Domestic Workers Legally Recognised in Indonesia After '22-Year Struggle'
Indonesia’s parliament approved the Domestic Workers Protection Law, ending a 22‑year campaign for formal recognition. The legislation covers roughly 4.2 million domestic workers—about 90% of whom are women—granting them health insurance, paid rest days and pension rights. It also bans wage deductions by placement agencies and makes hiring anyone under 18 illegal. Regulators have a year to issue detailed implementation rules, while rights groups stress the need for employer education and enforcement.
Japan Loosens Arms Export Rules in Break From Post-WW2 Pacifism
Japan announced a sweeping revision of its arms‑export rules, ending a decades‑long restriction to five non‑lethal categories. The new policy permits the sale of lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which Tokyo has defence agreements, including the United States...
Chinese Carmaker Patents Voice-Controlled 'In-Vehicle Toilet'
Chinese EV maker Seres has secured a patent for a voice‑controlled, sliding in‑vehicle toilet that tucks beneath a passenger seat and includes a fan, exhaust pipe, waste tank and a heating element to evaporate urine. The concept targets long trips,...
Major Refinery Fire Won't Lead to Fuel Rationing, Australian PM Says
A fire at Viva's Corio refinery near Geelong burned for 13 hours, slashing output at one of Australia’s two major refineries. The blaze cut diesel production to about 80% and petrol to 60% of normal capacity, but Prime Minister Anthony...
Meghan to Appear as Guest Judge on MasterChef Australia
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, will appear as a guest judge on the upcoming season of MasterChef Australia, with the episode filmed in Melbourne and set to air on 19 April. The appearance comes during the couple’s four‑day private tour...
Hospital at Centre of Child HIV Outbreak Caught Reusing Syringes in Undercover Filming
An undercover BBC Eye investigation at THQ Taunsa Hospital in Punjab, Pakistan, captured staff reusing syringes on multi‑dose vials and administering injections without gloves, despite a government‑ordered crackdown earlier in 2025. The footage, recorded over 32 hours in late 2025, shows at...
'Out of Control' Diesel Prices Threaten Australia's Crucial Freight Industry
Australian freight operators are grappling with a diesel price surge that has more than doubled since the Iran conflict, pushing the national average to A$3.13 per litre (≈US$2.07). Owner‑operator Aaron Fischer now spends about A$300,000 (≈US$200,000) a month on fuel,...
Lyse Doucet: Historic US-Iran Talks Must Bridge Deep Distrust
U.S. Vice‑President JD Vance is slated to meet Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in Islamabad, marking the highest‑level face‑to‑face contact since the 1979 revolution. The talks come amid a fragile cease‑fire that has already been broken and follow a...
India Proposes New Rules to Regulate News and Political Posts on Social Media
India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has proposed amendments to the country's IT rules that would extend the existing news‑publisher code of ethics to influencers, podcasters and other non‑publisher users who share news‑related content on platforms like Facebook, YouTube...
How Pakistan Helped Secure a Fragile Ceasefire Between the US and Iran
In the days leading up to a two‑week cease‑fire between the United States and Iran, Pakistan stepped in as a back‑channel intermediary, shuttling messages between the rivals. A small, senior Pakistani team worked around the clock, while the prime minister...
India's Top Court Hears Challenges to Ruling on Women's Entry Into Temple
India's Supreme Court has convened a nine‑judge constitutional bench to rehear petitions challenging its 2018 decision that opened the Sabarimala temple to women aged 10‑50. The bench, chaired by Chief Justice Surya Kant and featuring judges from varied castes, religions...
Emergency Jabs After 100 Children Die of Suspected Measles in a Month in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has launched an emergency measles‑rubella vaccination drive after more than 100 child deaths and over 7,500 suspected cases since mid‑March. The outbreak, the deadliest in recent memory, exposed gaps in routine immunisation and a missed special campaign since 2020....
You Can Hire House Help in 15 Minutes in India - Is It Fair?
India’s on‑demand home‑service apps, led by Urban Company and Pronto, let customers book domestic help within 15 minutes, turning a largely informal 30‑million‑worker sector into a digital marketplace. Workers like Seema Kumari report monthly earnings of roughly $216‑$270, higher than...
Watch: Who Is the Coup Leader Who Will Be Myanmar's Next President?
The article compiles a curated list of recent BBC video stories that span a wide range of Asian events, from fuel shortages in the Philippines and a BTS fan gathering in Seoul to a deadly mosque explosion in Pakistan and...
