A Stimson Center report finds that mining for rare earths, gold, tin and antimony in Myanmar’s conflict zones is funding armed groups and poisoning rivers shared with Thailand, with contamination measured up to 55 times above safety norms.
Nepal’s foreign minister Shisir Khanal used the opening of COP31 in Antalya to demand a dedicated mountain climate programme, strict limits on warming in mountain regions, and finance that matches the risks faced by Himalayan communities.
Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas and rubber bullets as supporters of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina staged their first organised show of force since her fall in 2024. A bus driver was killed and a police vehicle burned in a day of clashes.
The Philippine Department of Justice has filed a US extradition request against Apollo Quiboloy in a Makati court. The Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder faces American charges of human trafficking, sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling.
Thailand’s cabinet has approved new rules for data centres, capping noise at 70 decibels, limiting heat around sites and requiring cooling water to be recycled. The move aims to manage the AI construction boom without scaring off investors.
Imran Khan was taken from Adiala jail to a hospital in Islamabad late on Tuesday for eye treatment, including his sixth anti-VEGF injection, and returned to his cell in the early hours. His lawyers say his health has worsened in detention.
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka has told President Prabowo Subianto he is ready to resign, after court rulings cast doubt on the school documents behind his 2024 candidacy. Lawmakers are now considering an inquiry into his eligibility.
Kazakhstan has opened the Darbaza-Maktaaral freight railway to Uzbekistan, a 128 km line that relieves the congested Saryagash border crossing and can carry up to 20 million tonnes a year.
ADNOC has confirmed that one of its tankers was damaged in a strike inside the United Arab Emirates’ territorial waters, in the latest attack on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has designated Argentina’s navy and air force as terrorist organizations, a reciprocal move that deepens a decades-old dispute rooted in the 1994 AMIA bombing.