Four people are dead, five are injured and 25,000 have been displaced following heavy monsoon rains and strong winds in the Philippines, officials said on Sunday.Floods and landslides amid days of continuous torrential rains since last week have upturned thousands of lives, the national disaster agency said.A 39-year-old woman died on Friday in the northern city of Baguio when a tree fell and crushed a taxi she was riding in, the agency said. Two people were also injured in the accident.In the…

When US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met her Japanese and South Korean counterparts last week in Tokyo, the message they delivered was one of solidarity and agreement when it came to keeping the peace in the Indo-Pacific. Sherman told reporters that the trio were “shoulder to shoulder” when it came to North Korea, with the meeting also discussing the importance of stability in the Taiwan Strait – a comment that prompted resistance from Beijing as an attempt to interfere in China’s…

Malaysia on Sunday reported its highest ever daily rise in Covid-19 cases, with the cumulative number of infections topping 1 million for the first time.Health authorities recorded 17,045 new infections, bringing the total to 1.01 million with 7,994 deaths.On June 28, the government extended its lockdown for an indefinite period, but the spread of infections has not stopped, especially in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area.It has said lockdown rules will only be eased when daily Covid-19 cases…

Indian sprinter Revathi Veeramani was about six years old when both her parents died from separate illnesses, leaving her maternal grandmother to care for two orphaned young granddaughters. Arammal Veeramani, 76, raised the family by earning a daily wage doing odd jobs at farms and brick kilns. Money was always tight, but she made sure the girls were able to finish their education and chase their dreams, even if it meant Revathi had to run barefoot. “I didn’t have any money to support Revathy…

French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted with flower garlands and Tahitian dancers on the tarmac as he touched down on Saturday night for his first official trip to French Polynesia.While in the South Pacific territory, he plans to discuss its strategic role in the Indo-Pacific, the legacy of nuclear tests and the existential risk of rising seas posed by global warming.Residents in the sprawling archipelago of more than 100 islands located midway between Mexico and Australia are hoping…

Follow our live coverage of day two of the Tokyo Olympics here.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday that face masks are a “must” at Tokyo medal ceremonies, after swimmers were seen taking off masks on the medal podium and hugging other competitors in violation of Covid-19 rules.Masks are mandatory across all Olympic venues, both inside and outside, for all athletes, staff and media, as part of Games organisers’ strict measures to combat the coronavirus.“It’s not a nice to…

Rohit and Neha met while working in the same office in Noida, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. They fell in love, but Neha’s parents did not approve due to the couple being members of the same clan, which meant they were regarded as almost siblings. When Rohit and Neha decided to marry, her family refused to grant permission.So the couple – whose names have been changed to protect their privacy – married in a temple near their village last month and have been on the run since.Like many of…