South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday that much progress had been made in restoring trust with Beijing, and that he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to play a role in mediating Seoul's efforts to engage North Korea. Lee, who held talks with Xi this week, said the Chinese lea
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the Philippines' southern islands on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said, and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. USGS said the quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) around 68 km (42 miles) east of Baculin, a village in the
India expects neighbourly relations in the region to grow stronger once the situation in Bangladesh normalises through elections, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. He expressed the hope while responding to a question about his recent visit to Bangladesh at an event in Chennai
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced eight journalists and social media commentators on Friday to life imprisonment in absentia after convicting them of terrorism-related offences linked to online activity in support of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. The convictions stem from cases
At least nine people have died, and more than 200 have been hospitalised in the central Indian city of Indore after a diarrhoea outbreak that officials said was linked to contaminated drinking water, according to a lawmaker and local health authorities. Kailash Vijayvargiya, a lawmaker, said nine
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on a state visit starting on Sunday, signalling Beijing's intent to strengthen ties with Seoul amidst strained relations with Japan over Taiwan. The visit marks the second meeting between Xi and Lee in just two months, an
Myanmar's junta said slightly more than half of eligible voters cast their ballot in the first phase of a three-stage national election at the weekend, a figure that was markedly lower than the previous two elections. The election is the first since a 2021 coup and is taking place during a civil w
When India overtook China as the world's largest producer of rice this year, the country's politicians and agriculture lobby marked the moment by praising resilient farmers and innovative government policy. India has nearly doubled the amount of rice it exported over the past decade, with shipment
Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, announced on Monday that its military spokesperson Abu Obeida had been killed during the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. The announcement was made by a newly-appointed spokesperson, who assumed the same nom de guerre, Abu Obeida, during a televised p
Iraq's parliament elected Sunni Muslim lawmaker Haibat al-Halbousi as speaker at its opening session on Monday following November's national election, launching a process to form a new government that often takes months. A parliamentary statement said Halbousi secured 208 out of a total of 283 vot
North Korea said on Monday it test-fired long-range strategic cruise missiles into the sea to assess its nuclear deterrence capabilities, days after it revealed apparent progress in building its first nuclear-powered submarine. The missile launches, carried out on Sunday, were the latest in a seri
For more than a century, trams have rumbled past Kolkata's crumbling colonial facades, with their chiming bells contributing to the city's soundtrack as they ferried generations of commuters. Now, Asia's oldest tram network is on the brink of disappearing as authorities consider pulling the plug o
Under the shadow of civil war and questions over the poll's credibility, voters in Myanmar cast their ballots in apparently low numbers in a general election on Sunday, the first since a military coup toppled the last civilian government in 2021. The junta, having crushed pro-democracy protests af
