NUWAKOT, Nepal — A lake formed by a landslide on the Nepal-China border started to overflow on Friday (Aug 28), putting at risk areas devastated by a flash flood two days ago and forcing a temporary halt to rescue efforts, authorities on both sides said.Residents in Nepal's Rasuwa district, on the border with China's Tibet, were seen rushing up hillsides to escape any surge in the river […]

PENGHU, Taiwan - In the pre-dawn darkness on an island in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanese troops earlier this month pulled long, gleaming 105mm shells from their green plastic canisters. After all the ammunition had been checked and safely loaded through hatches on four tanks, troops waited silently for the order to fire.The soldiers are among the thousands of troops that form a garrison on the […]

JAKARTA — Transport authorities in Indonesia's capital suspended or diverted some rail and bus routes on Friday (Aug 28) following street protests that local media said had turned into late night rioting.Demonstrations by various groups started on Thursday morning near parliament amid heavy security on the anniversary of deadly anti-government protests last year, which lasted two weeks and […]

CHANAE, Thailand — Security guard Ni-arfan Doloh was taking a routine photograph for his nightly report on Saturday (Aug 22) when five masked men carrying rifles emerged from inside a government office in Thailand's southern Narathiwat province."I was shocked," said Ni-arfan, 25, recalling how they led him and another guard behind the Chang Phueak sub-district office, instructed them to sit […]

KATHMANDU - Nepal does not need foreign assistance for search-and-rescue operations following the devastating flash flood that swept through several towns, its foreign ministry said on Friday (Aug 28), despite offers of help from several countries with nationals missing in the disaster.The flood tore through areas including Rasuwa district near the Chinese border, levelling entire towns, damaging […]

SEOUL — South Korea supports US President Donald Trump's efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea and will actively back confidence-building measures and the restart of talks between the two sides, South Korea's national security adviser said on Friday (Aug 28).Seoul believes the resumption of talks between the US and North Korea should focus on substantive progress on the North Korean […]

SEOUL — South Korea, Japan and the US will conduct joint military drills from Sept 9 to 11 to test readiness against North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons threats, South Korea said on Friday (Aug 28)The annual Freedom Edge drills, which are defensive in nature, will be held in international waters to the south and east of the South Korean southern island of Jeju, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of […]

NUWAKOT, Nepal — Rescue teams using heavy machinery dug through mud and debris in Nepalese towns devastated by a flash flood two days ago, as hopes of finding survivors faded and officials worked to reduce the risk of fresh flooding.The confirmed death toll in Nepal was at 389 people early on Friday (Aug 28), with almost 1,000 more missing there and in neighbouring Tibet, near where a […]

MANILA — Meta and gaming platform Roblox have agreed to strengthen child-safety protections for Philippine users, Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said on Thursday (Aug 27).The measures include age-verification, parental controls, faster takedowns of harmful content and closer co-operation with law enforcement, he said.The commitments were made during meetings […]

JAKARTA — Indonesia stepped up security around parliament in the capital Jakarta and in other major cities on Thursday (Aug 27) as demonstrators gathered for rallies, a year after a wave of violent anti-government protests erupted across the country.Thousands of students and civilians joined nationwide protests against the government's spending priorities in August last year. Ten people […]