BBC: A group of 24 Nigerian girls who were abducted from their boarding school over a week ago have been released, the country’s president said. Armed assailants stormed the school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State on 17 November, killing two members of staff and abducting about 25 students. Two were able to escape soon after. Nigerian […]
BBC: The detention of Pema Wangjom Thongdok, an Indian citizen living in the UK, at Shanghai airport has fuelled a diplomatic row between Delhi and Beijing. Ms Thongdok said she was detained by immigration officials while travelling from London to Japan via Shanghai last Friday because her passport lists her birthplace as the northeastern state […]
BBC: Australia’s landmark social media ban for children is being challenged in the nation’s highest court, with two teenagers alleging the law is unconstitutional as it robs them of their right to free communication. From 10 December, social media firms – including Meta, TikTok and YouTube – must ensure that Australians aged under 16 cannot […]
ABC: TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said Wednesday he will put forth a special $40 billion budget for arms purchases, including to build a Taiwan Dome, an air defense system with high-level detection and interception capabilities, in the face of U.S. pressure for the island to increase its defense spending. The budget will be […]
ABC: MEDAN, Indonesia — Torrential rains unleashed flash floods and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 10 people and leaving six others missing, police said Wednesday. Rescue teams were struggling to reach affected areas in six regencies of North Sumatra province after the monsoon rains over the past week caused rivers to burst […]
BBC: Parts of Thailand are battling record floods, which have killed at least 18 people and prompted authorities to deploy military ships and helicopters to support relief efforts. The deluge has hit ten provinces across the country’s south over the past week, with the city of Hat Yai, a business hub bordering Malaysia, recording its […]
BBC: A parking inspector and his wife have been arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than €1m (£878,000) from a small German town’s parking meters. The unnamed municipal employee is thought to have taken coins out of parking meters in Kempten “on numerous occasions” and placed them in bank accounts that his wife had access […]
Reuters: DHAKA, Nov 26- A massive fire tore through one of Dhaka’s largest slums on Tuesday evening, leaving thousands of people homeless and turning rows of tin-roofed shanties into charred rubble, officials said. The blaze started shortly after sunset in the heart of the capital, in Korail — one of Bangladesh’s largest and most crowded […]
BBC: A new United Nations report has found that Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is the world’s largest city with 41.9 million people living there, followed by Dhaka in Bangladesh, which is home to 36.6 million. A low-lying coastal city located in the west of the densely populated island of Java, Jakarta rose from second place to […]
Reuters: BANGKOK/KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 – Thailand was preparing on Tuesday to send an aircraft carrier with relief supplies and medical teams to its south, where more heavy rain intensified the worst floods in years, which have killed 13 people and hobbled rescue and evacuation efforts. Floodwaters running as high as 2 m (6.6 ft) […]