Iconic 19th Century Painting Sets Indian Art Record with $17.9m Sale
Iconic 19th‑century painting *Yashoda and Krishna* by Raja Ravi Varma sold for 1.67 bn rupees (≈ $17.9 million) at a Saffronart auction in Delhi, breaking the previous Indian art record set by M.F. Husain. The buyer, billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla, called the work a national treasure and...
Alleged Bondi Gunman Loses Court Bid to Suppress Names of His Family
A Sydney judge has lifted an interim suppression order that barred the names and addresses of Naveed Akram’s mother, brother and sister from public view. Akram, accused of a December attack on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach that left 15...
Stanford University Wins Battle to Keep Diaries of Mao Zedong's Secretary
A California court ruled that Stanford University’s Hoover Institution lawfully owns the diaries of Li Rui, former secretary to Mao Zedong, affirming his wish to keep the papers outside China. The collection, donated by Li’s daughter, spans 1938 to 2019...
China Bans Storing Cremated Remains in Empty 'Bone Ash Apartments'
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced a ban on using vacant apartments as "bone ash apartments" to store cremated remains. The practice emerged as families sought affordable alternatives to costly cemetery plots, which...
'Felt Close to Death': Indian Seafarers Detained in Iran Return Home
Eight Indian seafarers, part of an 18‑member crew on the MT Valiant Roar, were released after weeks of detention by Iranian authorities who accused the vessel of fuel smuggling. The crew endured missile strikes, hotel evacuations and a perilous overland...
India Restoring a Centuries-Old Royal Kitchen that Never Stopped Serving Food
A team of workers is restoring the 1837 Shahi Bawarchikhana, the royal kitchen of the former Awadh kingdom in Lucknow, using traditional lime‑based mortar and historic lakhauri bricks. The kitchen, still operational, serves thousands of meals during Ramadan and Muharram,...
New India Bill to Amend Transgender Rights Sparks Protests
India's parliament approved the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, which removes the right to self‑identify and ties legal recognition to biological traits. The legislation mandates medical board and district authority certification for gender‑affirming surgeries and promises to channel...
Australia's Sunscreen Regulator Wants New Rules After Recent Product Scandal
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is proposing sweeping reforms to sunscreen regulation after a consumer‑group test revealed most products failed to meet their SPF claims, prompting recalls and public outrage. The plan includes stricter testing protocols, mandatory accreditation for testing...
Indian Man Whose Life Support Was Removed After Court Go-Ahead Dies
Harish Rana, a 31‑year‑old Indian man who had been in a coma since a 2013 balcony fall, died at AIIMS after the Supreme Court authorized the removal of his life‑support machines. The decision marks India’s first court‑approved instance of passive...
HK Police Can Now Demand Phone Passwords Under New National Security Rules
Hong Kong police have been granted new powers under amended National Security Law provisions to demand passwords from individuals suspected of security offences. Refusal to comply can result in up to one year in jail and a fine of roughly...
Trump Seeks to Delay China Summit Due to Iran War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced he will push back the high‑profile summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping by roughly a month, moving it from the end of March to early May. The delay is attributed to the escalating war in...
Ten Killed in Fire at India Hospital Intensive Care Unit
Ten patients were killed and 11 staff injured when a fire erupted in the trauma‑care ICU of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, Odisha. The blaze, likely sparked by an electrical short circuit, spread to an adjoining ICU and...
Caddy Faces 'Hardest Weeks' On New Zealand Trek
Dougie Haynes, a 31‑year‑old New Zealand golf caddy, is trekking the 3,000‑km Te Araroa Trail while hauling two 15‑kg golf bags. Over the past four weeks he has tackled the trail’s most demanding sections, including the Richmond Range, Waiau Pass and steep...
'No-One Will Hire Women' - India's Top Court Rejects Menstrual Leave Petition
India’s Supreme Court rejected a petition for a national menstrual‑leave policy, warning that mandatory leave would deter employers from hiring women. The bench argued such leave reinforces stereotypes and harms women’s career growth. While several Indian states and private firms...
Why Is China Set to Approve a New Law Promoting 'Ethnic Unity'?
China's National People's Congress is set to pass a new "Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress" law, codifying Xi Jinping's Sinicisation agenda. The legislation lowers the status of minority languages, mandates Mandarin instruction, encourages inter‑ethnic marriage, and requires minors to love...
What Now for Asia After Trump's Tariffs Struck Down?
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the majority of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in 2025 were illegal, prompting the administration to replace them with a uniform 15% levy on all goods entering the United States. Customs officials halted...