Young Australian men falling victim to online sexual extortion: Regulator

The biggest group falling victim was men aged 18 to 24 years old, with 803 complaints.

Identity of Sydney daycare worker facing 329 child abuse offences revealed

Hamish Tait is accused of abusing 136 children at five childcare facilities over a 16-year period.

S&P maintains Indonesia credit rating, saying fiscal strains could be temporary

S&P expects Indonesia's government revenue to continue recovering this year, and its export receipts to rebound with higher commodity prices.

US MAHA war on seed oils could benefit Asian palm and coconut oil

Thanks to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again tribe, seed oils have been getting a lot of unwanted attention. The MAHA types despise them. Despise is not too strong a word. Cate Shanahan, a central MAHA figure known as “the mother of the seed oil movement,”

China’s Ethnic Unity Law extends legal reach to Taiwan, diaspora

Taiwan’s government and overseas ethnic groups have raised concerns after China implemented the Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress this month, warning it forces Taiwanese people to accept Beijing’s political framework and threatens minority communities well beyond

Singapore's Boutiques fair heads to Bangkok: More than 120 independent brands and what to expect

Singapore's beloved shopping fair is making its international debut in Bangkok from Jul 24 to 26 at IconSiam.

UAE says Iranian missiles struck oil tankers in Strait of Hormuz, one sailor killed

July 14 - One Indian crew member was killed and eight others were wounded when two Emirati oil tankers were struck by Iranian cruise missiles in the Strait of Hormuz, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday, in the latest escalation in the strategic waterway.

Iranian FM mocks Trump talk about guarding strait for 20% fees

The Iranian foreign minister on Monday mocked President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was renewing the US blockade of Iran and that he expected a 20% fee from commercial vessels for “guarding” the key waterway. “POTUS is absolutely right,” the minister, Seyed Abbas

Thai bandmates recount chaos of deadly Bangkok bar fire, as death toll rises to at least 32

Two members of the cover band died and at least two more were injured.

Britain to close loophole blocking deportation of grooming gang ringleader

LONDON, July 13 - The British government said on Monday it would close a legal loophole in its efforts to deport to Pakistan a man who served 14 years in prison for being a leading perpetrator of what is known as the \"grooming gangs\" scandal.

Singaporeans working across Causeway speak of trade-offs - after Malaysia minister suggests growing numbers

Expect a gradual trend in niche sectors and leadership roles, but not the general workforce, experts say.

China detains US seismologist who has studied North Korean nuclear tests

WASHINGTON, July 13 - A Chinese-born American seismologist who has published U.S.-funded work on detecting North Korean nuclear tests has been detained in China for nearly two years and faces trial on spying charges, according to his wife, U.S. lawmakers and two hostage

UN shipping agency opposes fees for any strait, after Trump plans Hormuz charge

LONDON, July 13 - The U.N.'s shipping agency said on Monday that it opposes fees on ships passing through maritime waterways but would await more details after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would reinstate a naval blockade on Iran and charge 20% on all cargo shipped

‘Heartbroken’ but holding on to hope: Families searching desperately for victims of Bangkok bar fire

The blaze at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar and restaurant left 28 dead and over 70 injured to date.

''There was no way to get out': Witnesses describe how deadly inferno swept through Bangkok bar

A musician who was performing when the fire broke out says he crawled for the exit - and was thrown from the bar when something exploded.

Ousted PM Hasina faces prison on return to Bangladesh, minister says

DHAKA, July 13 - Ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be jailed if she returns from self-imposed exile in India, a senior official said on Monday, days after Hasina told Reuters she planned to go back in December and surrender to a court.

Rescuers search for crew member after container ship attack in Strait of Hormuz

NICOSIA, July 13 - An Indian crew member is still missing after a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and a search operation is underway to find him, Cyprus's Deputy Ministry of Shipping said on Monday.

‘No way out’: Survivors describe deadly Bangkok bar inferno

The emergency exits were blocked, as hundreds scrambled to flee a fast-moving fire.

Wedding bells beckon for Syed Saddiq after he walks free – but can he revive his party’s fortunes?

Malaysia's Federal Court upheld ex-minister's acquittal, clearing the way for a political comeback.

The dying nationalist fantasy of an ethnically pure Ukraine

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and their militant Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) wing — which carried out genocide against ethnic Poles and others in pursuit of an ethnically pure state — are considered by many the founding fathers of post-Maidan Ukraine.

Oxford begins first human trial of Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine

July 13 - The University of Oxford has launched the first human trial of a vaccine against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, seeking to accelerate efforts to combat an outbreak spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

'I felt the heat and the burn': How the deadly Bangkok bar fire unfolded

The devastating blaze at the Rong Beer Na Lat Phrao bar in Bangkok's Chatuchak district is the deadliest fire in Thailand since 2009.

Blocked exits, faulty wiring? Thailand probes Bangkok bar fire that killed 28

Many of those who died were found in the toilets, raising questions about safety standards.

