Asia Pacific

King Charles tells summit the past can’t be changed as leaders ask Britain to reckon with slavery

King Charles III has told a summit of Commonwealth countries in Samoa that the past could not be changed as he indirectly acknowledged calls from some of Britain’s former colonies for a reckoning over its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

‘US doesn’t see me as an American’: Thousands of adoptees live in limbo without citizenship

Thousands were adopted to the US but not made citizens. Decades later, they risk being deported

Deadly storm blows away from northern Philippines, but forecasters warn it may do a U-turn

Japan’s ruling party may struggle in Sunday’s vote, but its decades of dominance won’t end

1 dead and 12 injured after bus carrying Japanese tourists smashes into truck in Malaysia

One of Japan’s largest travel agencies says a tourist died and 12 other people were injured when their a tour bus smashed into the rear of a truck on a highway in Malaysia.

Tropical Storm Dana brings heavy rains and strong wind to India’s eastern coast

Tropical Storm Dana is bringing strong winds and heavy rain to India’s eastern coast, uprooting trees and bringing a flood risk after nearly 600,000 people evacuated.

2 Indian soldiers and 2 civilian porters are killed in an alleged rebel ambush in Kashmir

Authorities say two Indian army soldiers and their two civilian porters have been killed in a rebel ambush in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Militants attack a security post in northwest Pakistan, killing 10 officers

Authorities say a group of militants attacked a security post in northwest Pakistan and killed 10 officers in an intense shootout.

Climate-threatened Pacific Islands criticize Australia at Commonwealth meeting

Several Pacific island nations singled out Australia to do more to phase out fossil fuel exports during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which opened in Samoa on Thursday.

Australia and UK make pact to partner on 2050 net-zero climate goal

Australia and the United Kingdom have deepened ties by agreeing to collaborate on climate change and energy initiatives, aiming to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, while also reaffirming their mutual commitment to develop nuclear submarines for both nations under the AUKUS treaty.

International Criminal Court reports Mongolia to its oversight body for failing to arrest Putin

A panel of judges at the International Criminal Court has reported Mongolia to the court’s oversight organization for failing to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin when he visited the Asian nation last month.

Jailed former Malaysian leader apologizes for fund embezzlement scandal, reiterates his innocence

Imprisoned former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak issued a rare apology over the looting of a state investment fund worth billions of dollars “under my watch” while reiterating his innocence.

Wife of Pakistan’s imprisoned former premier Imran Khan freed on bail

The wife of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan was released from a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, a day after a court granted her bail in a graft case.

Sri Lanka says 3 locals were arrested over a possible attack on Israel tourists

Sri Lanka police have arrested three persons in connection with a possible attack on Israel travellers in the Indian ocean island, a government minister said on Thursday, a day after the authorities stepped up the security across the country, with the United States warning of an attack targeting a p

An Afghan province bans all media from showing images of living things to comply with Taliban laws

Taliban officials in Afghanistan’s south have banned all media from showing images of living things to comply with the Taliban’s morality laws.

Russian lawmakers ratify pact with North Korea as US confirms that Pyongyang sent troops to Russia

Russian lawmakers have ratified a pact with North Korea envisioning mutual military assistance, a move that comes even as the U.S. confirmed the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russia.

Indonesia says its coast guard drove away Chinese ship that interrupted survey in disputed sea

Indonesian patrol ships drove a Chinese coast guard vessel away from a survey vessel in a disputed area of the South China Sea for the second time in three days, Indonesian authorities said Thursday.

Pakistani security forces kill 19 militants in separate shootouts

Pakistani authorities say security forces faced off with insurgents in three separate shootouts, killing 19 militants.

India evacuates hundreds of thousands of people and shuts schools as a tropical storm nears

Indian authorities have shut schools, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and canceled trains in parts of the country as a tropical storm strengthens in the Bay of Bengal.

Trash carried by a North Korean balloon again falls on the presidential compound in Seoul

South Korea says trash carried by a North Korean balloon has fallen on the presidential compound in central Seoul.

