Asia

7 days agoShareSaveJonathan HeadSouth East Asia CorrespondentReporting fromUSS Carl Vinson off the PhilippinesShareSaveIt looked small at first, in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Yet as we approached the USS Carl Vinson it filled the view out of the back of the Osprey tilt-rotor which was carrying us there, its deck packed with state-of-the-art warplanes. At nearly 90,000 tonnes, and more than 300 metres in length, the nuclear-powered Carl Vinson is one of the largest warships ever built.
Watching its FA18 and F35 fighter jets being hurled into the air every minute or two by the carrier’s steam catapults is a spine-tingling experience, a procedure managed with impressive composure by the crew on the crowded deck.
An untimely Pacific squall which drenched us and everything else did not slow them at all.
Even after years of rapid advances in Chinese military capabilities, the United States is still unrivalled in its capacity to project force anywhere around the world with its fle..

Six elephants dead after being hit by train in Sri Lanka6 days agoKoh EweBBC NewsA passenger train derailed after striking a herd of elephants near a wildlife reserve in central Sri Lanka in the early hours of Thursday.
While no injuries were reported among passengers, six elephants died from the accident in Habarana, east of the capital Colombo.
Two injured elephants were being treated, police said, noting that it was the worst such wildlife accident the country had seen, AFP reported.
It is not uncommon for trains to run into herds of elephants in Sri Lanka, where casualties on both sides of human-elephant encounters are among the highest in the world.
Last year, more than 170 people and nearly 500 elephants were killed in human-elephant encounters overall – and around 20 elephants are killed by trains annually, according to local media.
Elephants, whose natural habitats are affected by deforestation and shrinking resources, have increasingly strayed into places of human activity.
So..

Search for missing India miners ends as bodies recovered after 44 days2 days agoNikhil Inamdar, BBC News, Delhi@Nik_inamdarRescuers have ended a 44-day search operation after they found the bodies of five men who were trapped inside a flooded coal mine in India’s north-eastern state of Assam.
DNA tests will be conducted to identify the men as the bodies are in a decomposed state, a state official told the BBC.
On 6 January, nine miners were trapped after water flooded the so-called “rat-hole” mine, which is a narrow hole dug manually to extract coal.
Four bodies were recovered within the first week, and search operations had continued until Wednesday, when the remaining bodies were found.
“The process to identify the remains has been initiated,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on the social media platform X.
The families of the miners have also been called to identify the bodies. They will be given compensation by the state government, said Riki Phukan, an official from ..

‘Captain America must die in China’: Nationalism fuels Ne Zha 2 fans20 hours agoKoh EweBBC NewsA chorus of praise is being sung around Ne Zha 2, the Chinese film about a mythical boy who battles demons, which has been newly crowned the world’s highest-grossing animated film.
The box office triumph of the film – which has raked in 12.3bn yuan ($1.7bn; £1.4bn) – triggered a huge swell of national pride across the country.
But as patriotic Ne Zha 2 fans set their sights on further success, they are also keeping a close eye on critics of the movie, accusing them of being clout-chasing, paid “haters”.
Also in the crosshairs of this nationalism is Captain America: Brave New World, the fourth movie of the superhero franchise, now seen as Ne Zha 2’s rival.
“I don’t care if Ne Zha 2 can survive overseas, but Captain America 4 must die in China,” reads a popular slogan that has been repeated on multiple posts on social media.
In Chinese news outlets and social media, people are gloating ov..

YouTuber’s ‘dirty’ comments spark massive row in India1 day agoCherylann MollanBBC News, Mumbai”Dirty.” “Perverted mind.” “Disgusting.”
These were the words India’s Supreme Court used on Tuesday while granting interim protection from arrest to a popular YouTuber who has been in the eye of a storm in the country over the past week.
The furore began after Ranveer Allahbadia – whose YouTube channel BeerBiceps has eight million followers – asked a contestant the question: “Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once and stop it forever?”
The comments, made on the show India’s Got Latent on 9 February, sparked massive outrage, police cases and even death threats. YouTube quickly removed the episode, but that didn’t stall the tide of anger directed at Allahbadia and the show.
In fact, the amount of attention the incident has received is mind-boggling: it has made national headlines, been covered on primetime TV and some of India’s most pro..

