Myanmar’s opium poppy cultivation hits highest level in a decade: UN 

Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has expanded to its highest level in ten years, rising sharply as escalating conflict, economic desperation and weak state control push more rural communities into the narcotics trade, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.

A series of powerful storms and relentless monsoon rains have devastated large parts of Asia. killing more than 900 people and leaving hundreds unaccounted for as rescue workers struggle to reach remote and inundated communities.

China’s major military companies suffered a sharp decline in revenues last year as an extensive corruption purge disrupted weapons procurement, according to new research released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Myanmar’s military government says it will pardon or drop charges against 8,665 people ahead of a national election widely criticised by Western governments and human rights groups as neither credible nor inclusive, state media reported on Thursday.

A powerful 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the western coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island early Thursday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and US President Donald Trump held a 25-minute phone call on Tuesday to discuss what Tokyo described as `various challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region,` Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Japan is preparing to approve the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power facility the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. in what would mark the country’s most significant step toward reviving its nuclear energy sector since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, according to reports in Kyodo News and the Nikkei business daily.

The United States has formally approved the sale of an advanced air-defense missile system to Taiwan valued at nearly $700 million, marking Washington’s second major arms package for Taipei in a week and bringing the total approved within days to roughly $1 billion.

China sharply criticized the Philippines on Sunday after Manila conducted joint maritime exercises with the United States and Japan in the South China Sea, accusing the three nations of heightening regional tensions.

Australia and Indonesia have reached a landmark agreement on a new security treaty aimed at strengthening bilateral defence ties and ensuring regional stability, officials announced on Wednesday.

At least 11 people have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying Rohingya refugees capsized near the Thailand-Malaysia maritime border, officials from both countries said on Monday.

China has called on Germany to avoid what it termed “megaphone diplomacy” and to stop making “groundless accusations” that could harm bilateral relations, according to a statement released by Beijing on Monday.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has accused the international community of abandoning the country amid a spiraling humanitarian and political crisis, warning that the situation has grown “exponentially worse” since the 2021 military coup.

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he had agreed to reduce tariffs on Chinese imports to 47 percent following high-stakes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.  a meeting aimed at resetting the world’s most consequential trade relationship.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed optimism about reaching what he described as a “great” trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their upcoming meeting in South Korea, amid growing anticipation over the future of US-China economic relations.

World leaders convened in Kuala Lumpur on Monday to explore new avenues for economic and trade cooperation across Asia and beyond, following the departure of US President Donald Trump from the ASEAN summit to continue his regional tour.