Tag Archives: Asia

China has become the first major economy to show signs of recovery and avoid recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, with its gross domestic product (GDP) rising 3.2 percent in the second quarter. The positive economic growth, reported by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday, came after a sharp …

Multiple fire crews have been deployed to tackle a huge blaze raging at a biofuel complex in China. At least two people were injured during the incident. An explosion rocked a biofuel plant in the city of Longyan in China’s southeastern Fujian Province, local media reported, citing officials. Videos from …

Heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides that killed at least 40 people and displaced thousands in western Nepal, officials said on Saturday. Twenty people were killed and at least 13 others were missing in Myagdi district, 200 km (125 miles) northwest of the capital Kathmandu, where several houses were …

One of South Korea’s most prominent elected officials and longtime mayor of the capital, Seoul, was found dead on Friday after his daughter reported him missing amid a criminal investigation and media reports of alleged sexual harassment. Officers using drones and sniffer dogs found Mayor Park Won-soon’s body at Mt …

Afghanistan is to release more Taliban prisoners in the hope of getting peace talks going, a government spokesman said on Thursday, after the insurgent group provided the government with a revised list of several hundred of their detainees. Disagreement over about 600 prisoners from a total of 5,000 the Taliban …

Vikas Dubey, a notorious gangster behind a string of murders, kidnappings, and extortions, was arrested by Madhya Pradesh Police after massacring 8 cops in an ambush and spending days on the run. Dubey was apprehended after visiting a temple in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. A shopkeeper happened to recognize the …

Authorities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia have closed several tourist spots after a case of bubonic plague was confirmed this week. The case was discovered in Bayannur, located northwest of the capital Beijing. Five nearby grassland scenic points have now been closed, with visitors “strictly prohibited from entering …

A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed military vehicle on the approach to the provincial governor’s residence and police headquarters in the Afghan province of Kandahar on Wednesday, killing at least three people, authorities said. Bloodshed is escalating anew in Afghanistan even as the United States tries to broker a …

Torrential rain hit Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu on Monday, with at least one more river bursting its banks, as the death toll from three days of floods and mudslides rose to 44, including 14 at an old people’s home. Evacuation orders were issued for more than half a million …

Deep floodwaters and the risk of more mudslides that left at least 34 people confirmed or presumed dead hampered search and rescue operations Sunday in southern Japan, including at elderly home facilities where more than a dozen died and scores were still stranded. Helicopters and boats rescued more people from …

Torrential rains that hit Japan’s southern island of Kyushu killed 16 people, with 13 going missing and 17 showing no vital signs, public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday, as the weather agency expects heavy rain to resume by evening. Saturday’s unprecedented rains in the Kumamoto prefecture of central Kyushu unleashed …

Heavy rain in southern Japan triggered flooding and mudslides on Saturday, leaving more than a dozen people presumed dead, about 10 missing and dozens stranded on rooftops waiting to be rescued, officials and news reports said. More than 75,000 residents in the prefectures of Kumamoto and Kagoshima were urged to …

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte approved tough anti-terrorism legislation on Friday that critics fear will be used to target his opponents, stifle free speech and promote authoritarianism in one of Asia’s most liberal democracies. The law grants police and military sweeping powers to tackle security threats, but legal experts warn its …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew into the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh on Friday, officials said, weeks after Indian and Chinese troops clashed on their disputed border there, escalating tension between the Asian giants. Modi, who has been under pressure to respond to what India deems Chinese incursions, met …

China promised Thursday to take countermeasures against Britain if it presses ahead with plans to extend citizenship rights to Hong Kongers after Beijing imposed a sweeping security law on the restless financial hub. Beijing has faced a groundswell of criticism from primarily Western nations over its decision to impose a …

Hong Kong police made their first arrest under a new national security law imposed by China’s central government, arresting a protester Wednesday for carrying a flag calling for Hong Kong’s independence. The man was arrested after police had issued multiple warnings to the crowd at a protest in the city’s …

Indian TikTok users awoke Tuesday to a notice from the popular short-video app saying their data would be transferred to an Irish subsidiary, a response to India’s ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries. The quick workaround showed the ban was largely symbolic …

China has approved a contentious law that would allow authorities to crack down on subversive and secessionist activity in Hong Kong, sparking fears that it would be used to curb opposition voices in the semi-autonomous territory. Tam Yiu-Chung, Hong Kong’s sole representative to the Standing Committee of the National People’s …

Fighting erupted in Taiwan’s parliament on Monday as lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) broke through barricades erected by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) who had occupied it to protest against government “tyranny”. Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fights and protests inside the parliament building are not …

Heavy flooding triggered by monsoon rains has forced more than a million people to flee their homes in the northeast Indian state of Assam, authorities said on Monday, warning that the crisis was becoming more critical by the hour. The Brahmaputra River, one of the largest rivers in the world …