Asia

Several thousand people gathered in Bangkok to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Friday, one day before lawmakers hold a no-confidence vote over his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Protests against Prayuth have gathered steam since late June as university students who sought his removal …

Indonesia condemned on Friday an attack on a house of worship belonging to the Ahmadiyah, a Muslim minority sect, on its part of the Borneo island, calling it an “illegal act”. In a video posted on social media dozens of people can be seen attacking the building, in a village …

Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga has announced he will not run for the leadership of his governing party later this month – paving the way for a new premier after just a year in office marred by an unpopular COVID-19 response. Mr. Suga was appointed to the role in September …

Britain will not recognise the Taliban as the new government in Kabul, but must deal with new realities in Afghanistan and does not want to see its social and economic fabric broken, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Friday. Speaking during a visit to Pakistan, Raab said it would not …

Mullah Baradar, the head of the Taliban’s political office, will lead the new government in Afghanistan, at least three sources in the group said on Friday. Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai will take senior positions in the government, the …

Western Union Co is resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday, a decision he said was in line with a US push to allow humanitarian activity to continue after the Taliban’s takeover. The world’s largest money-transfer firm and MoneyGram International Inc, another global remittance provider, …

The US reportedly used a secret CIA compound to rescue Americans, along with members of elite Afghan special forces, amid the chaos in and around the Kabul airport. The compound, known as the Eagle Base and located less than three miles north of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, …

Authorities blanket disputed region with troops and clamp down on communications to prevent protests over Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s death. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the veteran separatist leader from Indian-administered Kashmir, has been laid to rest as the Indian authorities crackdown on public movement and impose a near-total communications blackout …

Apple Inc is facing an antitrust challenge in India for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the apps market by forcing developers to use its proprietary in-app purchase system, according to a source and documents were seen by Reuters. The allegations are similar to a case Apple faces in the …

India reported the biggest single-day rise in COVID-19 cases in two months on Thursday, as the government worries about the virus spreading from the most-affected Kerala state, schools reopening, and the start of the festival season. Densely populated Kerala, on India’s southern tip, accounted for nearly 70 percent of the …

The Indonesian Navy says it has seized a Panamanian-flagged tanker in the waters off Riau islands after the foreign vessel was found to be carrying more than 4,000 tons of oil without valid permits. Indonesian Navy commander admiral Arsyad Abdullah said in a statement late Wednesday that the Panamanian-flagged tanker, …

Pope Francis has denounced the United States over its two-decade-long war in Afghanistan as an outsider’s attempt to impose democracy on the country ignoring the traditions of the local people. Asked during a recent interview about the new political map forming in Afghanistan in the wake of the US withdrawal, …

North Korea has rejected roughly three million COVID-19 vaccine doses of China’s Sinovac Biotech, saying they should be sent to severely affected countries, the UNICEF said on Wednesday. The isolated country’s public ministry pointed to the limited global supply for vaccines and continuing virus surges elsewhere, according to the UN …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the United States achieved “zero” during 20 years of military involvement in Afghanistan, just two days after American forces fully exited the country, and “the result is sheer tragedies,” the Associated Press reported. During those years, Putin said Wednesday that U.S. forces in Afghanistan were …

Leading scholars and lawyers are joining politicians and human rights groups in Britain Wednesday for the first large-scale conference to discuss the Chinese government’s alleged genocide against the Uyghur ethnic group in the northwest Xinjiang region. The three-day conference at Newcastle University brings together dozens of speakers, including senior British …

A Qatari aircraft landed in Kabul Wednesday carrying a technical team to discuss the resumption of airport operations after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. “A Qatari jet carrying a technical team has landed in Kabul earlier today to discuss the resumption …

After nearly 20 years of fighting against the US in Afghanistan, the victorious Taliban posed with captured American gear at the Kabul airport, held a mock funeral for NATO in Khost, and flew a Black Hawk helicopter over Kandahar. The last US troops left the Hamid Karzai International Airport on …

After 20 years of US military presence in Afghanistan, Army General Chris Donahue was the last American Soldier to officially leave the country, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. “The last American soldier to leave Afghanistan: Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps boards …

The resistance movement against the Taliban in Panjshir province retaliated against an attack by the group that targeted one of the province’s outposts, which led to the death of seven Taliban fighters, a member of the resistance movement said on Tuesday. “We pushed back against an attack by the Taliban …

Hours after the final foreign forces flew out of Afghanistan, Taliban leaders walked victorious through the airport, flanked by guards dressed in special forces combat kit inspecting destroyed US helicopters. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid led a group of officials onto the runway, his usual stoic expression replaced by broad grin. …