Asia

China has hit back at the United States, asking Washington to face up to its own human rights violations after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remarks on the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. On the eve of the anniversary of the protests, Blinken on Thursday said Washington would “honor the …

Indonesia has canceled the haj pilgrimage for people in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation for the second year in a row due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the religious affairs minister said on Thursday. For many Indonesians, a religious pilgrimage is a once-in-a-lifetime event, with an average wait time …

A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking off Sri Lanka’s west coast, the country’s government and navy said on Wednesday, in one of Sri Lanka’s worst-ever marine disasters. The Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl, carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid, along with other chemicals and cosmetics, …

A Hong Kong museum commemorating China’s deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests closed Wednesday three days after opening as the ruling Communist Party tries to stamp out the last traces of public discussion of the event. Hong Kong was the last place on Chinese soil where the party’s attack on …

Indonesia’s foreign minister called on Wednesday on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to immediately name an envoy to troubled Myanmar, more than a month after the bloc agreed on steps to try to end turmoil after a military coup. ASEAN is leading the main diplomatic effort on Myanmar …

Three bomb explosions have rocked the Afghan capital city of Kabul, claiming the lives of at least 10 people and plunging the city into darkness, according to Afghan government officials. Hamid Roshan, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, said two bombs exploded in separate locations in a west Kabul neighborhood …

The head of NATO says the military organization’s pullout from Afghanistan is going well after an 18-year presence in the country NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military organization’s pullout from Afghanistan is going well, as at least six people were killed Tuesday in a series of attacks that plunged …

Eight people, including four soldiers, killed and 15 others wounded in attacks on security forces in Balochistan ahead of PM Imran Khan’s visit. At least eight people have been killed and 15 wounded in two separate attacks on security forces in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan, the military says, …

Police say 4,000 refugees demonstrated when senior UN officials arrived on remote Bhasan Char island to visit the settlement. Several thousand Rohingya refugees have staged “unruly” protests against living conditions on a cyclone-prone island off Bangladesh where they were moved from vast camps on the mainland, police said. Since December, …

North Korea’s ruling party has amended its rules to create a de facto second-in-command under leader Kim Jong Un as he looks to revamp domestic politics, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Tuesday. Citing an unidentified source familiar with North Korea, the agency said the holder of the new …

A car bombing targeted a district police headquarters in the northern province of Baghlan, inflicting casualties on the security forces and civilians, officials said Monday. Provincial Police Spokesman Javed Basharat said that the attack took place on Monday evening in Baghlan-e-Markazi-e-Jadid district. He said security forces have identified and shot …

More than 1,400 Afghans have moved to Britain under a resettlement scheme, with another 3,000 expected to move under new rules. Britain will make it easier for Afghans who worked with British troops to settle in the United Kingdom, amid rising fears for their safety as foreign forces leave Afghanistan, …

China announced on Monday that married couples may have up to three children, a major policy shift from the existing limit of two after recent data showed a dramatic decline in births in the world’s most populous country. The change was approved during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi …

PM Khan said normalisation of ties with India would mean ignoring the struggle of Kashmiris. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has ruled out the possibility of normalisation of relations with India, saying such a move would be a betrayal to the Kashmiris. In a live Q and A session with …

China on Monday reported a sudden surge in COVID-19 infections in the country’s south, with 18 new local cases on May 30 in the city of Guangzhou, causing a flurry of flight cancellation. Of the 27 new coronavirus cases reported by the national health authority in its daily updates, only …

Japan is considering requiring fans attending the Tokyo Olympics to show negative COVID-19 test results or vaccination records, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Monday, as a new poll showed public opposition to the Games remained strong. With the opening of the Games less than two months away, public confidence has …

A mortar bomb fired by the Taliban struck a wedding ceremony in a province north of the Afghan capital, killing at least six people including women and children, officials said on Sunday. The incident happened late Saturday in Kapisa province when a shell aimed at an army checkpoint hit a …

Vietnam’s business hub Ho Chi Minh City will begin social distancing measures for 15 days starting from May 31 in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, the country’s government said on Sunday. The city has seen a spike in cases related to a religious mission that has recorded …

A large ferry with nearly 200 people on board caught fire Saturday while traveling to a remote island in northeastern Indonesia, forcing passengers and crew to jump into the sea but causing no casualties, officials said. The KM Karya Indah was in the Molucca Sea heading for Sanana, a port …

A roadside bomb hit a bus carrying university staff in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing three teachers and wounding 15 others, police said on Saturday. The incident took place in Charikar, the provincial capital of Parwan. The bus was carrying teachers from Al-Biruni university, said a spokesman for the provincial …