Hong Kong banned cannibidiol, also known as CBD, as a "dangerous drug" and imposed harsh penalties for possession on Wednesday, forcing fledging businesses to shut down and revamp.
Opponents of Myanmar's military rule heeded a call on Wednesday by organizers to stay home in a "silent strike" as the prospects for peace in the country seem dim 2 years after the army seized power.
Every couple of years, a deadly outbreak of Nipah virus terrorizes villages in Bangladesh. Scientists there are studying the virus, which is harbored in fruit bats, to stop the cycle of outbreaks.
A powerful blast struck on Monday inside a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 59 people, according to hospital and police officials.
China has been trying to woo back foreign investors and businesses after nearly three years of self-imposed isolation, but a quick economic recovery will also hinge on domestic consumption.
A passenger bus crashed into a pillar and fell off a bridge, killing 40 people in southern Pakistan. On the same day, at least 10 students drowned in a lake after their boat capsized.
A court in Thailand sentenced a 27-year-old political activist to 28 years in prison on for posting messages on Facebook that it said defamed the country's monarchy.
Authorities have made no mention of COVID. North Korea claimed victory over the disease by August, but experts remain skeptical of that claim. The lockdown will last from Wednesday until Sunday.
The production of opium in Myanmar has flourished since the military's seizure of power as the faltering economy has led more people toward the drug trade, according to a new United Nations report.
The BBC documentary interviews journalists, activists and victims of the 2002 unrest, which left more than 1,000 people dead. They say the prime minister, then a regional leader, looked the other way.
People across China rang in the Lunar New Year on Sunday with large family gatherings and crowds visiting temples after the government lifted its strict "zero-COVID" policy.
This Lunar New Year, the Vietnamese will observe a different animal in the zodiac, the cat. The reasons are murky: could be linguistics or the landscape — or maybe cats are just plain friendlier.
Speaking to her party's annual caucus, 42-year-old Ardern said "it's time" for her to move on and that she "no longer had enough in the tank" for her premiership.
Low fertility rates in the wake of China's former one-child policy and lockdowns related to the COVID pandemic have contributed to the country's shrinking population.
