Asia

A helicopter crashed in bad weather in eastern Nepal on Wednesday, killing all seven people on board, including the tourism minister, a home ministry official said. A search team recovered the bodies from the crash site in Taplejung, about 300 km (185 miles) east of Kathmandu, near the border with …

Police and the Rapid Action Battalion have arrived at the Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, responding to reports about a plane hijacking attempt, Gulf News reported. Local media outlets have announced that one crew member was shot during the alleged attack. However, no official statements from the authorities have …

At least 150 people have died from drinking toxic bootleg liquor in a northeastern state of India, the second such tragedy in the country this month, with many more hospitalized as authorities try to pinpoint the source and round up perpetrators. The figure is based on reports from three hospitals …

A man has been killed and two injured in a bomb attack outside a telecom company office in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepali police say. The explosion occurred on Friday outside the office of private telecom company Ncell in Lalitpur district. Nepal has enjoyed a relatively peaceful environment since the end …

The Indian government has denounced Pakistan as a “rogue state,” stressing that the country will exercise all options required to overpower Islamabad, which New Delhi holds accountable for a deadly terrorist attack in the disputed region of Kashmir last week. “We (India) have to act in a manner that this …

A fast-moving fire swept through a historic district of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, killing at least 78 people, officials say.     The blaze broke out at night in a residential building that had flammable material stored on the ground floor. Members of a bridal party are thought to be among …

Pakistan has warned it will retaliate if India takes military action against it after a militant attack on Indian forces in Indian-administered Kashmir. Prime Minister Imran Khan went on television to call on India to provide evidence to support its claims that Pakistan was involved. India responded that Mr Khan …

India will look into commercial considerations and related factors to determine the value of oil imports from any country, an Indian official said, after a top US official warned countries against buying oil from Venezuela. Earlier this week, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton warned countries and companies against buying …

Google’s latest 3D rendered maps of four Taiwanese cities have inadvertently revealed the locations of key missile defense locations on the self-governing island, including a previously-secret Patriot missile base. Now, Taipei is rushing to push the tech giant to blur the maps over those sites. In 2012, Google Maps announced …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Pakistan has been postponed amid widespread protests against him as well as heightened tensions in the region. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that a two-day visit by the crown prince to Islamabad that was scheduled for Saturday had been postponed. The ministry said …

The United States sailed two warships close to disputed islands in the South China Sea on Monday  , a move that is bound to draw the ire of Beijing. The guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance and USS Preble sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands as part of what …

Almoez Ali scored with a spectacular overhead kick for a record ninth goal of the Asian Cup to set Qatar on their way to a first continental title with a stunning 3-1 win over four-times champions Japan. Ali’s early goal took him past Ali Daei’s 1996 tally and, combined with …

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are planning on meeting in Vietnam in late February, according to a source familiar with the matter. A senior administration official and a second source with knowledge say the current plan is for the second summit between President Trump …

India’s railway network attracted 19 million applications for just 63,000 vacancies as part of a national drive to recruit helpers, porters, cleaners, gatemen, track maintainers and assistant switchmen. The railway’s recruitment effort is a potent symbol of India’s employment conundrum. The country is one of the fastest-growing major economies in …

In Video| The city in the north Indian state of Punjab has some 800,000 inhabitants. The big cat was loose in the city for more than twelve hours before it was caught. Police inspector Jeevan Singh confirmed to Sputnik that the leopard was first sighted at 1.30 pm on Thursday …

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has denied any wrongdoing after US prosecutors filed a host of criminal charges against the firm. Huawei has also rejected criminal claims against its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada last month. The charges filed against Huawei in the US include bank …

India’s main opposition Congress party has offered to roll out a means-tested universal basic income if it wins the country’s fast-approaching general election. Congress’s leader Rahul Gandhi described the scheme as “the first of its kind in the world”. “We have decided that every poor person in India would be …

Confidential data detailing the HIV-positive status of thousands of people living in Singapore has been leaked online by a US citizen, officials in the country have said. Records leaked include 5,400 Singaporeans diagnosed as HIV-positive before January 2013 and 8,800 foreign residents diagnosed before December 2011, the city state’s Ministry …

The captain of the Bangladeshi passenger plane that crashed in March as it landed at Kathmandu airport in Nepal “seemed to have an emotional breakdown” just before the crash, reports said. Fifty-one people died when the Bombardier Q400 turboprop, operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla, swerved off the runway as it …

At least 30 people have been killed after a landslide destroyed an illegal gold mine in Afghanistan’s northern Badakhshan province. Sanaullah Rohani, a provincial police spokesman, said a further seven people were injured while working in a tunnel in Kohistan district on Sunday.  Officials said the victims were villagers who …