World

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.

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.

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lady Yuk Young-soo has drawn protests outside an actor's home and demands from the conservative opposition that it be withdrawn.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.

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.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called an early general election for Sunday, 29 November, days after parliament rejected his housing decrees and mass protests filled Madrid. A SocioMétrica poll puts the conservative PP on 33.9%, the Socialists on 25.7% and Vox on 18%.

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.

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.

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro finished narrowly ahead of President Lula in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, 47.04% to 45.15% with almost all votes counted. Neither crossed 50%, so the two meet again in a runoff on October 25.

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”.

The 20th Asian Games ended in Nagoya on Sunday. China won 169 golds and 341 medals, hosts Japan set their own record with 269, and a 13-year-old swimmer was named women’s MVP. The Games were also marked by transport and housing failures.