Sources in Tibet and Nepal reveal stories of flood destruction, survival

Among the thousands of missing people are 10 Tibetan tour guides, who worked near the border.

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong to enter plea in foreign collusion trial

He is already serving a nearly five-year sentence for subversion and was due to be released in 2026.

Thailand sentences activist over royal motorcade livestream

Tantawan denied charges of breaching Thailand’s strict lese-majeste law.

Trump warns Iran of ‘biggest attack of them all’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued yet another threat to all but wipe out Iran as the US military restarted its bombing campaign. In a Truth Social post, the president warned Iran against striking back at the US shortly after American forces began bombing Islamic

US shops allied frigates to close China shipbuilding gap

The search for a new US frigate is becoming a test of whether allied shipyards can buy enough time to rebuild the country’s shipbuilding industrial base against China. This month, USNI News reported that the US is evaluating guided-missile frigate designs from Japan, South

‘Like a mud apocalypse’: Survivors reckon with devastation after Nepal’s deadly flood

A week after a catastrophic flood tore through Nepal’s Himalayan valleys, thousands remain missing and rescue teams are still searching for survivors. CNA meets families waiting desperately for news and residents confronting the destruction of their communities.

Commentary: Rebuilding Nepal without repeating mistakes of 2015 earthquake

The question is not simply how to respond to the flood, but how to reduce the economic and human consequences of the next disaster, says this researcher.

Time for binding rules on self-targeting autonomous weapons

Government experts are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to work towards a possible negotiating mandate on autonomous weapons systems (AWS). These are military systems that can select and engage targets without human intervention. This major international gathering follows a

Rivers turn to conveyor belts of dead bodies with more washing up at Nepal’s shores

Nepal adopts temporary burials and DNA testing to identify the dead.

PAS and UMNO are set to propose a Malay unity pact, but can they settle their seat disputes?

Big wins at two state polls have put cooperation at the election due by early 2028 on the cards.

Pacific Islands Forum meeting ‘less productive’ with a third of its leaders absent

Analysts say Beijing’s influence may have undermined the event, where the China-Taiwan rivalry is front and center.

US urges G20 to cut trade imbalances, focus on China

The US presses G20 countries to confront trade gaps with China, but divisions over subsidies, rare earth curbs and Russia cloud a joint communique.

Nepal disaster a climate 'warning signal': Foreign minister

"The support to Nepal should not be just seen from an angle of aid or charity, but should be seen from a perspective of climate justice as well," says Nepal's foreign minister.

Nepali families hold symbolic funerals for missing after floods

As nearly 4,000 people remain missing after Nepal’s deadly flash floods, families hold symbolic funerals to free the souls of loved ones they cannot find.

River water smashed into tunnel and chased me for 20 minutes, Nepal worker tells BBC

Major efforts to rescue hydropower workers continue as Nepal's death toll exceeds 1,000.

China and the US offer competing showcases of global power

Xi Jinping’s summit and a G-20 meeting offer a split-screen view of a changing world.

Thailand halves visa-free stays to 30 days for passport holders from 60 places, including Singapore

The change ends the special 60-day visa-exemption arrangement.

Himalayas face severe glacial flood risks in years ahead, UN official warns

ISLAMABAD, Sept 1 - The Himalayan region faces severe risks from future glacial floods, a senior U.N. official has warned, as the death toll from last week's flood in Nepal, triggered by a glacier's collapse, surpassed 1,000.

Thailand shortens visa-free stays for dozens of nations, including Singapore, from Sep 15

Thai officials said the move is part of an effort to curb crime involving foreign nationals.

Women survivors face sanitation woes in Nepal relief camp

Women at a school camp said they have had to contend with inadequate toilet facilities and unsanitary conditions.

COSCO’s global fleet doubles as Beijing spy network, US says

US officials say COSCO ships let China spy on military communications and vital global trade routes.

Trump running out of bullets against an intractable Iran

President Donald Trump has entangled the United States in a war of choice with Iran that he cannot easily win or quit. The war was meant to be what Trump called “a little excursion” that would be over within a few weeks. But it is now into its seventh month, with no end in

Asia • 1d

India, Indonesia’s hidden hands in SE Asia’s scam centers

The American response to Southeast Asia’s industrial-scale scam compounds has been vigorous, even theatrical at times, yet it remains strikingly incomplete. In April 2026, the Justice Department’s Scam Center Strike Force seized 503 domains designed to impersonate legitimate

Asia • 1d

Whisper stuff: the call Wall Street can’t put in writing

One of the small costs of running money is that you stop having time to read the people you most want to read. For me, that is Matt Levine, whose Money Stuff column runs on Bloomberg, and who has spent a decade explaining financial plumbing better than anyone alive while making

Asia • 1d

South Korea proposes record $761.6b 2027 budget to supercharge AI investment

The proposal signals a shift in Asia’s fourth-largest economy under South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

Nepal-Tibet toll tops 1,000 as tunnel rescue offers last hope

The death toll across Nepal and Tibet rose to 1,003, while nearly 4,500 people remained missing.

