India's government hails "historic" legislation to bring Kashmir under its direct control, as Pakistan vows to back the Muslim-majority region and challenge the divisive move which has seen tensions soar.

United Nations investigators urge world leaders to impose targeted financial sanctions on companies linked to the military in Myanmar, and said foreign firms doing business with them could be complicit in international crimes.

Hong Kong is plunged into fresh chaos as a general strike followed another weekend of violent protests, paralysing transport, leading to more than 200 flight cancellations and bringing the city to an unprecedented standstill.

Authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir place large parts of the disputed region under lockdown while India sends in tens of thousands of additional troops and trades accusations of clashes with Pakistan at their de facto border.

A campaigner who tackles youth suicide in South Korea, two journalists, and a human rights activist were named Friday among the winners of Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Bangladesh has sought comprehensive engagement of the international community, particularly Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in creating a conducive environment in northern Rakhine state and help repatriation and reintegration of the Rohingya refugees.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has urged the Myanmar government to take "more strenuous efforts" to take Rohingyas back from Bangladesh to their place of origin in Rakhine State.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has continuously stressed that he will pass the baton to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, but opposition representatives have allegedly met him to convince him to serve out his full term.

Raids on jungle drug labs have been met with heavy artillery fire, Myanmar narcotics police said yesterday, in an area riddled with armed groups accused of pumping out much of the world’s methamphetamine.

Australia pledged US$55 million to fight human trafficking in Southeast Asia yesterday, vowing to tackle “modern slavery” ensnaring vulnerable populations across the region, from low-paid workers to underage brides and Rohingya refugees.

Philippines is still open to allowing the use of the dengue vaccine again if experts agree to recommend it to combat the rising number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the country, according to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo.

Attempts to reduce tension in the contested South China Sea reached a milestone on Wednesday when Beijing revealed that Asean and China had completed the first reading of the single draft negotiating text for a code of conduct (COC).

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday insisted that Washington was not asking Southeast Asian nations to “choose” between his country and rival power China, as he trailed a rebooted security and trade strategy at a Bangkok summit.

Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters appeared in court yesterday after being charged with rioting, setting the stage for further unrest in a weeks-long crisis that has rocked the global financial hub.

The largest water supply network established by International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Japan at Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar will connect nearly 30,000 refugees.

Pakistani troops opened fire and shelled mortars along the de facto border with Rajouri district in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, Indian officials say.

An undocumented domestic worker has the right to pursue her claim for unpaid wages in Malaysia, a court has ruled, setting a legal precedent migrant rights groups said would help protect human trafficking survivors.

Police say dozens of Hong Kong protesters detained during recent clashes will be charged with rioting -- an offence that carries a jail term of up to ten years -- as the finance hub’s embattled pro-Beijing leaders crack down on weeks of demonstrations.

Japan has expressed its eagerness to actively perform a role of mediator between Bangladesh and Myanmar to ensure immediate smooth repatriation of Rohingya people to their place of origin in Myanmar.

Reiterating that Bangladesh sheltering 1.1 million Rohingyas for the sake of humanity, Law Minister Anisul Huq tells the United Nation that the flow of Rohingyas into Bangladesh still continues, albeit low.