Asia Today

Today's headlines: mass testing for Covid also in Guangzhou, southern China. Population fears for a new dam in Laos. Unprecedented heat wave in India. Jordan wants end to Israeli restrictions on the Esplanade of Mosques. Russians launch "online forced labor". Armenian opposition announces large protest rally on May 1.

Today's headlines: Three Chinese teachers killed in terror attack in Pakistan; Hong Kong Catholic tycoon Jimmy Lai dismisses allegations of property fraud; Beijing will send soldiers to the Solomons; Australia says Bejing will send soldiers to Solomon Islands; Alleged missile attack by Israel against Syria: Russians want to send their own students to rebuild Ukraine's Donbass.

Today's headlines: Kim Jong-un pledges to strengthen his nuclear arsenal; Chinese Protestants open a theological school in Italy; Malaysia ready to replace Indonesia in palm oil exports; Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala sentenced to life imprisonment; Ukrainian deportees placed in monasteries and hostels of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Today's headlines: Over 1.6 million Burmese lost their jobs last year; Japanese envoy visits Solomon Islands; Sri Lankan university students storm the premier's residence; EU buys UAE oil to replace Russian oil; Dissident intellectual Vladimir Kara-Murza is imprisoned by Moscow's secret services; Tensions rekindled between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Other news of the day: Hong Kong reopens to non-resident foreign visitors. Russo-Japanese deal is reached on fishing rights. New attack occurs in Afghanistan. Palestinians and Israelis continue to clash in Jerusalem. Official Russian death toll in Ukraine tops 13,000.

Today's headlines: Shanghai tightens anti-Covid measures; Indonesia's only glacier is disappearing; in the Philippines, online ldisinformation against the daughter of Marcos Jr's challenger; Indian government's free meals program has not yet fully recovered; in Russia, members of the Donetsk Philharmonic have been sent to frontline.

In other news of the day: the Rohingya escape in Malaysia was caused by overcrowding in the detention center; China continues to displace entire communities due to its "zero covid" policy; South Korea is offended by a Japanese premier's visit to a war shrine; a Tajikistan bank will adopt Islamic banking standards.

Today's headlines: one person killed in Sri Lankan protests; Mariupol could fall soon; Solomon Islands' agreements with China worry regional neighbours; Hong Kong activist convicted under a colonial law; South Korea to rethink how they calculate age .

Today's headlines: authorities in Shanghai declare 10 deaths from Covid-19; sectarian violence flares up again in India; Sri Lanka's president tries to reset government; Israel says it has hit Hamas targets in Gaza Strip; Russia blocks Ukrainian news sites.

Today's headlines: in Hong Kong, a pastor arrested for sedition; a Cambodian Catholic institute awarded environmental prize; Burmese junta arrests a hundred people in response to protests; Ukrainian prisoners and "deserter" soldiers locked up in Russian camps; Armenian minister in Moscow to conclude an agreement on the purchase of fuel in rubles.

Today's news: In China, online searches for ways to emigrate and escape the government’s zero-COVID policy hit a record; in Myanmar, the Church is negotiating with the military for the release of a priest and 13 worshippers; in Hong Kong, a law forces pet owners to hand over their animals if they are “suspected” of having COVID-19; the UN allocates funds for Yemen where there is some “light at the end of the tunnel”; more than 700,000 Ukrainians have been deported to Russia.

Today's headlines: Three Palestinians killed by the Israeli army in the West Bank; "outlawed" Hong Kong pro-rights statues on display in Taiwan; the World Bank cuts growth forecasts for India (and South Asia); Damascus among possible venues for the meeting between Francis and Kirill, the Moscow Patriarchate praises the Pope for his "balanced position" on the conflict; in Turkmenistan police raids on beauty centres.