Asia Today

Today's news: Pyongyang sentences a woman to three years for talking on the phone with her daughter who had fled to South Korea; One in seven people in South East Asian countries suffer from a mental illness, still considered a stigma; A new (and powerful) earthquake strikes Afghanistan; Arundhati Roy risks a trial for a 2010 public speech on Kashmir; Beijing's presence in the UN Human Rights Council confirmed with 154 votes.

Today's news: Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia call for an end to violence in Israel; Xi Jinping's purges also hit Li Xiaopeng, who was kicked out of the party and the chairmanship of China Everbright Group; Erdogan attended the inauguration of the only republican-era Christian church; Five Indian states on the ballot in November, then politics in 2024; Catholic environmentalists launch a human chain against land reclamation projects in Manila Bay.

Today's news: at least 2500 victims the death toll from earthquakes in western Afghanistan; Record levels of rail traffic between North Korea and Russia, driven by weapons; Chinese dissident Chen Siming is granted political asylum in Canada; Flood deaths in north-east India rose to 77; The campaign to recruit prisoners for the war in the Ukraine continues in Russia's detention camps.

Today's news: at least 42 people have died in floods in the Indian Himalayas. The Myanmar High Court dismissed appeals of six corruption convictions against Aung San Suu Kyi. Over 43 million children internally displaced in Asian nations due to climate change. Islamabad wants to expel all illegal immigrants, primarily Afghans, by 1 November. Aiea task force will visit the Fukushima plant at the end of the month, the first time since the start of spill operations. Russian coal export prices increased by 14% in September.

Today's news: Hong Kong man accused of disseminating 'seditious' children's books is jailed for four months. Arrests for journalists critical of Modi accused of spreading 'Chinese propaganda'. The city of Sapporo withdraws from the 2030 Winter Olympics bid. The Mekong Delta is in danger of running out of sand.

Today's news: South Korean lecturers investigated for buying university entrance exams; In Japan, Premier Kishida wants wage increases; The Philippines removed the ceiling on rice prices; In Thailand the shooting in a shopping mall brought the issue of weapons back to the centre; The US sent ammunition seized from Iran to Ukraine; Germany discusses the repatriation of migrants with Central Asian countries.

Today's news: India has asked Canadian diplomats to leave; Pakistan wants to expel 1.7 million Afghan refugees; Three Indonesian arms manufacturers allegedly selling weapons to Myanmar. In Thailand, a 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of a shooting. Tajikistan cuts power 'in preparation for winter'.

Today's news: India's Bihar state released a caste census that generated controversy. The Chinese military released a cartoon alluding to the "reunification" of Taiwan. The air in Malaysia is so polluted that the government wants to try to make it rain. Approval rating for Philippine President Marcos drops. A match between teams from Saudi Arabia and Iran cancelled over a statue of General Soleimani. Turkmen will be studied in Japan.

Today's news: Malaria returns to Malaysia worrying health experts; Indonesia's first high-speed train is inaugurated; In South Korea over two-thirds of women in favour of freezing eggs; Japan uses robot wolves against bears; After the Ankara bombing Turkey strikes Kurdish targets in Iraq.

Today's news: Maldives’ run-off presidential election is underway pitting pro-Chinese and pro-India candidates. A curfew was imposed again in Manipur due to continued unrest. Food prices reach an all-time high ahead of a Korean Thanksgiving holiday. The Un is sending a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh. Philippine security guards recruit a new feline member.

Today's news: Xi Jinping also changes finance minister, who will have to deal with the 'hidden debts' of local governments; US soldier Travis KIng freed by Pyongyang now in custody: Turkish Court of Appeal confirms life sentence for Osman Kavala; Decree officially dissolving the autonomous republic of Nagorno Karabakh signed; Putin's Russia also pulls out of the Rio Climate Change Accords.

Today's news: pro-Russian oligarch and 'philanthropist' Ruben Vardanyan arrested, over 50,000 Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh; Singapore climbs two places and now fifth in the world on the Global Innovation Index; Over 56 thousand schools closed in Pakistan's Punjab due to an escalation of conjunctivitis cases; North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un wants a fleet of submarines.