Disaster Resilience Building Consulting Service Announced By IAOTP Awardee

Bangkok residents stranded by neck-deep floodwaters on Sunday appealed for clean water and food, as Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cut short a diplomatic trip to the United Kingdom to monitor the response amid growing criticism online. In the worst floods to hit the Thai capital in 15 years, life has ground to a standstill in parts of the city since Friday evening, prompting the town hall to declare a disaster in all 50 districts. Days of incessant rains that overwhelmed Bangkok’s...

In China, A.I. doomsday warnings can feel distinctly Western or like a ploy to stop Chinese A.I. companies from trying to overtake their U.S. rivals.

The Singapore Sling was said to have been invented more than a century ago in a colonial-era hotel, where it now goes for about $40 a pop.

Stories of the manananggal, a creature said to split its body in two, and the tiyanak, which takes the form of an infant, are part of the folklore many children grow up hearing in the Philippines. Now, they are among the mythological creatures featured in DreamWorks’ animated film Forgotten Island, which opened in the Philippines on Wednesday and two days later in the United States. The film, described as the first major Hollywood production to showcase Filipino culture and mythology, offers a...

A video installation built around the testimony of a former Japanese soldier on the killing of civilians and sexual assault in wartime China will go on display in London in October, even as its creator struggles to find a museum willing to exhibit the award-winning work in Japan. Created by contemporary artist Meiro Koizumi, “The Angels of Testimony”, has won acclaim overseas, but Japanese museums have been reluctant to exhibit the work, which confronts memories of violence committed by Japanese...

Pakistani authorities have barricaded Islamabad with more than 1,500 shipping containers to stop opposition protesters, choking off access to the capital.

Indonesia is considering Chinese investment to help build a massive 2,772km (1,722 mile) railway network through the vast, resource-rich region of Kalimantan, following the completion of Southeast Asia’s first high-speed line between Jakarta and Bandung, state media and analysts said. However, analysts noted that any future commercial agreements were likely to be negotiated cautiously, given the financial strains that dogged the high-speed line and the challenges that stalled a proposed...

In a village on the outskirts of Kota Bharu, in Malaysia’s deeply conservative northeastern state of Kelantan, Rozi* has learned to ignore what people say about her daughter. She had known for years that Hana* was different. As a child, Hana preferred girls’ clothes and spent most of her time with girls. Later, after leaving Kelantan to study, she began transitioning and eventually returned home, living openly as a woman. Rozi, 58, struggled to accept it at first, but what troubled her more was...

After a decade of start-stop negotiations, the European Union and the Philippines have found their way to a “substantial agreement” on free trade – one that analysts say could pave the way for Brussels to lock in an Asean-wide pact. The breakthrough, announced on Tuesday, capped talks that began in 2016 and stalled a year later, only to resume again in 2024. “I am proud to say we have delivered a substantial agreement that reflects the ambition both sides brought to the table,” EU trade chief...

In his talks with President Trump, the Chinese leader used praise, warnings and wartime history to challenge American support for Taiwan and Japan.

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a roadside police checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and wounding about 30 others, officials said, in a sign of increasing violence in the region bordering Afghanistan. The attack occurred in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the provincial emergency service. Local police chief Safdar Baloch said most of those killed and wounded were...

Entire Bangkok neighbourhoods were inundated on Saturday as the city government declared a flood disaster after the worst rains in years overwhelmed the Thai capital, submerging roads, cars and forcing thousands to leave their homes. Bangkok is flood-prone, especially during the monsoon season, but waters rarely linger for long. Nonetheless, the city’s drainage is notoriously ill-equipped to handle storm bursts as it struggles to cope with waters that have reached at least two feet (60cm) and...