Asia

The last US troops are due to leave Iraq by September 30, ending a military presence that began in 2003. Baghdad calls it a return of full sovereignty, but Kurdish leaders warn of weak air defences and militias that refuse to disarm.

An Israeli strike on a Gaza City apartment killed Izz al-Din al-Beik, head of Hamas's armed wing in northern Gaza. Israel says he planned attacks, Hamas confirmed his death and accuses Israel of undermining a ceasefire that has stalled on disarmament.

A Myanmar military airstrike on a riverside market in Kyauktaw, Rakhine state, killed at least 50 people and wounded 58 on Monday, according to aid workers and the Arakan Army. The market is a trading hub on the river route to India.

Pakistan has sealed routes into Islamabad with shipping containers ahead of a PTI march demanding Imran Khan's release. The party has pushed the march to October 4, while detentions, Section 144 and road closures are hurting daily life and business.

North Korea told the UN General Assembly its nuclear status 'can never be reversed', while South Korea's military said North Korean landmines very likely caused a DMZ explosion that seriously injured two of its soldiers.

China's cyberspace regulator has proposed rules requiring games, social media, AI services and phones to automatically switch under-16 users into 'minor mode', using ID checks, non-stored facial recognition and behaviour analysis to identify them. Comments close on October 17.

Profits at China's major industrial firms rose 15.7% in January-August to 5.27 trillion yuan, but August growth slowed to 4.2%. Electronics profits more than doubled on AI demand and drove 62% of the gain, while utilities and consumer sectors lagged.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu made an unannounced day trip to Abu Dhabi on September 27 to meet UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, as he disputes a Haaretz report that the UAE leader warned him before the October 7 attack.

Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that barcodes and QR codes on ballots in the February 8 election did not breach voter secrecy, dismissing an Ombudsman petition and averting a possible re-run that could have shaken PM Anutin Charnvirakul's coalition.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has granted an absolute pardon to Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina migrant worker arrested with heroin in Indonesia in 2010 whose 2015 execution was halted at the last minute.

Two weeks after the Virgo Transport 8 capsized in the Java Sea on its way from Surabaya to Banjarmasin, Indonesia's search agency says 64 people are dead and 71 still missing. The search has been extended by seven days.

Nepal PM Balendra Shah proposed a Nepal-India-China Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism at the UN to share satellite data and early warnings. What it means for India.