Asia

Yesterday, China sentenced Yang Hengjun to death. But a minor tweak in a press conference transcript from years ago sheds light on a potential reprieve, writes Bang Xiao.

For many Malaysians, the reduced punishment for disgraced former leader Najib Razak is seen as the ultimate betrayal, with authorities appearing to go soft on a corrupt 70-year-old whose ill-gotten gains once helped fund a Hollywood movie.

Taiwan's top diplomatic representative to Australia has declared that he's "quite confident" that Tuvalu won't follow Nauru's lead and switch diplomatic recognition to China, despite Beijing's attempts to "lure" politicians in the Pacific Island country.

A Pakistan court has sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan to a further seven years in prison along with his wife, after a ruling that their 2018 marriage violated the law.

Big clothing brands have been criticised over conditions in their suppliers' Myanmar factories, but now that some are pulling out of the country entirely, advocates warn workers will be left even worse off. 

The Move Forward Party was attempting to change some of the world's strictest defamation laws and now faces the risk of dissolution and a ban on its leaders after losing the legal case.

A slump in banking stocks leads the Australian share market off its record high, as the US Federal Reserve douses rate cut expectations. See how the day unfolded on our markets blog.

The Australian share market sets a new record high after inflation hit a two-year low in the December quarter, as economists forecast interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank could come sooner than expected.

The Coalition is trying to ramp up pressure on the federal government over new police cooperation negotiations between China and Papua New Guinea, saying it's "essential" that Australia's strategic position in the Pacific nation isn't undermined.

The Baluch rights group Haalvash says the victims were Pakistani labourers who lived at a car repair shop where they worked in Saravan in Sistan-Baluchestan province in the south-east border area. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan hold candid talks in Bangkok aimed at keeping in contact, with Mr Wang stressing that "Taiwan independence" poses the biggest risk to Sino-US ties.

Shinji Aoba stormed into Kyoto Animation and set it on fire, killing 36 people and leaving more than 30 others burned and injured because he thought the famous anime studio had ripped off some of his work.

Between $7 billion and $11 billion of the nation’s cash is being used in the shadow economy to fund tax avoidance or other illegal purposes such as buying illicit drugs, according to the Reserve Bank. The news comes after the Australian stock market rose for a fifth consecutive day, hitting a three-week high before the Australia Day long weekend

Australian households' debt-to-income ratio has reached 185 per cent of disposable income. Is it time to impose tougher lending restrictions? Read about this and how the Australian share market closed higher on Tuesday after an optimistic streak on Wall Street that pushed US stocks to a fresh record high.

Thirteen schoolchildren die in a dormitory fire in central China's Henan province, Chinese state media reports.

The court of appeals found Mongkhon Thirakot, 30, guilty of 25 violations of the law related to posts on Facebook.

Japan's space agency says it hopes a shift in the sunlight's angle will hit the solar panels of its 'Moon sniper' in a way that can restore its functions.

With the chance to make an extra $10,000 a month, Robert has no issue pushing the agendas of presidential candidates online. He's among a growing army of "buzzers" threatening democracy in the lead-up to Indonesia's 2024 elections. 

Health officials in Indonesia are carrying out a mass immunisation drive after 11 cases of polio were detected on the country's main island.

An explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand killed at least 23 people on Wednesday, according to a rescue worker.

Nauru announces it is severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan and will recognise China, becoming Taipei's first diplomatic ally to switch to Beijing following the weekend's presidential election.

Once described as Asia's most eligible bachelor, Brunei's Prince Abdul Mateen, the son of one of the world’s richest men, ties the knot in a lavish 10-day affair.

The Maldives stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars as its giant neighbour threatens to halt its tourism there. But why is the world's most populous country flexing its muscles in that way, and what's China got to do with it?

Myanmar's military reaches a ceasefire agreement with an alliance of ethnic minority guerilla groups it has been battling in the country's north-east.

Human Rights Watch warns of an authoritarian slide across the region in its latest annual world report. Still, there were several milestones in 2023, particularly across LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.