Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says his country will join the United States in taking concrete action against North Korea after its latest ballistic missile test. On Monday, North Korea test-fired a Scud missile into Japanese waters, the third test in as many weeks and the 12th this year - carried out in defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action. "We...

North Korea has test-fired a missile into Japanese waters, the latest in a series of launches that have ratcheted up tensions over its nuclear weapons programme. It was North Korea's third ballistic missile test in as many weeks and the 12th this year - carried out in fresh defiance of UN sanctions warnings and US threats of possible military action. US military monitors said the...

The Philippine government on Sunday formally called off the latest round of peace talks with communist insurgents, after the parties failed to resolve a dispute over a rebel order for fighters to step up attacks. "We are maintaining the decision made not to participate in the fifth round of talks," chief government negotiator Jesus Dureza told journalists after almost 10 hours of closed-door...

The voice is that of a soft-spoken 28-year-old, but the message is vintage Osama bin Laden, giving orders to kill. When the audio recording began turning up on jihadist websites two weeks ago, it was as if the dead terrorist was channeling himself through his favorite son. “Prepare diligently to inflict crippling losses on those who have disbelieved,” Hamza bin Laden, scion of the...

Fighters locked in street-to-street battles with security forces in a southern Philippine city on Mindanao island have killed 19 civilians, the military said on Sunday, bringing the official death toll from nearly a week of fighting to nearly 100. The violence prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law on Tuesday across the southern third of the Philippines to quell what he...

Sri Lankans recovering from devastating floods are bracing themselves for more rain as emergency teams rush to deliver aid. Floodwaters receded on Sunday but many villages were still inundated. At least 146 people have been killed and nearly 500,000 displaced in the flooding and mudslides triggered by heavy rains on Friday. Another 112 people are still missing, officials said. Military...

Foreign fighters were among local gunmen clashing with the Philippine army in Mindanao island, authorities said on Friday, in a rare admission that outsiders were collaborating with domestic groups. Military officials said Malaysians and Indonesians were among six killed on Thursday in battles that have raged for four days in Marawi City, where the army has been trying to flush out rebels of...

Indian acid-attack victim Lalita Ben Bansi beamed with joy at her wedding near Mumbai this week. "Who would have thought an acid attack and 17 surgeries later I would find love. But it happened," she told the Hindustan Times at the ceremony in Thane. She found her husband, Ravi Shankar, thanks to a wrong number. The 26-year-old, who was attacked by a relative in 2012, said finding love...

A bomb explosion at a hospital in downtown Bangkok has "slightly" injured at least 24 people, police in the Thai capital said. Monday's incident took place as Thailand marked the three-year anniversary of the May 2014 military coup. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. The explosion occurred in a guest room for retired military officials at King Mongkut hospital, and all of...

Indonesian police have arrested 141 men attending what they called a "gay sex party" at a sauna in the capital Jakarta late on Sunday. Police said attendees, including a Briton and a Singaporean, paid 185,000 rupiahs ($14) to attend. Indonesia has witnessed increasing hostility towards its small and low-profile LGBTQ community. Homosexuality is not illegal under Indonesian law, except in...