions and discuss poll body chief Gyanesh Kumar. DW has more.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong has accused Seoul of conspiracy after it blamed Pyongyang for the blast in the DMZ.

The owner said he chose the name because he wanted to run the “best Chinese restaurant” in South Korea.

Two recently opened bridges are expected to ease trade and transport between North Korea and its powerful neighbors. The new connections come as Pyongyang builds strategic ties with China and Russia.

Human rights groups say some 5,000 returnees could face violence, persecution and forced conscription.

Families living in temporary shelters in northern Nepal say safety and privacy remain out of reach as concerns about trafficking and abuse mount.

Over the past six years, COVID, two wars and Donald Trump’s tariffs have shaken world trade. With globalization already stalling, is this a temporary shock or the start of a great reversal?

Malaysia has started repatriating about 1,500 Myanmar nationals, defying warnings from the UN and rights groups. Malaysia, facing an uptick in anti-migrant sentiment, says the program is strictly voluntary.

Australia is increasingly concerned about China’s military might – but Beijing is also its biggest trade partner.

Rain eased in Thailand ’s capital on Sunday, but flooding persisted in several low-lying areas, with thousands forced to move into temporary shelters. At least eight people were reported killed in the past 10 days nationwide.

The most revealing thing about the summit in Washington may be what the two leaders did not say – and what we still don’t know.

Rain is easing in Thailand’s capital, but flooding continues in several low-lying areas. Thousands of people have been forced into temporary shelters after the government declared Bangkok a disaster zone on Saturday. At least eight people have died over the past 10 days as heavy rains caused widespread disruption. Juliette Brown reports.

China’s economy and tech have developed at breakneck speed, but there is plenty worrying its Gen Z.

A new report shows how in South Korea, women on average earn less and have fewer employment opportunities throughout their lives.

 A month after Nepal’s floods, thousands are still missing and families face a long recovery.

Thailand’s capital Bangkok declared a flood disaster on Saturday after more than 300 millimetres of rain in less than 48 hours, leaving canals overflowing and streets submerged. “It’s like at my waist level now,” a local said. The governor has urged people not to panic, saying the situation is stabilising. 

The US president showcased White House construction projects and hosted a lavish dinner with tech CEOs, but the summit made little progress on key issues such as trade tensions and AI regulation.

India has the second-largest road network in the world, spanning over 6 million kilometres. But these roads are silent killers, with one death reported every three minutes. Every day, headlines are filled with horror stories: drunk drivers mowing people down, school buses hit by speeding trucks killing children, buses with dozens of passengers plunging into gorges.

In this edition, we focus on Afghanistan, which recently marked the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power. Since then, the exclusion of women and girls has become normalised, with the government systematically dismantling the rights of more than half the country’s population.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah said on Thursday that last month’s catastrophic floods were a “warning to the world” of growing climate risks in the Himalayas. He said warming was melting glaciers and permafrost and urged international support to help Nepal adapt to threats it could not face alone.

The era of Russian presidents is coming to an end at the World Chess Federation (FIDE). Two Germans and one Kazakh are up for election. Among the issues at play are money, Kremlin influence, and unanswered questions.

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Henrietta Levin, Senior Fellow with the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The US remains a powerful actor in its relationship with China. But power on paper is not the same thing as leverage at the negotiating table. Levin warns that President Trump’s highly personalized approach to Xi Jinping offers Beijing opportunities that China can easily exploit. Xi does not approach the relationship in the same way. Au contraire, he sees the United States as an adversary to be managed while China pursues its domestic priorities and strategic objectives in Asia, including on Taiwan. 

The topic of artificial intelligence looms large as Chinese President Xi Jinping begins his highly anticipated state visit to Washington. The fate of Taiwan – coveted by its larger neighbour, China – will also be on the table. It’s the global leader in superconductor research and development. These powerful chips can be found in smartphones, computers, and above all in AI development. Our France 2 colleagues take a rare look inside one of Taiwan’s state-of-the-art laboratories. 

Pakistan launched air strikes Thursday on 10 sites in Afghanistan in what Islamabad said was a retaliation for a drone attack by Afghanistan’s Taliban forces on a border post. A Taliban government spokesman denied the allegation and said Pakistan’s latest strikes killed four civilians in Afghanistan’s southern and eastern provinces.

In Southeast Asia, hundreds of thousands of people working in fraud centres are scamming people across the world. US authorities suggest the fraudsters are responsible for scams worth almost $10 billion a year against US nationals alone. Victims in Europe, the UK and China have also been targeted. Human rights groups further warn that those working in the centres are often themselves victims of human trafficking – forced to work as slaves.

Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter bombings, one of the deadliest attacks in the country’s history, killed more than 260 people. After a trial lasting nearly five years, 15 men have now been convicted over the attacks, which were inspired by the Islamic State group. All those convicted are members of Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority. Ellen Gainsford reports on their sentences.

