Thailand's health minister on Wednesday discouraged tourists from visiting the country only to smoke weed, just two months after new laws were passed that have largely decriminalized the drug.

• These women walk for three hours every day hoping to find food for their children

At least eight people were killed in Seoul on Monday after record downpours flooded homes, roads and subway stations in the South Korean capital, cutting power and forcing hundreds to evacuate, according to authorities.

Chinese forces took part in drills focused on land attacks and long-range airstrikes around Taiwan on Sunday, its military said, on what was expected to be the final day of extensive exercises rolled out in response to a visit to the island from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is no longer in Taiwan, but on Thursday China made good on its promise that the island will pay a price for hosting the highest-ranking US official to visit in 25 years.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taipei on Tuesday, marking a significant show of support for Taiwan despite China's threats of retaliation over the visit.

It was mid-afternoon on a sweltering Saturday when Raj, a laborer from northwest India, started feeling dizzy as he hauled heavy bags of concrete mix and sand on a construction site in downtown Singapore.

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia, according to a senior Taiwanese government official and a US official, despite warnings from Biden administration officials, who are worried about China's response to such a high-profile visit.

Reports that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning a visit to Taiwan have sparked tense exchanges between the United States and China -- and growing speculation over how Beijing might react.

• Why Apple can't quit China • 'I'm losing my mind': Chinese depositor loses life savings in bank

• Analysis: US and China on a knife's edge over Taiwan ahead of Xi-Biden phone call

Countries across Asia are on high alert for monkeypox, screening travelers and scrambling teams of medics, as they report their first cases of the virus, now identified as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Public services in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, have been suspended and businesses are being urged to close, as torrential rains cause deadly flash flooding and infrastructure damage, leaving at least 15 dead since Saturday.

Myanmar's military junta executed two prominent pro-democracy activists and two other men over terrorism charges, state media reported Monday, following a trial condemned by the UN and rights groups.