Myanmar’s military-backed parliament yesterday approved a law authorising capital punishment for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres.

Oman has won backing from Gulf states for a plan that would let Tehran collect voluntary fees to use the Strait of Hormuz, a Gulf source told Reuters yesterday, a path towards ending the disruption to oil trade caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Despite being an earthquake-prone country, Bangladesh remains poorly prepared for a major seismic event, experts warn.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan’s southern Kumamoto prefecture yesterday, knocking out power to thousands of homes, rupturing roads and leaving some trapped and several others dead inside a partially collapsed shopping mall.

More than 390 drones targeted the Moscow region overnight, the Russian capital’s mayor said yesterday, hours before Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The US walked out as France addressed a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Monday, accusing its longtime ally of “disingenuous grandstanding” over French comments comparing the US to North Korea, Russia and other authoritarian states regarding votes on human rights issues.

Shots were fired at the US consulate in Toronto on Monday but no one was injured, Canadian police said, the second shooting near the diplomatic compound in four months.

Protesters and security personnel engaged in deadly clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as the sensitive Himalayan region goes to the polls, an official said yesterday.

India’s government yesterday proposed longer jail terms and heftier fines for examination paper leaks, seeking to restore confidence after youth-led protests focused on education reforms rocked the country.

Firefighters in France and Spain rushed to contain the worst wildfires in living memory yesterday, seizing crucial hours before the arrival of another wave brings scorching temperatures.

Inspectors examined documents, raw ​material sources and production processes to ⁠determine how much value ​was added before exporting to ​the United States

Japan issued a tsunami alert after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit the country's southwest on Tuesday, knocking out power to thousands of households

According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China

Myanmar's military-backed parliament approved a law on Tuesday that authorises capital punishment for those who detain or violently coerce victims into working in online scam centres, the speaker said

US President Donald Trump on Monday voiced optimism at the prospects for a negotiated peace deal with Iran, as the two sides held their fire for a third consecutive day

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday for the first time since the start of the Iran war

Shelters in France and Spain yesterday overflowed with exhausted locals and holidaymakers forced to flee blazes so massive some were forming their own mini weather systems, as authorities warned a new heatwave was set to descend on parts of the region.

Globally, people currently use roughly 7,500 languages, with English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Arabic and French the most common, counting native and nonnative speakers. That is a lot of languages. But it is a far cry from the peak number historically.

A French off-duty policeman yesterday detained a man after he allegedly attacked and wounded three women with two kitchen knives in Paris, a minister and police said.

A UN torture expert has called on Pakistan to end its inhumane treatment of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, as his party planned to stage a nationwide march demanding his release.