Explosion in a packed Kabul market injures 11 people, including children, humanitarian group says

A nongovernmental group says an explosion in a packed Kabul market has injured 11 people, including some children.

India’s Modi and Chinese President Xi meet days after a border accord between the countries

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping have met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Russia, in their first bilateral meeting in five years.

Arrested Philippine televangelist confronted in the Senate by women he’s accused of sexually abusing

Former followers of an arrested Filipino televangelist confronted him in a Senate hearing Wednesday, accusing him of repeatedly abusing them sexually by portraying the assaults as their religious duty to the “appointed son of God.”

An anti-whaling activist will stay in detention in Greenland

A court in Greenland has once again decided to extend the custody of anti-whaling campaigner Paul Watson till Nov. 13 while Denmark considers a Japanese extradition request.

Adoptee deported from the US over lack of citizenship criticizes South Korea and agency

Adam Crapser, an adoptee who was deported to South Korea in 2016 because his American parents never secured his citizenship, has delivered a scathing denunciation of the Korean government and his adoption agency in a Seoul appeals court.

Hong Kong discovers dinosaur fossils for the first time

Officials in Hong Kong say they have discovered dinosaur fossils in the city for the first time on a remote, uninhabited island that’s part of a geopark.

Japan prepares to cheer on Ohtani and the Dodgers, and the country is dressing for the occasion

Television ratings in Japan have set records as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shohei Ohtani have reached the World Series against the New York Yankees.

Pakistan police arrest 3 men who stabbed and killed 2 transgender women at their home

Pakistan’s police have arrested three men on suspicion of killing two transgender women with daggers at their home in the country’s conservative northwest.

Pakistani court grants bail to the wife of imprisoned ex-Premier Imran Khan

A defense lawyer says a Pakistani court has granted bail to the wife of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a graft case.

Malaysia charges 22 members of an Islamic business group, including its CEO, for organized crime

Twenty-two members of an Islamic business group, including its CEO, have been charged for being part of an organized crime group after hundreds of children believed to have been sexually abused were rescued from welfare homes linked to the group.

Indigenous Australian who confronted King Charles III says she won’t be ‘shut down’

An Indigenous senator has intensified her criticism of King Charles III, again accusing the British monarch of complicity in the “genocide” against Australia’s First Peoples and declaring she will not be “shut down.”

Fresh tension grips Bangladesh as student protesters demand president’s resignation

Political tension in Bangladesh is growing after a leading student group called for the country’s figurehead president to resign over his comments that appeared to call into question former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in August.

Sri Lanka police raise security at popular surf site over threat to Israelis

Sri Lanka’s police are raising security around a popular tourist destination after receiving information about a possible attack on Israeli travelers.

Floods in Philippines kill at least 9 and trap others on roofs as storm approaches

Torrential rain set off by an approaching storm has swamped eastern Philippine cities and towns in widespread floods that have killed at least nine people, trapped others on their roofs and sparked frantic appeals for help.

An Air New Zealand flight to Auckland diverts to Melbourne because of disruptive passenger

An Air New Zealand flight bound for Auckland, New Zealand, from Perth, Australia, has been forced to divert after a passenger became disruptive.

Pakistani parliamentary panel picks a judge third on seniority list to head Supreme Court

Government officials in Pakistan say a parliamentary panel has recommended the appointment of one of the three senior judges as the chief justice.

Giant fish thought to be extinct is spotted in the Mekong River

Scientists say a giant fish in the Mekong River thought to be extinct has been spotted three times in recent years.

About 140 Rohingya Muslims on wooden boat off Indonesia’s coast as residents refuse to let them land

Indonesian officials say about 140 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslims, mostly women and children, are on a wooden boat anchored about 1 mile off the coast of Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh, and local residents refused to allow them onto land.

Lee Kuan Yew’s youngest son says the UK has granted him asylum from persecution in Singapore

Lee Hsien Yang, the estranged brother of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, says he is now a “political refugee” after the British government granted him asylum from what he described as persecution at home.