South Korea’s tense thriller “No Other Choice,” Thailand’s surreal “A Useful Ghost” and Taiwan’s “Left-Handed Girl” headline Asia’s submissions to the 98th Academy Awards for best international feature film. They are joined by Vietnam’s “Mua do (Red Rain),” Japan’s “Kokuho,” Singapore’s “Stranger Eyes,” Cambodia’s “Tenement,” China’s “Dead to Rights,” Indonesia’s “Sore: Wife from the Future,” Hong Kong’s “The Last Dance,” India’s “Homebound,” Nepal’s “Anjila” and the Philippines’ “Magellan” confirmed ahead of the Academy’s submission deadline on Wednesday.

Harvard University has appointed Kareem Khubchandani, a South Asian drag artist and associate professor at Tufts University, as the 2025–26 F.O. Matthiessen Visiting Associate Professor in its Studies of Gender and Sexuality program. His classes will examine ethnographic methods in queer research and the political dimensions of drag through shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”

Japanese immunologist Shimon Sakaguchi was named one of three laureates for the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. He shares the recognition with U.S. scientists Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell for discovering how specialized immune cells, known as regulatory T cells, prevent the body from attacking its own tissues. The discovery established a foundation for therapies that modulate the immune system in conditions such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

An undocumented Chinese national died at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Calexico, California, on Sept. 29 after suffering an apparent seizure, marking the second death in the agency’s custody in the state within two weeks.

A federal appeals court ruled last Friday that President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship violates the Constitution, delivering another major defeat to his immigration agenda.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is leading aggressive congressional opposition to President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago, characterizing the move as a dangerous misuse of military power that violates constitutional principles.

Five years after Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang was arrested at her home in Ho Chi Minh City, an international coalition of human rights and press freedom organizations is urging authorities to release her immediately.

Jasmine Ikeda, an activist born in Hawaii, was among 479 people detained when Israeli forces intercepted a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza on Oct. 1. The civilian-led convoy is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which included participants from more than 30 countries such as climate advocate Greta Thunberg, aimed to deliver food and medical supplies to the besieged enclave. Israeli authorities have deported many of those held, including Thunberg, but there has been no official confirmation regarding Ikeda’s current status or whereabouts as of this writing.

An app used to report possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings was removed from Apple’s App Store on Oct. 2 after the Trump administration said it posed safety risks to immigration officers. The app, called ICEBlock, had gained traction among users in immigrant communities affected by federal enforcement actions. Authorities said the crowdsourced reports could expose agents’ locations and interfere with operations.

A viral video posted by a content creator last week has drawn scrutiny to Los Angeles restaurant Great White after she alleged that Asian customers were seated together in one corner while non-Asian diners filled the main area. The clip, filmed by Cassidy Cho at the restaurant’s Melrose location, has fueled public concern about potential racial bias in seating practices.