‘We will unite with Kim Jong Un’: Conspiracies grip South Korea6 days agoJean MackenzieSeoul CorrespondentOn a cold January afternoon, a young pharmacy student, Shin Jeong-min, waited restlessly outside South Korea’s Constitutional Court, as the country’s suspended president arrived to fight his impeachment.
While Yoon Suk Yeol testified, she chanted along with hundreds of his incensed and worried supporters, who have rallied around him ever since his failed attempt to impose martial law. “Release him now. Cancel his impeachment,” they shouted.
“If the president is impeached and the opposition leader is elected, our country will become one with North Korea and Kim Jong Un,” Jeong-min said, citing a theory popular among President Yoon’s most fanatical followers: that the left-leaning opposition party wants to unify with the North and turn South Korea into a communist country.
At 22 years old, Jeong-min stands out from the legion of elderly Koreans who have always feared and despised th..

No faecal bacteria in Kumbh Mela river waters, says minister18 hours agoCherylann MollanBBC News, MumbaiThe chief minister of India’s Uttar Pradesh state has rejected a government report that found high levels of contamination in a key bathing place at the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest gathering.
The report said the waters at Sangam – the confluence of rivers considered holy by Hindus – in Prayagraj city had alarming levels of untreated sewage and bacteria found in human and animal excreta, making it unfit for bathing.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath insisted that the water was not just fit for bathing, but also safe for doing aachman – the Hindu ritual of drinking a handful after bathing.
Authorities say 565 million have bathed since the festival began on 13 January.
The Kumbh Mela (also known as Mahakumbh) – is held once every 12 years.
Hindus believe that taking a dip at Sangam – the confluence of India’s most sacred Ganges river with the Yamuna river and the mythical..

Philippine town offers bounty for mosquitoes as dengue rises5 days agoVirma Simonette & Joel GuintoBBC News, in Manila and SingaporeAuthorities in one of the Philippines’ most densely-populated urban centres are offering a cash reward for mosquitoes in an attempt to stop the spread of dengue.
Carlito Cernal, village chief of Barangay Addition Hills in central Manila, announced the bounty of one peso (less than two US cents) for every five mosquitoes.
While news of the bounty has provoked scorn on social media, Mr Cernal has defended it as necessary for the community’s health.
The move follows a recent spike in cases of dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes, in the Philippines.
The programme, which will run for at least a month, was started after two students in Mr Cernal’s neighbourhood died from the disease.
The bounty applies to all mosquitoes – dead or alive – and their larvae, Mr Cernal added. Live mosquitoes will be exterminated using ultraviolet light.
A total of 21 people have a..

‘Real life Squid Game’: Kim Sae-ron’s death exposes Korea’s celebrity culture7 days agoKelly NgBBC NewsActress Kim Sae-ron’s death in an apparent suicide has renewed criticism of South Korea’s entertainment industry, which churns out stars but also subjects them to immense pressure and scrutiny.
Kim – who was found dead aged 24 at her home in Seoul on Sunday – had been bombarded with negative press coverage and hate online after a drink-driving conviction in 2022. Police have not provided further details about her death.
Experts found the circumstances leading to it depressingly familiar. Other celebrities also ended up taking their lives after careers upended by cyberbullying.
As Kim was laid to rest on Wednesday, analysts say they are not optimistic her death will lead to meaningful change.
South Korea’s entertainment industry is enjoying massive popularity. Today, there are more than an estimated 220 million fans of Korean entertainment around the world – that’s four times t..

Australian woman charged with assaulting two Muslims2 days agoJoel GuintoBBC NewsAustralian police have charged a 31-year-old woman for assaulting two Muslim women at a shopping centre in Melbourne last week.
The woman from Pascoe Vale suburb is due in court on Wednesday, where it will be alleged that she targeted the two victims on 13 February because of their head coverings, local media report.
She allegedly grabbed and choked a 30-year-old pregnant woman using the latter’s hijab at Epping shopping centre before pushing and slapping another 26-year-old woman in a separate assault 10 minutes later.
This comes two weeks after the country passed tough new laws against hate crimes following a recent string of high-profile antisemitic attacks.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday condemned the incident as “reprehensible”. He rejected criticism that his government was taking Islamophobic attacks less seriously compared to antisemitic attacks.
“I take all attacks on peopl..