A young child, barely two-and-a-half years of age, from Mukah in Sarawak, Malaysia became the first fatality of the year for the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in the country. The cause of death was severe pneumonia associated with HFMD infection.Outbreaks of HFMD occur every few years in various parts of the world and happen year-round in tropical and subtropical countries.

Democracy is a four-letter word in Cambodia.After 33 years in power, the country’s strongman leader, Hun Sen is set to prolong his rule when his party, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) announced its victory in a one-horse election.

The cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will become the next prime minister of Pakistan. The vote count was completed three days after the election on 25 July, and Khan led his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to victory. A party – or a coalition of parties – requires the support of at least 137 members of the National Assembly to be called upon to form a government. Khan is close to achieving that goal.

A powerful earthquake which struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok on Sunday killed at least 14 people, injured scores and damaged thousands of homes, officials said. Five children were among those killed by the shallow 6.4-magnitude early-morning quake, which sent people running outside in panic and triggered landslides on popular mountain hiking routes. Scores of aftershocks sparked fear among survivors.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he has signed a law which grants expanded autonomy for the mainly Catholic nation's Muslim south, a key step to ending one of Asia's longest and deadliest conflicts.The measure has for years been a crucial missing element to a languishing peace pact with the country's largest Islamic rebel group which, along with other guerrillas, has waged a rebellion in the southern Philippines that has claimed about 150,000 lives since th

In the aftermath of a watershed election in Malaysia last May, newly minted Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamed set about fulfilling his reform pledge which catapulted him back into office for a second term.

After decades of deadlock, there seems finally to be some diplomatic movement on the Korean Peninsula.

Along a busy highway in western Phnom Penh, Sam Han is among hundreds of garment factory workers scurrying past signs urging them to support Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen’s party.The 44-year-old plans to head to her hometown near the Vietnamese border to vote in Sunday’s election, even though there’s not much of a choice.

The global population is expected to hit eight billion in 12 years. By 2050, that number will reach nine billion. ASEAN could hold the key to feeding this unprecedented number of people but only if its member countries can look beyond domestic political survival. While regional shot-callers are quick to sign multilateral agreements, the work that actually makes a difference involves engaging with 600 million or so people who live in rural areas.

Mountainous and landlocked Lao PDR, known as the "Battery of Asia", is building dozens of dams at breakneck speed so it can sell energy to power-hungry neighbours as a fast track out of poverty.But the communist country's ambitious power plans are highly controversial.