Asia
Philippine Inflation Jumps to 7.2% in September, the Fastest Since March 2023, as Rice Prices Rise 20%
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.
Asia
Asia Is Most Exposed if the AI Boom Turns, AMRO Warns, Even as It Holds Regional Growth at 4.1%
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.
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Asia
Indonesia’s Prabowo Names Career Diplomat Arrmanatha Nasir Foreign Minister, Replaces Police Chief and Revives a 26-Member Advisory Council
President Prabowo Subianto has reshuffled his cabinet, moving Sugiono out of the foreign ministry and appointing career diplomat Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir. A day later he swore in a 26-member Presidential Advisory Council.
Asia
Myanmar Airstrike on Kyauktaw Market in Rakhine Kills 50, Wounds 58, Aid Workers Say
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.
Asia
Thailand’s Constitutional Court Upholds February Election, Rules Barcoded Ballots Did Not Breach Voter Secrecy
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.
Asia
Philippines’ Marcos Pardons Mary Jane Veloso, Filipina Who Spent 15 Years in Jail After Indonesian Death Sentence
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.
Asia
Indonesia Ferry Disaster: Death Toll Rises to 64 as Search for 71 Missing From Virgo Transport 8 Is Extended
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.
Asia
Thailand Floods: 25 Provinces Hit, 8 Dead as Bangkok Declares Flood Disaster and Special Holidays
Bangkok declared a flood disaster on September 26 after almost two days of heavy rain swamped roads; more than 84,000 people in 21 provinces are affected.
Asia
Indonesia Deploys 64 Aircraft and 54,394 Personnel Against Forest Fires
Indonesia says 64 aircraft and 54,394 personnel have been mobilised against forest and land fires. The figures describe a response continuing since August.
Asia
Indonesia Extends Closure of Eight Airports as Anak Krakatau Ash Disrupts Travel
Indonesia extended the closure of eight airports until Monday morning, opened five alternative hubs around the clock and arranged free ground transfers.
Asia
Philippines’ Teodoro Warns China Could Exploit Cuts to US–South Korea Drills
Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro warned of a possible Chinese opening but said US commitments and military activity with Manila remain unchanged.
Asia
Indonesia Wildfire Haze Exposes 5 Million as Respiratory Illnesses Rise
More than five million people have been exposed to wildfire haze in Indonesia, with 13,500 treated for respiratory infections in July and August.
Asia
Indonesia’s President Prabowo to Visit Russia, Meet Putin for Energy and Geopolitics Talks Amid Global Oil Crisis
Jakarta / Moscow, April 12, 2026 — In a significant diplomatic development that underscores...
Asia
Philippines Establishes First Coast Guard Command in South China Sea: A Bold Challenge to Beijing
Manila / Spratly Islands, April 10, 2026 — In a significant move that has...
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Asia
Asia Briefing, 6 October: Makkah Defence Pact Activated, Philippine Inflation Hits 7.2%, PTI March Reaches Kohat and a Film Divides South Korea
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.
Explainers
Nobel Prize in Medicine 2026 Goes to Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel for Optogenetics, the Method That Controls Brain Cells With Light
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has gone to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for optogenetics, which lets scientists switch nerve cells on and off with light. A treatment for blindness based on it is under review in the United States. Several pioneers, including Zhuo-Hua Pan, who began his career in China, were left out.
Hindi News
INDIA गठबंधन के सांसद आज संसद भवन से चुनाव आयोग तक मार्च करेंगे, CEC ज्ञानेश कुमार को हटाने की मांग; सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने कहा,...
विपक्षी INDIA गठबंधन के सांसद मंगलवार सुबह 11 बजे संसद भवन से निर्वाचन सदन तक मार्च करेंगे। मांग मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त ज्ञानेश कुमार को हटाने की है। विपक्ष का आरोप है कि मतदाता सूची के विशेष गहन पुनरीक्षण (SIR) के 14 फैसले दो चुनाव आयुक्तों की आपत्ति के बावजूद लिए गए।
Asia
South Korea’s Culture Minister Calls Threats Over ‘The Assassins’ a ‘Destruction of Democracy’ as Conservatives Demand the Film Be Pulled
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.