Asia

The atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima 75 years ago didn’t just kill and maim. The survivors have also lived for decades with lingering shame, anger, and fear. Many in Japan believed radiation sickness is infectious or hereditary. Some hid their status as survivors. Some harbored thoughts of revenge in …

The United States announced Wednesday its highest-level visit to Taiwan since it switched diplomatic recognition to China in 1979, a move Beijing blasted as a threat to “peace and stability”. The visit, headed by health chief Alex Azar, comes as relations between the world’s two biggest powers plunge to historic …

Sri Lankans shrugged off fears of the novel coronavirus and streamed into polling centres on Wednesday to elect a new parliament that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa hopes will clear the way for him to boost his powers. The tourism-dependent island nation of 21 million people has been struggling since deadly Islamist …

Authorities on Wednesday enforced security restrictions in many parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir, a year after New Delhi revoked the disputed region’s semi-autonomy in a decision that set off anger and economic ruin amid a harsh security clampdown. Officials lifted a curfew in the restive region’s main city of Srinagar late …

China says it will retaliate the United States’ potential expulsion of Chinese journalists, following a move by Washington to decline to renew their visas. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a daily briefing in Beijing on Tuesday that the Chinese government would retaliate if the US persisted …

A confidential United Nations (UN) report purportedly says several countries believe that North Korea may have developed “miniaturized nuclear devices to fit into the warheads of its ballistic missiles.” The report, prepared by an independent panel of experts monitoring UN sanctions and seen by Reuters, said several countries, which it …

India has imposed a curfew in many parts of the Indian-controlled Kashmir ahead of the first anniversary of New Delhi’s decision to abolish the disputed region’s autonomous status. Indian forces patrolled streets in Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar on Tuesday and enforced restrictions on people’s movement after authorities announced the …

China said on Tuesday it will retaliate if Washington continues what it described as hostile actions against Chinese journalists based in the United States. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the ministry understands that no Chinese journalist in the United States have had their application for a visa renewal …

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to place the capital and outlying provinces back under lockdown after medical groups warned that the country was waging “a losing battle” against the coronavirus. The move also comes amid an alarming surge in infections. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Monday that metropolitan …

China said on Monday it will suspend its extradition agreement with New Zealand in response to Wellington suspending its existing extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin announced the decision at a daily briefing.

An Islamic State terrorist group attack on a prison in eastern Afghanistan holding hundreds of its members raged on Monday after killing at least 21 people in fighting overnight, a local official said. Another 43 people have been wounded in the attack that began late Sunday when an Islamic State …

At least three bombs exploded outside a jail compound in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Sunday, officials said. Sohrab Qaderi, a provincial council member in Jalalabad, said a huge car bomb explosion was followed by at least two smaller bomb blasts outside a government-run prison, and that police …

Thailand has suspended plans for its army to undertake joint training with the U.S. military after nine Thai soldiers tested positive for coronavirus upon returning from Hawaii, the defence ministry said on Sunday. The Thai Army said the infected soldiers were among 151 Thai officers who had returned from Lightning …

At least eleven people were killed after a large industrial crane toppled over at a shipyard in India. Rescue workers are still trying to save those trapped in the wreckage, according to reports. A short video shows the heavy-duty yellow crane at the Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam falling over on …

An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck Mindanao, Philippines, on Saturday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake had a depth of 473 kilometers, EMSC said. An initial report on the quake, later revised, gave a magnitude of 6.3.

More than 60 people have died after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in the Indian state of Punjab, officials and reports said. The victims died in three districts of the northern state and police have arrested 10 people, the officials said. Hundreds of people die every year in India from poisoned …

China’s ByteDance has agreed to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, after President Donald Trump said on Friday he had decided to ban the popular short-video app, two people familiar with the matter said on Saturday. U.S. officials …

The United States imposed human rights sanctions on a Chinese company on Friday, targeting the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, also known as XPCC, along with two individuals, according to the Treasury Department’s website. The move was yet another step in the deteriorating relations between the United States and China …

India reported another record surge in daily COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the total to 1.64 million, as the government further eases virus curbs in a bid to resuscitate the economy, while also trying to increase testing. Infections jumped by 55,078 in the past 24 hours, while the death toll …

Cross-border artillery fire by Pakistan killed at least 15 civilians in Afghanistan on Thursday, Afghan officials said, prompting Kabul to put its ground and air forces on alert. The artillery fire came after clashes between Pakistani and Afghan security forces at the closed Chaman-Spin Boldak border crossing, where crowds on …