Asia

Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign affairs chief has embarked on a visit to neighboring Pakistan as the Taliban rulers seek regional and global recognition. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that this week’s visit was a follow-up to a visit last month by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to …

An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 struck southeast of Ryukyu Islands, Japan, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Wednesday. The quake was at a depth of 2 km (1.24 miles) and was about 312 km south of Naha, Japan, EMSC said.

Snowstorms have wreaked havoc in northeast China this week, with record snowfall in some parts snarling traffic, disrupting train services, and raising concerns about power supplies as temperatures plunge, state media reported on Wednesday. Traffic in Liaoning province has been severely disrupted, with the majority of expressway toll stations shut …

Heavy rains on Sri Lanka’s coast and in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu have killed at least 25 people, destroyed thousands of homes and snarled traffic, authorities said. In Sri Lanka, 20 people have died in recent days, most from drowning, while five were hurt in landslides, officials …

China’s military said on Tuesday it conducted a combat readiness patrol in the direction of the Taiwan Strait after its defense ministry condemned a visit to Taiwan by a US Congressional delegation it said had arrived on a military aircraft. The patrol was aimed at the “seriously wrong” words and …

Last month, the family of Mawlavi Ezzatullah, a member of Afghanistan’s Hizb-e Islami party, received a WhatsApp message from his phone: “We have slaughtered your Mawlavi Ezzat, come and collect his body.” Ezzatullah’s killing, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, was one of a steady stream of assassinations and bombings …

A fire swept through a newborn care unit in a hospital in central India, killing four infants, officials said. An investigation was ordered into the fire that occurred Monday night at the Kamla Nehru Children’s Hospital in Bhopal, said Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the chief minister in Madhya Pradesh state. There …

Joyful crowds pelted each other with fistfuls of cow manure this weekend as part of one village’s local ritual to mark the end of Diwali, India’s most important Hindu festival. Similar to Spain’s “La Tomatina” — the eccentric tomato-hurling celebration of the local fruit — residents of Gumatapura instead fling …

India’s manufacturing capital Chennai came to a standstill on Sunday with many areas flooded after the southern Indian coast was battered by heavy rainfall overnight, prompting authorities to issue warnings and evacuate people from low-lying areas. Local media showed footage of cars submerged underwater, uprooted trees, and people being rescued …

The Taliban-run Afghan public health ministry announced on Sunday the start of a four-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign aimed at inoculating children under age 5. For the past three years before taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban had barred UN-organized vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns in parts of the …

At least 11 patients have died after a fire broke out in a hospital’s COVID-19 ward in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, officials said. An official told New Delhi Television that around 17 patients were in the ward in the city of Ahmednagar when the fire broke out. The …

The Pakistani Taliban have demanded that the government of Pakistan release a number of prisoners as a condition for talks aimed at laying the ground for full ceasefire negotiations, multiple sources in the group said. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan or TTP and separate from the …

At least 20 people including children were killed on Wednesday when a bus plunged into a ravine in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, officials said. “The bus carrying up to 40 passengers was going to Rawalpindi when it plunged into a deep ravine while negotiating a sharp turn,” local disaster management authority official …

A roadside bomb struck a Taliban patrol in a stronghold of ISIS militants in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding three, witnesses said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of previous ISIS strikes against the Taliban. The two groups are …

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it has granted approval for Indian drugmaker Bharat Biotech’s home-grown COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use listing, paving the way for it to be accepted as a valid vaccine in many poor countries. The WHO tweet that its technical advisory group had …

An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck off the coast of Kep. Tanimbar in Indonesia late on Tuesday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 109 km (67.73 miles) and was about 440 km southeast of the city of Ambon, EMSC said. The earthquake monitoring …

China’s top climate negotiator said on Tuesday a broad deal on carbon markets was possible at the U.N. COP26 climate talks despite the tensions between Beijing and Washington. Some delegates say the U.S.-China relationship is crucial for meaningful progress on global climate action at the summit. It is the first …

Britain and India launched a plan on Tuesday to improve connections between the world’s electricity power grids to help accelerate the world’s transition to greener energy. Launched at the COP26 climate talks in Scotland, the plan dubbed the “Green Grids Initiative –- One Sun One World One Grid,” was backed …

A suicide bomber and gunmen were behind an attack on a Kabul hospital that killed at least 19 people, and 50+ wounded on Tuesday, a Taliban official said. “The attack was initiated by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle who blew himself up at the entrance of the hospital,” said …

One of the main crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan has reopened after being closed for almost a month, officials said on Tuesday, offering hope for an end to a standoff that has caused heavy losses to traders and left thousands stranded. The Chaman crossing is a major transit point for …