Asia Pacific

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. South Korea will not deploy its military to the Middle East in a way that could draw the country directly into the war involving Iran and the United States, President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday, ending recent speculation about whether Seoul could send forces or military assets to the Strait of Hormuz. Lee’s statement comes after growing...

Published: 18 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Indonesia has received its first aircraft carrier, marking a significant development in the country’s naval capabilities and opening a new debate over the cost, purpose and long-term usefulness of the vessel. The former Italian warship, the ITS Giuseppe Garibaldi, arrived at the Tanjung Priok naval base in North Jakarta on Friday morning and was welcomed with a military...

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online More than 125,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of September as renewed fighting pushes families from their homes and places additional pressure on communities already struggling with years of conflict and humanitarian hardship. The latest wave of displacement has been particularly severe in and around Taiz, where fighting has spread through rural districts and...

Published: 17 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Fiji has declared a national HIV emergency after a sharp increase in infections raised concerns about the country’s ability to contain a rapidly changing epidemic. The Pacific island nation, home to fewer than one million people, is facing one of the fastest increases in new HIV infections recorded globally, according to UNAIDS. The emergency declaration was announced by...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online People defending forests, rivers and Indigenous territories are facing continuing threats of violence, intimidation and murder, with communities in several countries increasingly organising local protection groups as criminal networks move deeper into environmentally sensitive areas. A new assessment cited by the independent watchdog Global Witness says 124 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2025, equivalent to roughly...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Saudi Arabia has warned Yemen’s Houthi movement that the security of Islam’s holiest sites is a “red line” after Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a drone south of Mecca before it entered the city’s restricted airspace. The incident has intensified regional tensions and prompted condemnation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Saudi-led coalition said the...

Published: 12 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Nearly 50,000 civilians have been displaced by a rapid advance by Houthi forces along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast, according to humanitarian workers, as renewed fighting threatens to push the war-torn country into another prolonged period of conflict. The sudden offensive has emptied entire villages, separated families and left communities close to frontline areas struggling to obtain food,...

Published: 12 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Saudi Arabia has temporarily halted operations on a strategically important oil pipeline after authorities said several drones launched from Iraqi territory targeted the facility, causing injuries and damage. The incident has added fresh pressure to an already fragile regional energy and security situation, with Saudi Arabia increasingly relying on the pipeline to transport crude oil while the Strait...

Published: 11 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Philippine rescuers have finally entered the charred remains of the MV June Aster more than 40 hours after a devastating fire broke out aboard the passenger-cargo ferry, as the search continues for 84 people still unaccounted for. Five people have been confirmed dead and 43 have been rescued, according to the Philippine Coast Guard, while many of those...

Hong Kong Activists Jailed Over Tiananmen Vigils Published: 11 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Three prominent Hong Kong democracy activists who helped organise annual vigils commemorating China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, marking another major development in the city's continuing national-security crackdown. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Chow Hang-tung, 41, received seven years...