Asia & Philippines news

The day's most relevant stories from the Philippines and Asia's major countries. Links to original sources.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietySep 5, 2026

Thailand moves to tighten data center rules

Thailand said Friday it would introduce clearer rules on AI data centers and urged almost 50 sites currently under construction to hold the projects until then.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietySep 5, 2026

Malaysia declares emergency in Sarawak's Serian District due to haze

Malaysia declared an emergency in Sarawak state's Serian District after thick ​haze caused by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia pushed air pollution ‌up to hazardous levels on Friday.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietySep 4, 2026

New Zealand approves use of party drug MDMA to treat trauma

Two psychiatrists in New Zealand won approval Friday to prescribe pharmaceutical-grade MDMA to sufferers of severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietySep 4, 2026

South Korean police seek indictment of Bang Si-Hyuk, K-pop mogul behind BTS

South Korean police are pushing for an indictment of music tycoon Bang Si-Hyuk, the chairperson of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, over alleged investor fraud.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietySep 2, 2026

India busts firm faking expiry dates, nutrition labels on PepsiCo, Nestle food exports

Indian authorities have raided an illegal operation in Mumbai that faked expiry dates and nutritional information on original food products manufactured by PepsiCo, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Unilever so they could be exported to other countries.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietySep 1, 2026

Japan to relax overtime regulation under workaholic PM

Japan will ease overtime regulation starting Tuesday in a move meant to help spur economic growth but criticised as a relapse into the country's ingrained workaholic culture.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 31, 2026

About 15 people missing after Grand Canyon flash flood

About 15 people may be missing after a flash flood in Grand Canyon National Park, the National Park Service said in a statement Sunday.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 31, 2026

Nepal warns of possible fresh flooding as communities grapple with devastation

Authorities in Nepal warned of possible fresh flooding on Sunday and urged residents in flood-affected districts to remain on high alert after water levels rose in the Bhotekoshi River.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 30, 2026

The missing in Nepal-Tibet flash floods

More than 3,000 people were listed as missing Sunday, with another 750 confirmed dead, after the flash floods and landslides that hit the Nepal-Tibet border.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 29, 2026

More than 2,400 missing in deadly Nepal, China floods

The number of people missing in Nepal and China surpassed 2,400 Friday, days after a tsunami-like wall of water and debris swept away villages and killed hundreds.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 29, 2026

Bird flu detected in dead dolphin in South Australia

H5N1 bird flu has been detected in a dead dolphin in South Australia, officials in the state said Friday, the first case of its kind in the country.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 28, 2026

Japan to survey animal cafes over hygiene, welfare concerns

Japan plans to probe popular animal cafes, where visitors can interact with anything from cats to capybaras, following concerns about hygiene and the creatures' welfare, authorities said Thursday.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 28, 2026

Death toll nears 400, rescuers search for 1,400 missing after Nepal-Tibet floods

Rescue teams waded through mud on Thursday searching for more than 1,400 people missing after flash floods and landslides struck the Nepal-Tibet border, as the death toll rose again to 392, with entire villages swept away.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 27, 2026

Nepal-Tibet disaster: what we know

Catastrophic flooding and landslides on the Nepal-Tibet border unleashed waves of water and debris that have killed at least 160 people and left hundreds more missing.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 26, 2026

China joins India search for 22 missing after cargo ship sinks

Chinese authorities were assisting India's search for 22 crew members missing after a Panama-flagged cargo vessel sank in the Bay of Bengal last week, the Indian Coast Guard said.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 25, 2026

Indonesian police arrest 72 people suspected of starting forest fires

Indonesian authorities have arrested 72 people suspected of starting some of the forest and peatland fires as huge blazes in central and west Indonesia triggered choking haze.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 25, 2026

Southeast Asia's largest economy to open airspace for cloud seeding to tackle haze

Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, has given Malaysian agencies official permission to enter its airspace to conduct cloud seeding operations, Malaysia's environment minister said on Monday, part of both countries' efforts to combat the haze blanketing the region.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 24, 2026

Indian rescuers search for 22 people missing after cargo ship sinks

India's coastguard and navy continued search-and-rescue operations off the eastern coast on Sunday after ‌a Panama-flagged bulk carrier carrying 24 crew members sank, with two Chinese nationals rescued, a senior official said.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 23, 2026

Indonesia deploys 1,500 additional soldiers to tackle Borneo fires

Indonesia is deploying an additional 1,500 soldiers to Borneo to help tackle wildfires that have burned through swathes of the island and created thick smog choking some areas.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 22, 2026

Japan axes Netflix collaboration after outcry over dating show

Japan's justice ministry said Friday it will cancel a collaboration with a controversial Netflix dating show featuring ex-juvenile delinquents, following backlash against what some called the glorification of crimes.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 21, 2026

Express train hits and kills 4 workers at a railway station in Japan

An express train entering a station in Japan hit and killed four people who were doing weed control work on a railway track Thursday, officials said.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 19, 2026

Student kills schoolmate and himself in livestreamed Philippine school attack, official says

A high school student carrying two pistols shot to death a fellow student before killing himself Tuesday in an attack in a southern Philippine high school campus that he livestreamed using a body-worn camera, police and other officials said.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 19, 2026

Fear grips children after deadly earthquake in eastern Indonesia leaves thousands displaced

Thousands of people remained displaced on the Indonesian island of Flores on Tuesday, three days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 70 people, injured nearly 1,200 others and damaged thousands of homes.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 18, 2026

South Korea landslide kills one as heavy rains sweep southern areas

A landslide in South Korea killed one person and injured three, media reports said on Monday, as heavy rainfall lashed the country's southern region.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 18, 2026

Indonesian mother 'grateful' after emergency birth during 7.7-magnitude quake

As the earth shook around her, tearing apart homes, buildings, and bridges in eastern Indonesia, Maria Florida Nogo Kelen was giving birth to her daughter.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 15, 2026

Rescuers search for survivors as Indonesian quake death toll rises to 47

Rescuers combed through debris for survivors on Saturday after a powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's eastern Flores island, killing at least 47 people, according to disaster officials.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 14, 2026

Heavy rain causes flooding near Tokyo that kills 4 and disrupts train and air travel

Record-breaking rainfall that pounded cities east of Tokyo overnight flooded roads and dozens of homes, stranded thousands of people, caused power outages and left at least four people dead and one missing.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 12, 2026

Schools closed as Indonesia battles wildfires

Dozens of Indonesian schools were shuttered for a second day Tuesday to protect against the spreading haze from wildfires at the start of a long and intense dry season worsened by El Nino.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 10, 2026

Days of heavy rain leave at least 16 dead in Philippines

Floods, landslides and accidents driven by a nine-day downpour equivalent to more than a month's worth of rain in some areas have killed at least 16 people in the northern Philippines, rescuers said on Monday.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 8, 2026

Heavy rains drench Beijing as China braces for Typhoon Dolphin

Multiple districts in Beijing issued heavy rainfall warnings on Friday evening with authorities warning residents ​of disasters including floods in the city center ‌and also mudslides and landslides in agricultural and mountainous areas.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 7, 2026

India monsoon floods, landslides kill more than 100 since July: officials

Floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people across India since July, official data showed Wednesday, with thousands forced to flee their inundated homes.

🇻🇳 VietnamSocietyAug 5, 2026

Heat kills 19 in South Korea this summer: government agency

South Korea's summer heat has killed 19 people so far this year, a government health agency said on Tuesday, as the nation swelters in a wave of searing weather.

Summaries link to the original story. ArchipelagoExpat is not the source of these news items; each article belongs to its author and outlet.