Malaysia has begun sending thousands of asylum seekers back to Myanmar under a controversial agreement. The agreement is with the country’s military government, prompting warnings from human rights groups. Three Myanmar navy ships carried the first 1,476 returnees from Malaysia on Tuesday, with about 5,000 people expected to be repatriated. Kuala Lumpur says the returns
Sri Lanka’s High Court has convicted 15 men over their alleged roles in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. This brings a major legal development in one of the country’s darkest attacks. The coordinated blasts struck three churches and three luxury hotels, killing 270 people and injuring more than 500. Among the dead were 45 foreigners,
Could AI really help build a missile? Anthropic says a group in Yemen tried to do exactly that. It used its Claude chatbot to develop software for guided rockets and missiles. In a report, the US AI company said it uncovered a threat cell in northern Yemen working on three weapons programmes. These included a
China’s humanoid robot race just got a major vote of confidence from investors. Unitree Robotics soared more than 460% on its Shanghai debut, closing at 845 yuan after shares were initially offered at 150.80 yuan. But why is Wall Street-style excitement building around robots that still struggle to do many everyday tasks? Unitree, founded in
A former Thai lawmaker allegedly shot a local government official near Bangkok. He then called a political commentator on YouTube to tell her what he had done. Former Nonthaburi MP Chalong Reawraeng reportedly told livestream host Anchalee Paireerak that he had shot Thongchai Yenprasert outside his office. Thongchai, a retired police colonel, was struck in
What happens when relentless rain turns deadly? For communities in northwestern China, the answer has been heartbreaking. Authorities have now raised the death toll from last week’s flash floods in Gansu Province to 25. Another 23 people were injured after torrential rain battered the region. The floods struck Weiyuan County in Dingxi City on July
Imagine boarding a crowded boat in search of safety—only to disappear without a trace. That’s the heartbreaking reality feared for around 530 Rohingya asylum seekers who left Myanmar’s Rakhine state on 29 June. They have never been heard from again. Aid workers believe both overcrowded boats likely capsized in rough monsoon seas. With communications in
How do you prepare when a storm powerful enough to level buildings is heading straight for your home? That’s the reality facing thousands of people in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Super Typhoon Bavi barrels toward the US Pacific territories. Forecasters expect the storm to make landfall early Monday with sustained winds of up
A school shooting in the Philippines has left the nation asking a painful question. How prepared are schools for a crisis few ever imagined? Three students were killed and 20 others injured after two teenage classmates allegedly opened fire at a public high school in Tacloban City. The attack, carried out with a 9mm pistol
How much frustration does it take to push hundreds of students onto the streets? In Indonesia’s capital on Friday, many young people said they had reached their limit. Students gathered in Jakarta to protest policies they believe are steering the country toward financial trouble. Their main targets were President Prabowo Subianto’s costly free meals programme.
What are the chances of surviving nearly a week alone in Everest’s deadly thin air? For veteran Nepali guide Dawa Sherpa, the answer turned out to be astonishingly high. The experienced climber, known as “Hillary” Dawa Sherpa, was feared dead after disappearing while descending Mount Everest following a successful summit. Last seen at around 7,500
What does an explosion sound like in a place already living on the edge of conflict? In northern Myanmar’s Shan State, villagers in Kaung Tat may now know the answer—after a massive blast killed at least 55 people and left dozens injured. The explosion ripped through the village in Namkham Township, near the Chinese border.
