Korean Air plane catches fire on Haneda runway, Tokyo

The plane was sprayed with foam to stop the fire spreading

More than 300 passengers and crew were evacuated from a Korean Air plane in Tokyo, Japan after a fire broke out in its left engine.

Python in Thai toilet gives man nasty shock

Attaporn Boonmakchuay pried the snake's jaws open before passing out - but is now making a good

recovery

A Thai man is recovering in hospital after a 3m (10ft) python emerged from a squat toilet and sank its fangs into his penis.

Barack Obama makes historic Hiroshima visit

Download Flash Player now

You need to install Flash Player to play this content.

Live: President Obama wreath laying ceremony in Hiroshima

The first nuclear bomb

• Was it right to bomb Hiroshima?
• Do Hiroshima residents even want an apology?
• Video Atomic bomb survivor honours US POWs
• Video The paper cranes of Hiroshima
  

G7 Japan: World leaders visit Shinto religion's holiest shrine

The leaders took part in a planting ceremony in the grounds of the shrine

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has taken world leaders to the Shinto religion's holiest site, as the Group of Seven (G7) summit begins in the country.

G7 Japan: World leaders visit Shinto religion's holiest shrine

The visit to the shrine is controversial



Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has taken world leaders to the Shinto religion's holiest site, as the Group of Seven (G7) summit begins in the country.

Indonesia approves death penalty for child rapists

 

There was initially little media attention on the case of the murdered Sumatran schoolgirl, Yuyun

Indonesia has toughened its punishments for child rapists to include the death penalty and chemical castration.

Six things about the $6 Bourdain-Obama meal

 

 This photo, shared on Instagram by US celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, drew more than 120,000 likes and thousands of comments 

 

Deep in the heart of Hanoi, US President Barack Obama sat down for a $6 meal with celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain on Tuesday. The chef, known for his love of adventurous street food, described the date in a series of tweets and an Instagram post.

Here are six observations about the noodle summit at a hole-in-the-wall eatery.

Indonesia volcano: Seven killed as Mount Sinabung erupts

The search for injured people is hampered by a continuous current of ashes.



Seven people have been killed after a volcano in western Indonesia erupted, blasting clouds of volcanic ash 3km (2 miles) into the sky.

The victims were farming in an area that was declared unsafe because of its close proximity to Mount Sinabung.

The volcano was still spewing ash on Sunday, hampering rescue operations.

More than a dozen people were killed when it erupted in 2014. It also erupted in 2010, after having been dormant for 400 years.

Rescue teams are still scouring the area, looking for more victims who may have been killed or badly burned by the hot gas and ash clouds released in the eruption.

 

The army is helping rescue villagers trapped when their homes were enveloped in ashes

 

Rescue teams were searching homes and farms in the village of Gamber, which was also evacuated in 2014.

What causes volcanoes?

  

Villagers inspect the path of ash and rocks from the eruption of Mount Sinabung.

  

Other make for safety, leaving most of their possessions behind

The 2,460-metre (8,070 foot) tall volcano is among the country's most active.

Indonesia, located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, has more than 120 active volcanoes.

 

  The victims were all farming in the exclusion zone around the volcano

Japanese pop star in critical condition after knife attack by fan

Many girl singers and groups, like the Masked Girls here, are hugely popular in Japan



A Japanese pop star is in a critical condition after being repeatedly stabbed by a fan as she was waiting to perform at a concert venue in Tokyo.

Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour killed, Afghans confirm

 

The purported site of the drone strike in the Ahmad Wal area of Balochistan in Pakistan

Taliban conflict
What we know about Kunduz hospital bombing
The battle for the Taliban
Who are the Taliban?
Battleground Kunduz: The city the Taliban seized

Afghan Taliban leader Mansour 'probably killed' in US air strike

 
 Mullah Akhtar Mansour quickly climbed through the Taliban hierarchy

Taliban conflict
What we know about Kunduz hospital bombing
The battle for the Taliban
Who are the Taliban?
Battleground Kunduz: The city the Taliban seized

Bangladesh headmaster: Shyamal Kanti Bhakta reinstated after sacking

Shyamal Kanti Bhakta denies allegations he insulted Islam



The Bangladeshi government has reinstated a headmaster who was sacked after being publicly humiliated over allegations that he insulted Islam.

Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen sworn in as first female president

 

 Ms Tsai's presidency is expected to see a change in the relationship between Taipei and Beijing 

 

Tsai Ing-wen has been sworn in as the new president of Taiwan, the island's first female leader.

The Thai cleaning lady facing prison for 'I see'

Download Flash Player now

You need to install Flash Player to play this content.

Patnaree Chankij: "I've always been careful about this law."

Patnaree Chankij's home on the outskirts of Bangkok is a cramped, three-room house in which the 40-year-old widow lives with two of her children, and where she often does other people's laundry to make ends meet. At other times she works as a casual cleaner in apartments and offices.

Chinese jets intercept US spy plane over South China Sea, Pentagon says

China has criticised US military activity in the region (file picture)



Two Chinese fighters have carried out an "unsafe" intercept of a US military aircraft over the South China Sea, the Pentagon says.

Philippines election: Hardliner Rodrigo Duterte 'set for presidency'

Download Flash Player now

You need to install Flash Player to play this content.

Rodrigo Duterte has a persuasive story to tell, Jonathan Head reports

Hardline anti-crime candidate Rodrigo "Digong" Duterte looks set to become president of the Philippines after polls gave him an unassailable lead.

Video shows Afghan woman's 'Taliban execution'

Taliban conflict

What we know about Kunduz hospital bombing
The battle for the Taliban
Who are the Taliban?
Battleground Kunduz: The city the Taliban seized

Indonesia police confiscate sex toy mistaken for 'angel'

Pictures spread on social media of the apparent "angel"

Indonesian police have confiscated a sex toy from a remote village after its inhabitants and some on social media mistook it for an "angel".

Hostages held by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines make video plea

 

After the killing of Canadian John Ridsdel the Philippine military launched an offensive against Abu Sayyaf

Islamist militants in the Philippines have threatened to kill three more hostages if a ransom is not met, a week after they beheaded a Canadian man.

Vietnam protest over mystery fish deaths

Hundreds of people have held a rare protest in Vietnam against the unexplained mass death of fish on the country's central coast.


Vast numbers of dead fish have appeared across some 200km (125 miles) of coastline since early April.