Asia

Asserting that “today’s era must not be of war”, the New Delhi Declaration of G20 countries on Saturday called on all states to uphold the principles of international law, including territorial integrity and sovereignty and pitched for initiatives for “comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine”. “The use or threat …

The African Union has been granted permanent membership to the G20, host nation India has announced, in an historic expansion of the economic bloc. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi invited the president of the 55-member African Union (AU) to take a seat at the table among permanent members at the …

Schools and offices were shut, roads were turned into muddy rivers and the stock exchange was closed as record-breaking rainfall hit the city and southern China. A deluge not seen in more than a century brought this global hub to a soaking standstill on Friday. Schools and offices were shut, …

As Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022, marking the start of Europe’s biggest war since World War II, countries around the world came under pressure to choose between the Western-backed Kyiv on the one hand and Moscow on the other. For more than 18 months since then, New …

North Korea has launched its first operational “tactical nuclear attack submarine”, a key part of leader Kim Jong Un’s plan to develop a nuclear-armed navy to counter the United States and its Asian allies. Submarine No 841 – named Hero Kim Kun Ok after a prominent North Korean historical figure …

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has warned against the “new Cold War” at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) when dealing with conflicts between countries, as leaders of the economic grouping gathered in Indonesia. On Wednesday, Li sounded the alarm at the 43rd ASEAN summit held in Jakarta …

New Development Bank (NDB) launched by the BRICS bloc aims to increase local currency fundraising and lending, amid Western sanctions against founding shareholder Russia, South African Finance Ministry has announced. According to South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, increasing local currency use among NBD members will be on the summit’s …

Beijing has condemned a visit to the US by Taiwan’s “separatist” Vice President William Lai, vowing to take “resolute and vigorous” steps to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Lai stubbornly adheres to the separatist position of Taiwan independence and is a troublemaker through and through,” China’s Foreign Ministry declared …

Malaysians in six states headed to the polls on Saturday in regional elections seen as a major test of support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s nine-month old administration. The election in the states of Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah will not directly impact Anwar’s two-thirds majority in …

China has countered Western media claims that some European countries have refused participation in this year’s Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, insisting that they were not invited in the first place. Beijing has not invited the leaders of some developed nations mentioned in Western media reports, so the …

Senator Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has been appointed as Pakistan’s new caretaker prime minister to lead the country and hold national elections scheduled to be held in November. Opposition leader Raja Riaz Ahmad named Kakar as caretaker prime minister following a meeting with outgoing prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday, according to …

The United Nations says it has evidence that Myanmar’s military has been “committing increasingly frequent and brazen war crimes” since they took power in a coup d’état more than two years ago. UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) said in its annual report on Tuesday that “the number of …

More than 300 Muslim homes and shops have been demolished by government authorities in India’s state of Haryana state in just four days, almost a week after a deadly attack on a mosque by a Hindu mob in a Muslim-majority district of the northern region. Indian authorities launched the condemned …

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s political party has censured as “ridiculous” a local court verdict that handed him a three-year jail sentence over corruption allegations. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party announced on Sunday that an appeal had been filed in the higher courts against the ruling, which also barred …

Two people are reported dead in Okinawa, state broadcaster NHK says, as slow-moving Typhoon Khanun continues to bring heavy rain and gusty winds to southern Japan, prolonging the potential damage of the storm. A total of 41 people in Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures were injured, according to the Fire and …

The Supreme Court of India has begun hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation by the government of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that stripped the Indian-administered Kashmir of its special status. The five-judge bench that has started hearing the petitions challenging the constitutionality of the legislation that …

Daesh has claimed responsibility for a massive bomb attack in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday that killed at least 54 people, including 23 children. The blast targeted a political party gathering in the town of Khar in Bajaur district. More than 200 people were wounded. The Takfiri terrorist group said in a statement …

Senior Taliban representatives and a delegation of US officials discussed the economic stability and drug trafficking in two-day talks in the Qatari capital of Doha two years after the Taliban swept back to power. The two sides discussed confidence-building measures during the two-day talks, including the lifting of sanctions and …

China’s defense ministry has warned the United States against going further down a “wrong and dangerous” path after Washington approved a new military aid package for Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). The US must stop all forms of “military collusion” with Taiwan, said Defense Ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei in a statement on Tuesday a after …

Myanmar junta partially pardoned charges against the ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, cutting her 33-year jail sentence by six years. The Western-backed leader Suu Kyi, 78, was convicted on 19 offences and sentenced to 33 years of imprisonment after being detained since the military coup in early 2021, on …