State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid yesterday said Bangladesh has a plan to import 9,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Nepal to mitigate the increasing demand of electricity by 2040.

Myanmar government has cleared the travel of UN agencies’ staff in northern Rakhine, in order to conduct preliminary assessments in some 23 villages – 12 in Buthidaung and 11 in Maundaw.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls out to Myanmar government to allow humanitarian access to northern Rakhine, where attention is needed.

Head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi urges the government representatives and the business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region to offer more support and protection for over 700,000 Rohingyas who have fled violence and discrimination in Myanmar's Rakhine State over the past year.

Myanmar says the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to run a case on atrocities against Rohingyas.

The death toll from a shallow 6.9-magnitude earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen above 130, officials said yesterday, with some 156,000 forced from their homes.

Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak was hit with new charges yesterday linked to a multi-billion-dollar financial scandal that contributed to his shock election defeat in May.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, and UNDP, the UN's development agency, urges Myanmar authorities to make tangible progress to improve conditions in Rakhine State.

Malaysia's embattled former prime minister Najib Razak will be charged today under a money-laundering act, the anti-graft agency said, in connection with a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that hit Indonesia's tourist island of Lombok topped 100 yesterday as rescuers found victims under wrecked buildings, while thousands left homeless in the worst-affected areas waited for aid to arrive.

In a major breakthrough, India’s elite anti-terror probe body National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested four suspected operatives of banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB), including a top leader, in India.

Mehrunnisa Hayat, the daughter of Imran Khan's wife Bushra, joins the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Bangladesh should dramatically improve living conditions for Rohingya in the world's largest refugee camp and scrap plans to move many to a flood-prone island, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday called on his Myanmar counterpart to release two Reuters journalists accused of breaking a draconian secrecy law during their reporting of a Rohingya massacre.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began a four-day visit to Asia to promote a US vision of transparent, private sector-led investment

Monsoon rains have pummelled the Mekong region in recent days with Myanmar bearing the brunt of flooding that has forced 150,000 to flee and threatens to destroy levees shielding thousands of homes.

China wants military exercises and energy exploration with Southeast Asian nations in disputed waters, according to a draft document, but insists on outside countries being excluded in what analysts say is a bid to diminish US influence.

Myanmar has scaled back plans for a Chinese-backed port on its western coast, sharply reducing the cost of the project after concerns it could leave the Southeast Asian nation heavily indebted, a top government official and an advisor told Reuters.

The number of elderly people committing suicide in Singapore reached a record high last year, a non-government group said yesterday.

Investigators said yesterday they still do not know why Malaysia's Flight MH370 vanished four years ago in aviation's greatest mystery, sparking anger and disappointment among relatives of those on board.