China pushes back against US on Iran and Cuba in UN speech

Respect for Gulf sovereignty and an end to pressure on Cuba dominate China’s UN speech, as Vice President Han Zheng pushes back without naming the US.

Death toll from Indonesia ferry sinking jumps to 64

The Virgo Transport 8 was carrying 213 passengers and 30 crew when it lost contact with its shipping company after departing from Indonesia's second largest city Surabaya on Java island.

Bangladesh launches measles vaccination drive amid deadly outbreak

Health experts have attributed the crisis to disruptions in routine immunisation programmes in 2024 and 2025, when political turmoil, changes to vaccine procurement and the postponement or cancellation of vaccination campaigns left many children unprotected.

India's election commission orders review of voter-roll changes

NEW DELHI, Sept 26 - The Election Commission of India ordered a review of its voter-roll software on Saturday after a newspaper reported that its chief had been questioned by his deputies over changes to voter lists that excluded millions of voters.

In Washington, Xi got the word he wanted

Trump is dealing with a China that has proved much harder to squeeze than the one in 2018.

Blast in Pakistan's Dera Ismail Khan kills 11, injures 30

Sept 26 - Eleven people were killed and 30 injured in a blast in Dera Ismail Khan in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, emergency service Rescue 1122 said.

China says it 'respects' Trump's 'super intelligence' switch from AI

Beijing's foreign ministry said on Saturday (Sep 26) it "attaches importance" to US President Donald Trump's adoption of the term "super intelligence".

Drought declared in three-quarters of India's richest state

Drought declared in three-quarters of India’s richest state

This comes after a prolonged low rainfall in the region home to the megacity of Mumbai.

'I felt embarrassed': Japan esports whizz-kid, 11, wins Games gold

Yuki Kurihara, a bespectacled primary school student believed to be the youngest competitor at the Games in Aichi-Nagoya, won the Puyo Puyo Champions final 10-2.

Japan organisers 'not satisfied' as empty seats blight Asian Games

The Aichi-Nagoya Games said that less than 60 per cent of tickets had been snapped up for eight sports, including football, with a similar amount unsold for the closing ceremony in eight days' time.

Malaysian PM Anwar says he is still waiting for Anthony Loke’s official resignation letter

Anwar was asked on Sept 26 to comment on the status of Loke’s resignation.

New Zealand Nationalist Party vows to scrap longtime indigenous tribunal

The party said it will get back to everyone being equal citizens with equal rights.

Bangkok roads submerged as flood disaster declared

An emergency has been declared across the capital of Thailand as days of heavy rain leave the city inundated.

Floods, fury and new calls for independence in Aceh

Thousands gathered at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh on August 15, 2026, to commemorate 21 years of peace between Indonesia and the separatist Free Aceh Movement, or GAM. Some participants raised GAM’s red, black and white crescent-star flag and chanted “Free Aceh,”

Indonesia fires threaten critically endangered orang utan: IUCN

Fires are burning within habitats containing 52 per cent of Borneo’s orang utan population.

Are the Americans returning to Myanmar? They never really left

Adam Castillo, a former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar who had lobbied for sanctions relief in exchange for US, was released in recent days after spending over three months in detention. In the same week, Time magazine’s Charlie Campbell sat down with

China, US to open AI 'communication channel' after summit

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed that they would meet a third and fourth time this year at international summits in China and the United States.

Heavy rain and flooding in Bangkok disrupts traffic and prompts evacuations

Major canals in Bangkok filled with accumulated rainfall exceeding 20cm, officials said on Saturday.

Bangkok declares disaster after homes flooded, roads submerged by heavy rain

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cut short a trip to London to return home after more than 300mm of rain fell in some areas between Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning, according to officials.

Time’s no longer on Israel’s side in America

For eight decades, the Israeli political and security establishment has operated on a premise so deeply embedded that it is rarely stated as a premise at all: that American support is not a policy but a condition of nature, as fixed as the Mediterranean coastline.

Homes flooded, roads submerged: Bangkok declares disaster over heavy rain

The disaster designation came after the governor said almost 300mm of rain had fallen since Sept 24.

The politics limiting US arms deliveries to Taiwan

On March 28, 2025 a rollout ceremony took place at Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production facility in Greenville, South Carolina. Two F16V block 70 jets were ready for final testing, and the ceremony marked the formal handover to Taiwan. The Greenville ceremony was attended by

'World records not enough': North Korea weightlifters target Olympic gold rush

North Korea has been the dominant force in global weightlifting since its self-imposed COVID-19 exile, setting six world record records at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023.

Weak magnitude-3.3 earthquake detected in Sabah’s Kinabatangan district

Sabah experiences relatively frequent low-magnitude earthquakes due to its proximity to active seismic zones.

Arming Taiwan an important US interest, Taipei official says after Trump-Xi summit

TAIPEI, Sept 26 - The United States providing weapons to Taiwan to protect its freedom and provide semiconductors to the world is in the US national interest, a senior Taiwanese diplomat said on Saturday following a summit between the Chinese and US presidents.

Commentary: Anthony Loke resignation offer matters little to DAP’s fate

The Democratic Action Party chief's decision to resign as Malaysia's transport minister in protest over Najib Razak’s conditional pardon is symptomatic of a deeper crisis for his party that won’t be fixed by a single gesture, writes CNA’s Leslie Lopez.

Uyghur advocates in Washington rally against visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping

Crowds gathered near the White House as U.S. President Trump hosted Xi for a state dinner.

US deportations to Vietnam surge: Returnees struggle to rebuild lives in an unfamiliar country

Some have spent decades in America and arrive with no family, money or ability to speak Vietnamese.

OpenAI Australia data breach reinforces PM Albanese’s AI safeguards push

There are calls for the Office of AI to help oversee testing and evaluations of new AI models.

From BTS to makgeolli: S. Korea’s rural tourism push goes beyond Seoul

It is leveraging K-culture icons to tell foreign tourists that the country is more than the capital city, Busan and Jeju.

Pakistani, Saudi, Turkish chiefs discuss closer military ties

Sept 26 - The military chiefs of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey discussed enhancing intelligence sharing, military coordination and capability integration at a meeting in Riyadh on Friday, according to statements from Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry and Pakistan's military.

Chile seizes more than 200 fossils of extinct mollusks

SANTIAGO, Sept 25 - Customs officials in Chile discovered and seized more than 200 fossils of ammonites in a shipping container from Madagascar that had been declared as containing household ornaments, the customs authority of the South American country said on Friday.

Lao migrant’s disappearance in Thailand seems like transnational repression, NGO says

Khieo Lapchanh is the latest Lao asylum seeker to disappear mysteriously in Bangkok