Asia

Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most volatile volcano, has erupted twice in a single day, with video showing it releasing ash and hot gas six kilometers into the sky. The volcano killed over 350 people in an eruption 10 years ago. Sunday’s eruptions covered villages with ash on the main island of …

With increased tensions in the disputed Ladakh region, India and China are seeking ways to defend their assets and protect their territories along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In order to confront the border threat, the Indian government is allegedly seeking to purchase 33 new Russian fighter jets as …

Taliban militants kidnapped about 60 civilians in central Afghanistan over the past week, officials said on Sunday, with more than half still being held amid efforts by the United States and other foreign powers to start peace talks. The Taliban took the hostages in the central province of Daikundi after …

Indonesia’s most volatile volcano on Sunday spewed ash and hot gas in a massive column as high as 6km (3.7 miles) into the sky. Mount Merapi’s clouds of ash, accompanied by a rumbling sound heard kilometres (miles) away, blanketed several villages on the main island of Java. Indonesia’s Center for …

China lost at least 40 soldiers in a clash with India at their disputed border this week, a federal government minister has said, as the nuclear-armed countries remained locked in confrontation on the frontline on Sunday. China has not said anything about any losses in the hand-to-hand combat that took …

An inactivated COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the Institute of Medical Biology under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has entered phase-2 clinical trials in China, the Science and Technology Daily reported Saturday. The phase-2 trials, which further evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine in humans, are conducted …

qw is gearing up to send propaganda leaflets over its southern border, denouncing North Korean defectors and South Korea, its state media said on Saturday, the latest retaliation for leaflets from the South as bilateral tensions rise. Enraged North Korean people across the country “are actively pushing forward with the …

Days after a deadly border clash with China, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said late Friday that Chinese troops did not enter the Asian nation’s territory “nor is any of our post captured.” During a virtual meeting with political parties, Modi assured opposition leaders that Indian borders are secure and …

An Indian government minister has called for an economic boycott of China, following a deadly Chinese-Indian military clash in a disputed border region. “China is a country that betrays”, Ramdas Athawale, India’s minister for social justice and empowerment wrote on Twitter, adding that India “should boycott all Chinese goods”. He …

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians detained in China in December 2018, have been formally charged with spying by Chinese prosecutors, in a move that is likely to raise tensions between the two countries. The People’s Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality filed prosecution against Kovrig on Friday for “for spying …

China has released 10 Indian army soldiers, including at least two senior officers, it captured in a high-altitude border clash in the Himalayas which left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, media reports said. The release follows several rounds of talks between the two sides in a bid to ease …

Nepal’s National Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the Constitution Amendment Bill to update the country’s political and administrative map incorporating three Indian territories. India has termed as untenable the “artificial enlargement” of territorial claims by Nepal after its lower house of Parliament on Saturday unanimously approved the new political map …

Beijing has published a slew of measures to tighten the control of personnel flow after new clusters of COVID-19 infections emerged, according to a press conference Thursday. People belonging to three categories are not allowed to leave Beijing, according to Pan Xuhong, deputy head and spokesperson of the municipal public …

Relations between China and India have always been complicated. During British colonialism, India was the source of opium foreign traders forced onto Chinese markets, sparking war between the UK and the Qing Empire that ended in humiliation for China. Since independence, India’s relations with its largest neighbor have been tested …

Nearly 80 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and persecution, marking a near-doubling of global displacement in a decade, the UN said Thursday. By the end of 2019, one out of every 97 people in the world was living uprooted and displaced, according to …

Beijing’s two major airports canceled two-thirds of all their flights Wednesday, and the government has also shut down schools as the Chinese city faces a new COVID-19 outbreak. More than 60% of flights at Beijing Capital International Airport were canceled Wednesday, while around half of all flights were canceled at …

Taliban fighters killed at least 12 Afghan security personnel Wednesday in a pre-dawn raid on a northern checkpoint, officials said, the latest violence claimed by the insurgents. Four security force members were also captured by the militants in the attack in Jawezjan province, said Maroof Azar, spokesman to the governor. …

North Korea on Wednesday rejected South Korea’s offer to send special envoys to ease escalating tensions over defector activity and stalled reconciliation efforts and vowed to redeploy troops to border areas. The announcements made by state media agency KCNA came a day after North Korea blew up a joint liaison …

The order is expected to seek the use of financial incentives to encourage police departments to adhere to best practices following nationwide protests against police brutality and racism. US President Donald Trump is set to announce executive actions on police procedures and Senate Republicans are preparing a package of policing …

Earlier in the day, the Indian Army said in a statement that one officer and two soldiers from India were killed during clashes on the border with China in the Ladakh region. A top official in the Indian Army told Sputnik on Tuesday that the number of casualties on the …