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Footballer Kylian Mbappé sparked a wave of condemnation across China when he implied that Chinese leader Mao Zedong was a dictator. In China, information about this controversy is being censored by Chinese AI chatbots.
North Korea on Tuesday dismissed US allegations that it was behind a $6 billion cryptocurrency theft from Binance as "absurd rhetoric", accusing Washington of seeking to portray the country as a cybercriminal state and warning that US hostility could affect future diplomatic engagement.
Afghanistan's Taliban government expressed concern on Monday over reported US plans to deport more than 150 Afghans from the US to Pakistan for an eventual return home, with advocacy groups warning the removal could endanger their lives.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators on Sunday joined a protest in New Delhi called by Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement amid tight security. Protesters are demanding the resignation of the country's election chief over voter list revisions that critics say favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party.
Turkey has nominated its former foreign minister and UN ambassador Feridun Hadi Sinirlioglu for the position of UN secretary-general, state-media reported on Saturday. The submission was officially backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been particularly vocal in calling for reform of the UN Security Council.
North Korea has tested attack drones, cruise missiles and rocket launchers at a weapons demonstration, state media reported Friday, as Kim Jong Un called for faster development of military drone and artificial intelligence technology. The tests follow a series of weapons trials and rising tensions with South Korea.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee apologised on Thursday for a fire that ravaged a residential tower blocks in Tai Po in November 2025, killing 168, injuring 79 and displacing thousands of others. Housing Secretary Winnie Ho resigned Wednesday for her department's failure to supervise the maintenance work. A three-month investigation into conduct will follow, alongside proposals to criminalise bid rigging in relation to the complex's US $38 million renovation contract.
North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, Seoul's defence ministry said. The North Korean capital Pyongyang has stepped up weapons tests in recent weeks despite South Korea's offer of military talks.
Real Madrid apologised to the Chinese people on Wednesday after star striker Kylian Mbappé sparked a furious backlash over comments referring to the founding leader of Communist China as a dictator. The club's apology came a day after Mbappé and Spain's La Liga football championship expressed regret over the comments.
As Typhoon Champi approached Taiwan, most businesses and schools were closed across the island Friday and hundreds of flights were canceled in the region. Authorities reported at least one death and dozens of injuries and more than 1,200 people have evacuated their homes.
The World Health Organization, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) with support from UNICEF are set to work with telecommunication companies to text people directly on their mobile phones with vital health messaging to help protect them from COVID-19. These text messages will reach billions of people that aren’t able to connect to the internet for information. Now more than ever, technology must ensure that everyone can access the information they need. The collaboration will start in the Asia Pacific region and then roll out globally. The goal is to reach everyone with vital healt
At least 16 people have died and dozens more have been injured after a major earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale shook China’s remote Tibet region on Thursday, state media said. Hundreds of houses collapsed in the tremor.
Police on Tuesday charged a driver with intentionally causing serious injury to Australian federal lawmaker Helen Haines, who is in a critical condition after being struck by a car outside her office in an incident that has shocked the nation. Haines had her leg amputated following the attack, according to Australian media reports.
Parts of southern Southeast Asia have been put under the highest-level haze alert as wildfires that have swept Indonesia for months continue to belch toxic smoke across the region. The seasonal wildfires are worse this year due to the drought conditions caused by a severe "super-El Nino" effect.
Indian police released Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke from detention on Saturday after the activist was detained ahead of a rally calling for the resignation of India's chief election commissioner. Two other CJP leaders remain in custody after having been arrested while demonstrating at a protest site that police had ruled off-limits.
Indian authorities on Friday detained Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the satirical youth movement "Cockroach Janta Party", ahead of a new protest in New Delhi, live images from the group showed. Police earlier closed a central New Delhi park in an attempt to stifle near-daily demonstrations calling for the election authority chief's resignation over the removal of more than 130 million people from voter lists.
A teacher and twenty-seven pupils were killed when a school roof collapsed in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, a hospital official said. More than thirty people were injured, with six of them believed to be in a critical condition.
North Korea test-fired two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported Thursday, saying the launches posed no threat to neighbouring countries. The tests follow heightened tensions with South Korea after a September 21 landmine explosion in the Demilitarised Zone injured three South Korean soldiers.
Pakistan says it intercepted 23 suicide drones launched from Afghanistan into Pakistani airspace in September alone. Since the conflict began in February 2026, the Taliban have increasingly used drones to attack Pakistan, raising concerns in Islamabad.
Turkish authorities appointed a government trustee to run popular broadcaster Halk TV on Wednesday after police raided its headquarters, halting live broadcasts and arresting 11 people. Halk chairman Cafer Mahirogluin denounced "a dark day for Turkey", adding that seven of his family members were among those detained.