Japan to relax overtime regulation under workaholic PM Sanae Takaichi

Change partly reflects calls from certain sectors for more flexible work styles amid labour crunch.

Chinese rescue work in Tibet flood disaster zone still trudging along days later

BEIJING, Sept 1 - Chinese rescue teams worked through the night and relentless rain to restore the last remaining kilometre of the sole road leading to the Gyirong border crossing into Nepal, torn apart by a catastrophic mudslide last week.

China better suited to build, not own, Indonesia’s solar dream

Indonesia wants China’s help building enough solar power to electrify 100 mid-sized cities without actually owning the capacity. On July 17 in Shanghai, Indonesia’s economy minister, Airlangga Hartarto, asked China’s trade minister, Wang Wentao, to invest in developing 100

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'We're coming to get them': Rescuers pin hopes on underground spaces after deadly Nepal floods

Tunnel expert Arnold Dix says large underground areas may have sheltered workers from the devastation, as rescue work continues in hydropower sites.

North Korea-US summit appears 'possible at any time': Seoul spy agency

Trump, eyeing a revived bond he claims to have with Kim, also said in August it was important to "get along" with the North Korean leader, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons.

South Korea's policy chief resigns after investments controversy

Top policy adviser Kim Yong-beom's resignation came a day after President Lee Jae Myung's administration announced a sweeping Cabinet reshuffle, including new finance and defence ministers, in an apparent bid to shore up its approval ratings.

The final minutes before floodwater crashed through Nepal-China border

More than 100 Indians are missing at a vital Nepal-China trade crossing after devastating Himalayan floods.

Nepal’s wall of missing offers last hope after Himalayan flood

Photos of the missing are plastered along a 25m wall at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital.

Indonesia closes 9 national parks temporarily following forest fires; prioritises firefighting in 6 provinces

Indonesia is battling fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra, with some areas in Borneo remaining blanketed by “hazardous” levels of haze.

South Korea police officer admits to closing missing person cases to avoid work

The officer falsely claimed he contacted missing persons and prematurely closed their cases on the South Korean holiday island of Jeju.

UNHCR says it has no role in Malaysia’s planned repatriation of Myanmar refugees

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim earlier said Myanmar had agreed to repatriate 5,000 Rohingya.

UNHCR says it has no role in Malaysia's planned repatriation of Myanmar refugees, warns country is still unsafe

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 - The United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday it was not involved in Malaysia's planned repatriation of Myanmar refugees, and warned that it remains unsafe for them to return to the war-torn country.

Nepal rescuers reach remote areas, electricity restored nearly a week after devastating floods

About 600 people remain stuck in several devastated hydropower stations that have become the focus of rescue efforts.

'I've never been to Afghanistan': Six million deportees forced to start over under the Taliban

As of August, the number forced to return this year from Pakistan and Iran had reached another million.

Japan faces day of policy reckoning as Bessent calls time on big stimulus

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, Aug 31 - When the U.S. joined Japan's efforts to shore up the yen, it wasn't for nothing. This week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spelt out the terms: get busy on interest rate hikes and end outdated ideas about big economic stimulus.

North Korea-US summit appears ‘possible at any time’: Seoul spy agency

The remarks followed a briefing by Seoul’s intelligence agency.

North Korea and US show signs of resuming dialogue, South Korean lawmaker says

SEOUL, Sept 1 - North Korea and the United States are showing signs of resuming dialogue, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday after being briefed by Seoul's intelligence agency.

Olympic tennis champ Zheng donates $190,771 to Nepal-Tibet disaster

Nearly 4,500 people are missing and more than 900 confirmed dead after the floods.

Indonesia’s Destry Damayanti wins parliament’s backing as central bank chief, to prioritise stability

Analysts have said Destry would provide continuity in monetary policy.

Indonesian fires drive regional haze alerts and school closures

Air quality ranged from “very unhealthy” to “hazardous” in parts of the Philippines and much of Borneo.

Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing to visit Vietnam this week, continuing push for re-engagement

The visit comes as Min Aung Hlaing continues to seek legitimacy and recognition of his presidency.

Trump’s try to keep the Iran war from backfiring further

Despite the excitement around Donald Trump’s new sanctions and even the US strikes against the Iranian island of Larak just hours ago, much suggests that Trump is not seeking a dramatic ratcheting up of pressure on Iran. According to reports Sunday, the US military hit Iranian

Asia • 1d

China slams ‘malicious’ Indian media accusations on deadly flood

A nationalist Indian TV personality, Arnab Goswami, called the Nepal floods a possible “China made” disaster.

Taiwan’s chip prowess is built on democracy and rule of law, president says

President Lai Ching-te said AI computing power requires chips and global collaboration.