Asia

China and Russia have reworked a draft resolution urging the UN Security Council to ease sanctions on North Korean exports with the intent of “enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population” in the east Asian country. The draft resolution was first pitched by the two countries in December 2019, seeking …

Many of Afghanistan’s US-trained spies and military personnel have joined the Daesh terrorist group after being abandoned by the United States, a new report has revealed. Citing Taliban leaders and former Afghan security officials, The Wall Street Journal reported that several members of the former Afghan government’s intelligence and military apparatus joined Daesh, …

Japan’s ruling conservative party has defied expectations and retained control of the country’s parliament in Sunday’s general elections, giving Prime Minister Fumio Kishida a thumping mandate to deliver on his promises to resurrect the pandemic-hit economy. Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) defied initial exit polls that suggested the party, attacked …

A 24-year-old man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring about 10 people as many party-goers headed into the city center for Halloween gatherings, media reported. Police arrested the suspected attacker on the spot, media reported. A man in his 60s …

Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, made a rare public appearance in the southern city of Kandahar, Taliban sources said on Sunday, belying widespread rumors of his death. Akhundzada, known as the leader of the faithful or Amir ul Momineen, had not been seen in public even after the Taliban’s …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked Pope Francis to visit India, a significant opening towards the head of the Catholic Church who has long sought an official invitation to the Hindu-majority country. Modi, who is in Italy for the G20 summit, invited Francis during a meeting at the Vatican, …

Dozens of relatives and dignitaries gathered in South Korea’s capital on Saturday to pay their final respects to former President Roh Tae-woo, a key participant in a 1979 military coup who later won a landmark democratic election before his political career ended with imprisonment for corruption and treason. Pandemic restrictions …

Myanmar’s military junta sentenced a close aide of ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 20 years in prison for treason on Friday, his lawyer said. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February 1 coup, with nationwide protests and more than 1,100 people killed by security forces, according …

The Philippine government said Friday it will postpone elections key to ending decades of sectarian bloodshed in a troubled Muslim region, with the pandemic and a stalling peace process blamed for the delay. The vote was a key provision in a 2014 peace agreement aimed at ending a conflict estimated …

Mina Ahmed smears a cement mixture to strengthen the walls of her war-ravaged home in rural Afghanistan. Her hands, worn by the labor, are bandaged with plastic scraps and elastic bands, but no matter, she welcomes the new era of peace under the Taliban. She was once apprehensive of the …

South Korea said on Friday it will drop all operating-hour curbs on restaurants and cafes and implement its first vaccine passport for high-risk venues such as gyms, saunas, and bars, as it tries to “live with COVID-19”. The first phase will go into effect on Monday and last for a …

China will finance the construction of an outpost for a special forces unit of Tajikistan’s police near the Tajik-Afghan border, the Central Asian nation’s parliament said on Thursday. The post will be located in Tajikistan’s eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in the Pamir mountains, which borders China’s Xinjiang province as well …

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday to resume financing support to cash-strapped Afghanistan for reconstruction. The Taliban takeover in August saw billions of dollars in central bank assets frozen and international financial institutions suspend access to funds, although humanitarian aid …

India has tested a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead up to 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), the defense ministry said, in what media called a “stern signal” to China as the two remain locked in a border spat. The Agni-5 missile blasted off from Abdul Kalam Island off …

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said she has “faith” that the US will defend the island in the event China launches a military strike, in an interview with CNN broadcast Wednesday. “I do have faith” that US forces would help defend Taiwan, Tsai told the news network, adding that Washington’s commitment …

Cooped up at home in Herat, Afghanistan, Zainab Muhammadi reminisces about hanging out with her friends in the cafeteria after coding class. Now she logs on every day to secret online lessons. Her school shut down after the Taliban took control of the country in August. But that did not …

China condemned the US’s latest overture toward Taiwan, warning that ties between the two countries faced “huge risks” just weeks after Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to hold a video summit. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for greater participation by Taiwan in UN organizations violated the …

Exercise comes soon after China, Russia held joint patrols in contested waters last week Close on the heels of joint patrols by China and Russia in the region, the navies of the US and Japan are holding military exercises in contested waters of the South China Sea. The Japan Maritime …

Four Pakistani police were killed and hundreds wounded when armed activists from a banned Islamist group clashed with security forces at an anti-blasphemy demonstration near the eastern city of Lahore, officials said. The clash broke out at a rally of the banned Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) on a highway in Sheikhupura, …

Myanmar’s deposed Leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has reportedly denied a charge of incitement to cause public alarm in her first court testimony since her arrest and following a February 1 military coup. Suu Kyi testified at a special court session in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Tuesday, when she denied …