Blocked exits, faulty wiring? Thailand probes Bangkok bar fire that killed 27

Many of those who died were found in the toilets, raising questions about safety standards.

Ex-South Korea leader Yoon jailed 2 years over illegal polling

The ruling concerns allegations that Yoon Suk Yeol received free opinion polls between 2021 and 2022 in exchange for supporting a candidate seeking his party's nomination in a parliamentary by-election.

‘Extraordinary confluence’: What China’s latest military moves reveal about its broader strategy

From joint air patrols with Russia and coast guard activity east of Taiwan to a rare missile test in the Pacific, China’s recent moves - although not necessarily coordinated - reflect a push to make a wider range of operations increasingly routine, analysts say.

The crumbling foundations of Indonesian competitiveness

JAKARTA – Indonesia fell to 48th place out of 70 economies on this year’s International Institute for Management Development’s (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking, down from 40th in 2025 and far below its peak position of 27th in 2024. The decline is no mere temporary setback

Malaysia’s former minister Syed Saddiq walks free as prosecution loses appeal on graft charges

Hours after the court hearing, former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman was spotted entering Malaysia’s parliament that was in session in Kuala Lumpur.

South Korean court sentences ex-president Yoon to 2 years’ jail in political funding case

Yoon Suk Yeol is appealing against a life sentence over his short-lived declaration of martial law in 2024.

'One of the greats': reactions to the death of New Zealand actor Sam Neill

July 13 - New Zealand actor Sam Neill died suddenly on Monday aged 78 after recovering from cancer, his family said in a statement on Monday.

Sam Neill, Jurassic Park star, dies at 78

WELLINGTON, July 13 - Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for playing paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in dinosaur blockbuster \"Jurassic Park\" and whose career included more than 50 movies, has died at the age of 78.

Parts of Bangkok declared disaster zones after subsidence

A water leak caused road subsidence and cracks in nearby buildings.

New Zealand actor Sam Neill dies aged 78

WELLINGTON, July 13 - New Zealand actor Sam Neill died suddenly on Monday aged 78 after recovering from cancer, his family said in a statement on Monday.

Why US won’t win with force alone in the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian attacks on Gulf vessels trying to transit via Omani sovereign waters have once again pulled the region into a tit-for-tat spiral of escalation. The US responded by canceling the waiver permitting Iranian oil exports. Two nights of punitive airstrikes by the US Air Force

Heavy rains and flash floods in Bangladesh leave 51 dead

Thousands have lost their homes as flash floods and landslides have hit large parts of the country.

Garbage heap collapse kills 9 at India waste plant

Rescue efforts were hampered by the rain as workers struggled to reach those buried under debris.

Dwindling US firepower doesn’t shrink China’s Taiwan trap

As the US keeps fighting in Iran, China is watching not only what the US can destroy, but how quickly it can replace what it fires. Yet depleted US stockpiles do not make an invasion of Taiwan any less perilous for China. Multiple media outlets reported that the US launched

Hyundai Motor begins three-day strike after wage talks fail

Gwadar’s missing cargo and fast-closing window

Nineteen years ago, on February 6, 2007, Pakistan signed away Gwadar Port’s commercial future for four decades. The government would build the roads, the airport, the expressway, and the breakwater. A private concession-holder would run the port, fill the Free Zone, bring in

Heavy floods submerge roads, vehicles in northern China

Water levels rose to more than 2m on roads in Kuancheng, a county in Hebei.

Japan says it must better combat foreign spies on its soil

Tokyo “must address this issue with even greater rigour”, said chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara.

Watch: At the scene where Bangkok's deadly bar fire unfolded

The BBC’s South East Asia correspondent visits the site where at least 27 people were killed during a bar fire in Thailand.

South Korean singles look for their dream match at Buddhist temple retreat

The most recent retreat drew a record 4,225 applicants for just 20 spots.

Cat food, pickled turnip, snacks: Bear keeps returning to raid the same house in Japan

Bears are increasingly encroaching on urban spaces across Japan.

Vietnam too slow, too timid to defuse its demographic time bomb

Vietnam is one of the most rapidly graying countries in the world, aging at a stage of development that leaves it far less room to adapt than many of its regional peers. Vietnam’s total fertility rate (TFR) fell from 2.11 children per woman in 2021 to 1.91 in 2024, the third

China to see unusually active typhoon season after Bavi passes

As many as six tropical cyclones have been forecast to hit China this summer.

Ex-Malaysia minister Syed Saddiq remains free man after court upholds his graft acquittal

The apex court dismissed the prosecution’s final appeal to reinstate his previous conviction and sentence.

What Canada’s TKMS sub deal means for the Indo-Pacific

During the July 2026 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Prime Minister Carney announced Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as Canada’s primary supplier for 12 diesel-electric Type 212CD submarines over the Republic of Korea (ROK)’s Hanwha