- Wednesday, 20 August 2025
Reuters
Millions evacuated as typhoon slams Japan's Kyushu, halting flights and factories
Millions of people were told to evacuate from their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan with strong winds and heavy rain on Thursday, knocking out power, snarling air traffic and forcing major factories to close. At least three people have been killed so far and scores injured in what authorities have warned could be one of the strongest-ever storms to hit the region.
Rains lash India, Pakistan, thousands evacuated
Heavy rains battered parts of India's western state of Gujarat this week, flooding cities, snapping utility links and forcing thousands to leave their homes, with at least 28 dead, authorities said on Thursday, warning of more heavy downpours. Army rescue teams have joined the relief effort, as people waded through waist-high waters that have partly submerged vehicles and roads, visuals from Reuters television showed.
Scientists question if Antarctica has hit a point of no return
Nearly 1,500 academics, researchers and scientists specializing in Antarctica gathered in southern Chile for the 11th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research conference this week to share the most cutting-edge research from the vast white continent. Nearly every aspect of science, from geology to biology and glaciology to arts, was covered but a major undercurrent ran through the conference. Antarctica is changing, faster than expected.
New mpox strain is changing fast; African scientists are ‘working blind’ to respond
Scientists studying the new mpox strain that has spread out of the Democratic Republic of Congo say the virus is changing faster than expected, and often in areas where experts lack the funding and equipment to properly track it.
Pakistan bus accidents kill at least 34, authorities say
Two bus accidents in northeast and southwest Pakistan killed as at least 34 people on Sunday, the authorities said. Twelve pilgrims died on the Makran Coastal Highway in the southwest, the interior ministry said, while a rescue official said 22 had died when their passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in Pakistan-ruled Kashmir.
Floods kill 13 in Indonesia, two injured
Thirteen people were killed and two injured in Indonesia's North Maluku province on Sunday after floods in the east of the sprawling archipelago, authorities said. The country's disaster management agency BNPB said the floods, caused by heavy rain since Saturday, also badly damaged 10 houses in Ternate city.
Hezbollah launches missile barrage at Israel to avenge top commander
Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones against Israel on Sunday in retaliation for the assassination of a senior commander in Beirut last month, the Iranian-backed movement said, as Israel's cabinet met to prepare a response. Israeli jets hit targets in Lebanon shortly before the strikes as the military assessed that Hezbollah was preparing to begin the barrage, the military said.
Climate change, security take top billing as Pacific Island leaders prepare to meet
Climate change and security will dominate discussions at next week's meeting of Pacific Islands leaders in Tonga as China and the United States jostle for influence in the region.
Thailand confirms mpox case is clade 1b, second outside of Africa
Thailand on Thursday confirmed a mpox case reported this week was the clade 1b strain of the virus, the second confirmed case of the variant outside of Africa. The case is a 66-year-old European man who arrived in Thailand last week from an unspecified African country where the disease was spreading.
Indian medics refuse to end protests over doctor's rape and murder
Thousands of Indian junior doctors on Monday refused to end protests over the rape and murder of a fellow medic, disrupting hospital services nearly a week after they launched a nationwide action demanding a safer workplace and swift criminal probe.
Thai king endorses Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister
Paetongtarn Shinawatra was endorsed as prime minister by Thailand's king on Sunday, two days after parliament elected her, paving the way for her to form a cabinet in the coming weeks. Paetongtarn, 37, becomes Thailand's youngest prime minister just days after ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as premier by the Constitutional Court, a judiciary central to Thailand's two decades of intermittent political turmoil.
Indian hospitals hit as doctors strike to protest rape, murder of colleague
Hospitals and clinics across India turned away patients except for emergency cases on Saturday as medical professionals started a 24-hour shutdown in protest against the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata.
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Mpox virus detected in Pakistan, health authorities say
Pakistan's health ministry has confirmed at least one case of the mpox virus in a patient who had returned from a Gulf country, it said on Friday, as provincial health authorities reported they had detected three cases.
Shinawatra elected youngest Thai Prime Minister
Thailand's parliament elected political neophyte Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its youngest prime minister on Friday, only a day after she was thrust into the spotlight amid an unrelenting power struggle between the country's warring elites. The 37-year-old daughter of divisive political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra sailed through a house vote and now faces a baptism of fire, just two days after ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as premier by a judiciary central to Thailand's two decades of intermittent turmoil.
Doctor's rape-murder case: Indian medics call for nationwide shutdown
Anger over the brutal rape and murder of a doctor in eastern India showed no signs of dying down on Friday, as medics called for the largest shutdown of hospital services in recent times, and political parties geared up for protests.
