Indonesia had planes flying again on Tuesday after a volcanic eruption forced the country’s major airports to close for days, with authorities saying that flights would resume gradually.

The disruption, caused by the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, halted nearly 3,000 flights and stranded more than 340,000 passengers.

Ash from Anak Krakatoa, which sits halfway between ‌Java and Sumatra islands, has blanketed Jakarta and some surrounding areas since its initial eruption late on Friday.

The country’s...

Japan will substantially raise its fees for residence permits next month. Depending on the period of stay applied for, renewing or changing one’s residency status could cost as much as ¥75,000 (US$480). The application fee for permanent residency will rise to ¥200,000 from ¥10,000.

The government is also tightening the requirements for permanent residency. Applicants are already expected to be able to support themselves. New criteria proposed include an above-average household income, sufficient...

The suspected murderers of two Australian surfers and an American at a Mexican surfing hotspot went on trial Monday, two years after their killings in a suspected robbery.

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, respectively, and 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were on a surfing trip to Mexico’s Pacific coast when they were shot dead in Baja California state.

They had been camping in a remote beachside area when they were attacked in April 2024.

Their bodies...

North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on Monday in a carefully choreographed display of friendship.

The structure, which crosses the Tumen river, has been cast by both sides as an important milestone ‌in their deepening strategic partnership.

The first flag-adorned trucks trundled across the 1km (0.6-mile) long two-lane bridge as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and North Korea’s Premier Pak Thae Song tuned in by video link to address workers and government officials from...

Japan’s tourist hotspot Shinjuku will impose a ban on more than half of its holiday rentals, including homes on Airbnb, after a surge in complaints about visitors, an official has said.

Known for its buzzing commercial and entertainment district in the Japanese capital Tokyo, Shinjuku has about 4,000 short-term rentals, according to the ward’s official website. That is nearly 10 per cent of the country’s total.

But its large residential population has become increasingly exasperated with...

China will impose provisional anti-dumping duties of up to 99.2 per cent on Japanese dichlorosilane, a critical chemical used in chipmaking, after an eight-month investigation found that dumped imports had harmed local manufacturers.

The Ministry of Commerce announced the preliminary ruling on Monday, saying importers of dichlorosilane originating from Japan would be required to pay corresponding cash deposits from Tuesday.

Shipments from Denal Silane, a manufacturer of semiconductor speciality...

Malaysian police have contacted Islamist opposition leader Abdul Hadi Awang over his explosive claim that the United States once offered to help his party topple the government – an allegation Washington has flatly dismissed as false.

The controversy erupted after Hadi told thousands of delegates at the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) congress in Kelantan on Saturday that American representatives had approached party leaders when Barack Obama visited Malaysia in 2014.

Hadi’s political...

Nepal is seeking financial aid following the catastrophic flood that killed hundreds of people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, tapping a global financial mechanism established to address the impacts of climate change in developing countries.

Kathmandu has formally requested the UN-backed Fund for responding to Loss and Damage to “respond rapidly, directly and effectively” amid the country’s worst natural disaster in decades.

In a letter signed by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle...

Philippine prosecutors filed a criminal charge on Monday against a lawmaker and cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr over his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal involving bogus flood-control projects.

The case came more than a year after Marcos put the so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects, believed to have cost Filipino taxpayers billions of dollars, centre stage in a public address.

Several construction firm owners, government officials and politicians have been...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s promise to unveil more projects in eight months’ time at the launch of the country’s second modern destroyer hints at another major strategic military asset, according to experts.

“The nuclearisation of our navy is being realised, making it increasingly suited, diversified and practical for the use of our deterrent,” Kim said while commissioning the Kang Kon in the southeastern port of Wonsan on Sunday.

Kim was accompanied by his daughter and potential...