Asia

After months of peaceful marches and clashes, Hong Kong protesters have begun staging a different type of demonstration – mass singalongs of a new song called Glory to Hong Kong.

At least 12 people have drowned in a lake after the boat they were traveling in capsized during a religious ritual in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The incident took place on Friday at approximately 4:30 am local time (23:00 GMT on Thursday) when a boat carrying about …

An earthquake which struck east of the Philippine capital Manila on Friday set buildings swaying and sent many people into the streets. There were no immediate reports of damage. Buildings in the capital were briefly evacuated and trains were halted as crews looked for any damage. The 5.2 magnitude jolt …

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, the U.S. military said, a move likely to anger Beijing. The busy waterway is one of a growing number of flashpoints in the U.S.-Chinese relationship, which include an escalating trade war, American sanctions …

Thousands of Indonesians prayed for rain in haze-hit towns on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo on Wednesday, as forest fires raged at the height of the dry season, the state Antara news agency reported. Fires have burnt through parts of Sumatra and Borneo island for more than a month …

Japan’s environment minister says contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant may have to be released into the ocean because storage space will run out in 2022. More than a million tonnes of water that has been used to cool melted reactors is kept in giant tanks. Fisherman’s groups are …

Pakistan’s foreign minister told the United Nations human rights forum on Tuesday that India’s military presence in the disputed Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir raised the specter of genocide. India, which stripped Kashmir of its autonomy on Aug. 5, in response accused Pakistan of “offensive rhetoric..of false allegations and concocted charges” …

At least 18 people were injured at a religious procession in Kotte, Sri Lanka when two elephants ran amok, according to local reports. Footage captured by a local news outlet showed one of the elephants running down a street.  

A powerful typhoon that battered Tokyo overnight with record winds has killed two people, police say, as canceled trains caused commuter chaos and more than 100 flights were scrapped, leaving thousands stranded at the airport. Typhoon Faxai, packing winds of up to 207 kilometers (129 miles) per hour, made landfall …

Typhoon Lingling killed five people and injured three after making landfall in North Korea on Saturday, state news agency KCNA reports, while 46,200 hectares of farmland and crops were impacted by the storm. The outlet also reported that NK leader Kim Jong-un berated senior officials over their lax attitude and …

Air and ground transport in Tokyo has come to a standstill as Japan braces for Typhoon Faxai, with heavy rain expected to drench the capital in the coming hours. Japan Airlines canceled 20 flights to and from Tokyo’s two airports on Sunday and warned of more cancellations and delays. Inbound …

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that peace negotiations with Afghanistan’s Taliban are dead and that Washington will not enter any future agreement without “commitments” from the militants. Appearing on a round of cable news shows Sunday morning, Pompeo told Fox News that negotiations with the Taliban are …

Taliban have abducted at least six Afghan journalists working for private and government media organizations in eastern Afghanistan, government officials and the militant group said. Local Afghan officials said on Saturday that the reporters were abducted the previous day while they were traveling together from neighboring Paktika province to Paktia …

India lost contact with a spacecraft it was trying to land on the moon on Saturday, its space agency said, in a setback for the nation’s ambitious plans to become the first country to probe the unexplored lunar south pole. The lander of the Chandrayaan-2 moon mission was attempting a …

Hong Kong authorities mounted a security blitz at and near the airport on Saturday, averting a second straight weekend of disruptions by pro-democracy activists who have refused to yield even after gaining a concession from the government this week. Police mounted road checks and inspected passengers on trains and buses …

A 73-year-old woman in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh has given birth to twin girls. Doctors delivered the twins, who were born following IVF treatment, on Thursday. “The mother and the babies are doing well,” Dr. Uma Sankar, the woman’s doctor, said. Mangayamma Yaramati said she and her …

Pakistani and Indian officials are meeting on Wednesday to finalize a draft agreement for the opening of a border crossing to allow Sikh pilgrims from India to cross easily into Pakistan and visit a shrine there, AP reported. The meeting on the Indian side of the land border at the …

Indonesia has sent hundreds of garbage-filled shipping containers back to their countries of origin, according to the customs agency. The Southeast Asian nation, which is pushing back against becoming a dumping ground for foreign trash, has already returned about 250 containers seized across the archipelago in recent months, and authorities …

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday withdrew an extradition bill that triggered months of often violent protests so the Chinese-ruled city can move forward from a “highly vulnerable and dangerous” place and find solutions. Her televised announcement came after Reuters reports on Friday and Monday revealing that Beijing had …

A towering inferno has erupted at a state-run ONGC oil and gas processing plant at Uran, outside Mumbai, reportedly killing five people and injuring at least 11 more while forcing the evacuation of area residents. The fire broke out in a stormwater drainage system around 7 am local time on …