Asia

Hong Kong riot police have arrested at least 15 people in clashes with dozens of pro-democracy protesters who targeted a mall near the border with China to demonstrate against mainland tourists and shoppers. On Saturday afternoon, masked plain-clothed officers wielding batons arrested 14 people, including a 14-year-old girl, who were …

A passenger plane carrying nearly 100 people crashed soon after take-off near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on Friday, slamming into a house in an accident that killed 12 people and injured dozens. The Fokker 100 aircraft, operated by Bek Air, got into trouble shortly after departing from Almaty, …

Japan has hanged a Chinese man for the high-profile and brutal murder of a family of four, the first execution of a foreigner in 10 years. The man, Wei Wei, carried out the murders in 2003 with two accomplices. They fled to China, where one was executed in 2005 and …

Twenty-seven members of a peace group who were kidnapped as they traveled in western Afghanistan have been released, local media say. The People’s Peace Movement (PPM) disappeared after entering Farah province two days ago as part of a march demanding a ceasefire. The Taliban were suspected of being behind it. …

Japan’s broadcaster NHK reported a missile launch from North Korea, stating the projectile was estimated to have fallen some 2,000 km off Hokkaido’s coast. The news, however, was retracted shortly afterward. The erroneous report of the missile launch was issued by Japan’s national broadcaster late on Thursday. A few minutes …

A typhoon that lashed the central Philippines on Christmas Day has killed at least 16 people and caused damage to homes and tourist areas. Typhoon Phanfone, known locally as Typhoon Ursula, first made landfall on Eastern Samar province on Tuesday, bringing heavy rain and storm surges. It hit as the …

China says it is to dispatch a guided-missile destroyer to the joint naval drills with Iran and Russia — which are to be held to hone the trio’s maritime security and anti-piracy prowess but are also interpreted as a show of their close alliance. Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian announced …

Troops from India and Pakistan have exchanged heavy fire and mortar shelling along the restive Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between the two countries, with a total of six soldiers reportedly killed from both sides. The Pakistani armed forces said two of their soldiers were killed and one …

A lawmaker from Japan’s governing party has been arrested on suspicion of receiving 3.7m yen ($34,000) in bribes from a gambling operator. As a member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet until October, Tsukasa Akimoto oversaw the government’s plan to introduce casinos. The 48-year-old denies wrongdoing and says he never …

At least 27 people have died and more than a dozen were injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in Indonesia, officials said Tuesday. The bus careered into a 150-meter (500-foot) ravine in South Sumatra province just before midnight (1600 GMT) on Monday and ended up in a river, …

China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to work together to promote dialogue between the United States and North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday following a summit between the three countries in China. North Korea has set a year-end deadline for the United States to change …

The number of babies born in Japan fell an estimated 5.9% this year to fewer than 900,000 for the first time since the government started compiling data in 1899, the welfare ministry said on Tuesday. The dwindling number of births will put more strain welfare finances to support snowballing costs …

The Indian cabinet has approved a new population register despite weeks of protests over a citizenship law that critics say is anti-Muslim. Authorities say the National Population Register (NPR) will create a list of all the people living in the country and help in the formulation of policies. However, critics …

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 300 treated in hospital after drinking coconut wine in the Philippines, including some who were celebrating at a Christmas party, health and local authorities said on Monday. The poisoning occurred in Laguna and Quezon, two provinces south of Manila, and …

Junaid Hafeez, 33, was arrested in March 2013 and accused of posting derogatory comments about the Prophet Mohammed on social media. Allegations of blasphemy are taken very seriously in Pakistan, and even an accusation is often enough to make someone a target for hardliners. Mr. Hafeez’s first lawyer, Rashid Rehman, …

More than 1,500 protesters have been arrested across India in the past 10 days, officials said, as police try to quell sometimes violent demonstrations against a citizenship law that critics say undermines the country’s secular constitution. Additionally, some 4,000 people have been detained and then released, the officials said. Those …

Iran, Malaysia, Turkey, and Qatar are considering trading among themselves in gold and through a barter system as a hedge against any future economic sanctions on them, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday. At the end of an Islamic summit in Malaysia, Mahathir praised Iran and Qatar for …

Authorities shut down the internet in parts of northern India on Friday and imposed a curfew in a southern city after two people died in clashes between police and stone-throwing protesters angered by a citizenship law that discriminates against Muslims. Protests have spread across India since the Hindu nationalist government …

Seven men were sentenced to death Wednesday by a court in Bangladesh after being found guilty of helping to organize the country’s deadliest ever terrorist atrocity. One of the eight suspects charged was found not guilty, while the seven who face capital punishment can appeal. More than 20 people, including …

Large numbers of people are heading to the polls in Hong Kong to select new district councilors, during an apparent let-up in five months of protests rocking the autonomous Chinese city. Voter turnout in the first three hours of the voting on Sunday was reported to be nearly three times …