Asia

Hong Kong police made their first arrest under a new national security law imposed by China’s central government, arresting a protester Wednesday for carrying a flag calling for Hong Kong’s independence. The man was arrested after police had issued multiple warnings to the crowd at a protest in the city’s …

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan said its findings indicate the Afghan military had mistakenly fired the mortars this week at a busy market in southern Helmand province that inflicted heavy civilian casualties. A car bombing and mortar shells struck the market in Sangin district on Monday, killing 23 people, including …

China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that the Chinese government has asked some U.S. media outlets present in the country to submit information about their China operations. Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian named the Associated Press, CBS, and United Press International news agency as companies asked to submit the requested information …

The World Health Organization (WHO) will “read carefully” a Chinese study on a new flu virus found in pigs, a spokesman said on Tuesday, saying the findings underscored the importance of influenza surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new flu virus found in Chinese pigs has become more infectious to …

Indian TikTok users awoke Tuesday to a notice from the popular short-video app saying their data would be transferred to an Irish subsidiary, a response to India’s ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries. The quick workaround showed the ban was largely symbolic …

The Taliban says it has held a video conference call with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during which the militant group reaffirmed its commitment to the peace process in Afghanistan. Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said in a tweet on June 30 that the Taliban and the top U.S. diplomat held …

Chinese researchers have discovered a new type of swine flu that can infect humans and has the potential to cause a future pandemic, according to a study released on Monday. The disease, which researchers called the G4 virus, is genetically descended from the H1N1 swine flu that caused a global …

China has approved a contentious law that would allow authorities to crack down on subversive and secessionist activity in Hong Kong, sparking fears that it would be used to curb opposition voices in the semi-autonomous territory. Tam Yiu-Chung, Hong Kong’s sole representative to the Standing Committee of the National People’s …

At least 30 bodies were recovered after a ferry carrying scores of people sank in the river of Buriganga in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Monday. Enayet Hossain, senior duty officer of Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters, told that Xinhua that “30 bodies including 19 men, eight women and …

Fighting erupted in Taiwan’s parliament on Monday as lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) broke through barricades erected by the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) who had occupied it to protest against government “tyranny”. Taiwan is a rambunctious democracy and fights and protests inside the parliament building are not …

At least 30  civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province after rockets fell on a cattle market. Afghan government and Taliban officials immediately traded blame for the deaths on Monday in the open-air weekly cattle market in the Sangin district. Hundreds of villagers from neighbouring districts had gathered to …

At least 23 ferry passengers have been killed in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka when the vessel sank after a collision, officials have said. The ferry reportedly carrying about 100 passengers capsized in the Buriganga river that runs along with southwest Dhaka, officials said on Monday. The dead include six women …

China has decided to impose visa restrictions on U.S. individuals who have acted viciously on issues related to Hong Kong, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in response to the U.S. imposition of visa restrictions on Chinese officials. The U.S. …

Heavy flooding triggered by monsoon rains has forced more than a million people to flee their homes in the northeast Indian state of Assam, authorities said on Monday, warning that the crisis was becoming more critical by the hour. The Brahmaputra River, one of the largest rivers in the world …

Gunmen attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in the city of Karachi on Monday killing two guards and a policeman before security forces killed all four of the attackers, police said. Separatist insurgents from Balochistan province – the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) – claimed responsibility in a post on Twitter …

China has extended COVID-19 tests to newly reopened salons amid a drop in cases, while South Korea continues to face new infections after it eased social distancing rules to lift the economy. In the U.S., Vice President Mike Pence called off off a planned campaign bus tour in Florida following …

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request by Texas Democrats to allow all of the state’s 16 million registered voters to vote by mail during the coronavirus pandemic. The denial is not the end of the ongoing battle over mail-in voting in Texas, but it remains a loss …

Thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after a local administrator warned dozens of village leaders that the army planned “clearance operations” against insurgents, a lawmaker and a humanitarian group said. But a government spokesman said late on Saturday an evacuation order issued by border-affairs officials …

Hundreds of Hong Kongers marched silently through the city’s streets on Sunday in protest against the looming national security legislation to be implemented by the mainland Chinese government. Riot police armed with shields were present as the crowd moved from Jordan to Mong Kok in the Kowloon district, as part …

Shanghai received 3.73 million visits by tourists during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism. With tighter restrictions and caps on the number of visitors amid the COVID-19 epidemic, the city’s 150 tourist sites recorded 1.29 million visits during the holiday …