Japan’s parliament votes in country’s first ever female PM

Sanae Takaichi won 237 votes in the 465-seat lower chamber of parliament, and is also set to secure a majority in the less powerful upper house before being sworn in later today.

1,200 houses in Afghan Camp in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth demolished over five days

Authorities, in coordination with the city police, demolished over 1,000 houses vacated by Afghans in the United Nations-designated Afghan Camp in Sohrab Goth during the last five days, police said on Sunday.

Japanese PM Ishiba’s cabinet resigns

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned with his cabinet on Tuesday, marking an end to the administration that took office just over a year ago.

Woman trying to burn cockroach sets South Korea apartment ablaze

South Korean police said they would seek an arrest warrant for a woman who set fire to her apartment building while trying to kill a cockroach with an improvised flamethrower, local media report.

Notorious cyber scam hub linked to Chinese mafia raided

The Myanmar military says it has captured one of the most notorious scam compounds on the border with Thailand, as it reclaims key territory it lost in the ongoing civil war.

Zelensky ready to join Trump-Putin talks if invited

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he would be ready to join Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a proposed summit in Hungary if he were invited.

Amazon internet outage hits major websites and mobile apps such as Snapchat. Here’s what we know

Some of the world’s biggest apps and websites, such as Amazon, Google, Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, and Canva, have been hit by a major internet outage.

Taiwan refutes China’s ’’psychological warfare’’; accuses Beijing of violating laws

In a fresh act of political provocation, China has accused five Taiwanese technology companies of financing a so-called ’’psychological warfare unit,’’ a claim that Taipei denounced as yet another attempt by China to intimidate and divide the island’s democratic society.

Air China flight safely diverted to Shanghai after battery fire in cabin

An Air China flight turned into a scene of panic on Saturday when a lithium battery packed inside a passenger’s hand luggage suddenly caught fire mid-air. Flight CA139, which was travelling from Hangzhou to Seoul, had to make an emergency diversion to Shanghai-Pudong Airport after thick smoke began billowing from the overhead compartment.

Millions join anti-Trump ’No Kings’ protests across US

Huge crowds have taken part in ’’No Kings’’ protests against President Donald Trump’s policies in cities across the US, including New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles.

China expels top military commanders in latest anticorruption purge

Two of China’s highest-ranking officers and seven other senior military officials have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and the military on suspicion of serious misconduct linked to corruption, according to the country’s Defence Ministry.

Fire at Dhaka airport cargo terminal forces flight delays, diversions

Flights out of Bangladesh’s main airport were delayed or diverted on Saturday after a major fire broke out in the cargo terminal, officials said.

Pakistan to hold talks with Afghanistan in Qatar after latest strikes

The Afghanistan Cricket Board told AFP that three players who were in the region for a domestic tournament were killed, revising down an earlier toll of eight.

Thailand ex-PM Abhisit reinstated as conservative party leader

Thailand’s oldest political party voted on Oct 18 to reinstate as its leader a conservative ex-premier who led the country during a bloody military crackdown on “Red Shirts” protesters.

Three Afghan cricketers killed in attack: cricket board

Afghanistan have pulled out of a tri-nation series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka next month after three local cricketers were killed in an attack, the country’s cricket board said on Friday.

Digital faith under surveillance in China: CCP expands control over religion with new online code of conduct

Last month, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) extended its already suffocating grip over the nation’s religious life with the release of a new code of conduct for the online activities of religious clergy.

Bears kill seven people in Japan this year as attacks hit record high

The number of people killed by bears in Japan this year has reached a record high, the country’s environment ministry has said.

Death penalty sought for Bangladesh’s ex-leader Sheikh Hasina

Prosecutors in Bangladesh have demanded that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina be put to death over a deadly crackdown on student-led protests last year that ousted her from power.

Last surviving member of first team to scale Everest dies aged 92

Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first expedition to successfully scale the summit of Mount Everest, has died in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, aged 92.

China conducted ‘large scale espionage operations’ against UK, top official warned in collapsed spy case

China’s intelligence services carried out “large scale espionage operations” that threatened the U.K.’s economy and security, a senior British government official told prosecutors in a collapsed alleged spying case that sparked a heated political row in Westminster.

Pakistan ranks 4th worst globally in passport index, again

Pakistan’s passport has once again been listed among the world’s weakest, securing the 103rd spot in the Henley Passport Index 2025 — marking the fifth consecutive year of its low global ranking.

S Korea tycoon escapes paying $1bn in ’divorce of the century’

South Korea’s Supreme Court has struck down a lower court’s order for billionaire Chey Tae-won to pay his ex-wife a 1.38tn won ($1bn; £788m) settlement, in a case dubbed by local media as the ’’divorce of the century’’.

Former Kenyan envoy mourns the passing of Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga

Former envoy to Kenya Ambassador Kana Kananathan has expressed deep sorrow following the passing of His Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga, Kenya’s former Prime Minister, this morning describing him as “a visionary leader, a steadfast patriot, and a dear friend.”

Deepika Padukone becomes new voice for Meta AI in India, US, other nations

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone collaborated with Meta to become the new voice of its AI version across multiple countries.

India elected to UN Human Rights Council for 2026-28 term

New York: India has been elected for the seventh time to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council for the term 2026-28, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish shared on Wednesday.

Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to 48-hour ceasefire after clashes on border

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday agreed to a temporary 48-hour ceasefire after a day of airstrikes and ground fighting along the border between the two countries that left more than a dozen civilians dead, Reuters reported.

Deflationary pressures persist in China on weak demand, overcapacity

Deflationary pressures persisted in China, with both consumer and producer prices falling in September, supporting the case for more policy measures as a prolonged property market slump and trade tensions weigh on confidence.

Trump says Modi assured him India will stop buying Russian oil

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia, and Trump said he would next try to get China to do the same as Washington intensifies efforts to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues.

Elite rule and internal colonization: Pakistan 78 years after Independence

Seventy-eight years after the birth of Pakistan, the promise of liberation from colonial rule remains tragically unfulfilled. While the British Empire formally withdrew in 1947, the structures it left behind were not dismantled, they were repurposed.

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga dies aged 80

Former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has died at the age of 80, family sources have told the BBC.