Asia Today

Today's headlines: Death toll from quake in Turkey and Syria reaches 5,000; Taiwan will create a fleet of military drones to oppose China; The Philippines strengthens its naval presence in the South China Sea; Opposition in India calls for investigation into giant Adani's financial collapse; Russia: Orthodox priest suspended by Patriarch Kirill for calling for peace in Ukraine.

Today's headlines: In China, Bishop Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou freed; Pakistan: former coup general Musharraf had died; Well-known academic critical of the regime arrested in Vietnam; Open race for the leadership of Japan's Central Bank; Ukrainian authorities condemn ties of the Upz Orthodox Church with the Moscow Patriarchate.

Today's headlines: university professor who shredded his qualifications on live TV jailed in Afghanistan, while Iranian regime releases filmmaker Jafar Panahi; The Indian state of Assam began a campaign of arrests against child marriages; Uzbekistan removes advertisement referring to car as "second wife".

Today's headlines: record levels of pollution in Bangkok; Hong Kong raffles off 500 airline tickets to attract tourists; North Korean hackers increasingly adept at stealing cryptocurrencies; Indian government faces diplomatic problems with Adani Group's economic losses; 90% of Russians believe the war in Ukraine will last at least two more years.

Today's headlines: Myanmar extends state of emergency; Bangladesh gets a loan from the International Monetary Fund; Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida fears same-sex marriages could disrupt society; Special operation against Iranian spies in Azerbaijan; New raids on Gaza in response to rockets from the Strip.

Today's headlines: U.S. sanctions Myanmar junta but invites generals to military exercises; Criticism of Malaysia premier for choosing his daughter as economic adviser; In India, protests continue over sexual harassment within the wrestling federation; Red Cross allowed passage of some wounded in Nagorno Karabakh.

Today's headlines: Death toll in mosque bombing rises to 87; Extremist who recruited militiamen among Rohingya arrested in Bangladesh; In Indonesia, a former leprosy patient builds prosthetics for other lepers; Chinese woman learns 10 dialects to help fellow citizens; Landfills become the only source of livelihood for some Syrian families.

Today's headlines: Israel appears to be behind a drone strike in Iran; Two fatal incidents in Pakistan yesterday; A Bangladeshi boy woke up in Malaysia after being locked in a container; Myanmar's economy will grow by 3 percent, according to the Central Bank; Two Russians who fled the war will be able to stay in the U.S. thanks to the mediation of a Ukrainian-born priest.

The other news of the day: Travel is booming in China for Lunar New Year. Tokyo joins Washington and bans microchip sales to China. Thailand’s general elections is getting underway. India’s Adani group sees market value plunge. In Russia, controversial former Orthodox priest gets more prison time.

Today's headlines: Thai court sentences a man to 28 years in prison for lese majesty; at least 162 victims in Afghanistan of the exceptional cold wave; Tokyo announces Spring downgrade of Covid-19 to a common respiratory infection; India launches its first vaccine in the form of a nasal spray; Seoul and Pyongyang violate armistice by encroaching on hostile territory; warning Russia faces a medicine shortage by 2023.

Today's headlines: Yemen and Lebanon sites included on Unesco's endangered heritages list; Taiwan's 71-year-old former vice-president Chen Chien-jen, a Catholic, will be the new prime minister; police arrest four student leaders for attempting to screen the BBC documentary critical of PM Modi; the Duma approves the law extending the genomic registration requirement to everyone.

Today's headlines: Pyongyang imposes a five-day lockdown for cases of unspecified 'respiratory illness'; Hanoi wants to open up the arms market to foreign companies; A cold wave hits north-east Asia halting transport halted and leaving one victim in Japan; Russia classifies the Andrei Sakharov foundation as an 'undesirable organisation'.