The three sisters of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan were arrested in the province of Punjab, his Tehreek-e-Insaf party said on Monday. Khan, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been imprisoned since 2023 and was sentenced last year to 17 years on corruption charges.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, South Korea’s military said. This came days after Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear-armed state and rejected a UN resolution calling for an end to its nuclear activities.

It’s the world’s biggest sporting event, held every four years – the 20th edition of Asian games is starting in Japan. Organisers came under pressure even before competition began… as thousands more athletes and officials registered to take part than initially expected. Story by Charlotte Lam.

A spate of warnings in recent days about the dangers of AI have sparked mixed reactions: from Donald Trump dismissing the fears as a hoax, to Beijing criticising calls for the US to block its advancement as fearmongering. As President Xi Jinping heads to Washington for talks, FRANCE 24’s technology correspondent Peter O’Brien explains why the two superpowers are unlikely to forge binding agreements on AI regulation. 

India has warned Washington that new measures to levy tariffs over the purchase of Russian oil could impact bilateral ties, the South Asian nation’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, hours after the U.S. made a ​new move to ‌punish such buyers. Earlier in the day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping sanctions and tariff bill intended ⁠to increase economic pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. FRANCE 24’s Emerald Maxwell reports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to run in an early election in 2028 in order to circumvent the constitutional term limits he would face if he serves out his full current term, a top adviser said Thursday. Under Turkey’s constitution, parliament can trigger early elections given the support of 360 lawmakers, meaning the ruling AKP and its nationalist ally MHP will need support of at least 34 more lawmakers. 

Hong ⁠Kong leader ​John Lee on Wednesday unveiled the city’s first five-year plan to boost its global position as a financial hub. The plan serves as a social and economic roadmap detailing the city-state’s strategic priorities, including an aim to expand technology ties with mainland China.

Speaking with FRANCE 24’s Monte Francis, Rex Li, Professor of International Relations at King’s College London, says that China “is trying to promote an alternative international security order and project itself as a stabilising force in world politics”, adding that while Beijing “is increasingly willing to play a more significant part in ending the conflict in the Middle East, so far we haven’t seen any concrete proposals coming from China”.

Speaking with FRANCE 24’s Monte Francis, Rex Li, Professor of International Relations at King’s College London, says that China “is trying to promote an alternative international security order and project itself as a stabilising force in world politics”, adding that while Beijing “is increasingly willing to play a more significant part in ending the conflict in the Middle East, so far we haven’t seen any concrete proposals coming from China”.

A viral selfie allegedly showing leaders including, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra at the BRICS summit in New Delhi is AI-generated. A SynthID watermark shows it was created using OpenAI tools. Several leaders pictured, including Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, did not attend. Another AI selfie features former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in 2024. Both images were widely shared online, including by official embassy accounts. Vedika Bahl fact-checks.

Turkish police fired tear gas at pro-LGBTQ demonstrators in the western city of Izmir on Monday, as activists protested a nationwide crackdown that saw dozens arrested over the weekend in a campaign authorities described as defending traditional family values.

In this edition of Perspective, FRANCE 24’s Stuart Norval speaks to Dan Wang, a China expert whose book ‘Breakneck:  China’s Quest to Engineer the Future’ is a New York Times bestseller. It takes a close look at Chinese life and draws from Wang’s own ten years of living there. Wang says the China and the US are some of the most similar people in the world, as they are both hustlers and take shortcuts.

The himalayan flash flood that devastated northern Nepal on August 26 was an unprecedented disaster. The death toll continues to rise, with nearly 1,400 people now confirmed dead and 5,130 still missing, including around 600 foreign nationals from 35 countries.  

Hundreds of Indonesian rescuers including the coast guard and the navy raced on Monday to board a passenger ship that capsized in the Java Sea over the weekend as they searched for 129 people still missing, officials said, with the confirmed death toll at six.

Indonesian rescue teams on Monday deployed specialised underwater teams and navy-operated underwater drones as the search for more than 120 people missing in the Virgo Transport 8 ferry capsizing intensified.

Turkish authorities on Sunday launched raids on gay bars, nightclubs, LGBTQ association offices and activists’ homes in a sweeping crackdown in several cities as part of the government’s “My Family is Safe” operations, Turkey’s justice minister said. More than 60 people were arrested, according to the state news agency, in raids condemned by human rights groups.

At least one person has died and more than 100 people remain missing after a ferry carrying 243 people sank in rough weather between the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo. The disaster is the second major ferry accident in the region in five days, renewing concerns over safety standards, overcrowding and maintenance.

The BRICS summit in New Delhi ended with a joint declaration calling for greater Global South influence in global governance and urging restraint in the Middle East. The gathering also served as a platform for one-to-one diplomacy, with leaders holding a series of bilateral meetings aimed at easing regional tensions. FRANCE 24’s Navodita Kumari has the details.