Asia

Saudi Arabia's aviation authority says attacks on Jazan and Najran airports caused three minor injuries and damage. The Houthis claim they also hit Riyadh's main airport and an Aramco refinery, which Riyadh has not confirmed. Iran's president says talks with Washington are meaningless.

Air quality in every region of Singapore was in the unhealthy range on Tuesday, with the 24-hour PSI reaching 135 in the central region by 5pm. The National Environment Agency says smoke from fires in southern Sumatra and West Kalimantan is drifting towards the island.

South Korea's military has destroyed a North Korean minefield south of the Military Demarcation Line, two weeks after a blast wounded three of its soldiers. Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul called the operation the first of its kind in the DMZ's history. North Korea denies planting the mines.

The main stories from across Asia on Tuesday, 6 October 2026: Pakistan and Türkiye agree to send forces to Saudi Arabia, Philippine inflation jumps to 7.2%, the PTI march reaches Kohat, a film about a 1974 assassination divides South Korea, and Malaysia approves the return of 3,524 more Myanmar nationals.

A South Korean film about the 1974 killing of first lady Yuk Young-soo has drawn protests outside an actor's home and demands from the conservative opposition that it be withdrawn. The culture minister has asked police to protect the cast and rejected calls to stop screenings as a return to censorship.

Consumer prices in the Philippines rose 7.2% in September from a year earlier, up from 6.1% in August and above every forecast in a poll of economists. Rice was 20.3% dearer and transport 14.6%. The central bank next meets on 22 October.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye have agreed to put the collective defence commitments of their Makkah alliance into immediate effect, with Pakistani and Turkish forces to be made available for rapid deployment in the kingdom. A retired Pakistani general becomes the alliance's first secretary-general.

Yemen's Saudi-backed forces say they have retaken Dhubab district and positions near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, with 100 coalition jets in support, as the government announces an offensive on Houthi-held Sanaa. The claims are unverified.

AMRO, the economic watchdog for Southeast Asia, China, Japan and South Korea, kept its regional growth forecast at 4.1% for 2026 and raised 2027 to 4.1%, while warning that the same AI boom lifting exports could cause financial stress if it reverses.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi opened a 69-day Diet session by calling China an "important neighbour", promising a two-year cut in the food consumption tax from 8% to 1% without new deficit bonds, and pledging a population strategy by year-end.

The main stories from across Asia on Monday, 5 October 2026: Imran Khan’s party begins its march, the Asian Games end in Nagoya, the Flydubai investigation reaches Australia, Yemen’s government goes on the offensive and Indonesia arrests 12 terror suspects.

Investigators in several countries are now looking into the co-pilot accused of attacking Indian captain Smit Machchhar on Flydubai flight FZ1073. Australian counter-terrorism police are examining his years as a student in Melbourne, and the UAE’s top prosecutor has called the attack an attempted “terrorist act”.