Suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar during Friday prayers, witnesses said, killing at least 41 people and injuring scores more.

The head lawyer representing Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday he had been issued a gag order by authorities in the military-ruled country.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suspended flights to the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday after what it called heavy handed interference by Taliban authorities, including arbitrary rule changes and intimidation of staff.

Afghanistan’s new Taliban government has warned US and European envoys that continued attempts to pressure them through sanctions will undermine security and could trigger a wave of economic refugees. 

Taiwan’s defence ministry warned China of strong countermeasures yesterday if its forces got too close to the island, as Beijing defended its incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone as “just” moves to protect peace and stability.

More than 100 countries yesterday pledged to put the protection of habitats at the heart of their government decision-making but they stopped short of committing to specific targets to curb mass extinctions.

On October 10, Pakistan's "Father of Islamic Bomb" Abdul Qadeer Khan -- popularly known as AQ Khan -- passed away in Islamabad due to Covid-19. Unlike many other great men, Khan left behind a legacy no short of a Bond film.

At least 28 people were killed and more than a dozen injured yesterday after a packed passenger bus plunged off a road in a hilly region in northwestern Nepal, officials said.

China yesterday pledged to inject $233 million into a new fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries during a key UN conservation summit, despite disagreements among major donors on the initiative.

The navies of Quad countries -- the US, India, Japan, and Australia -- began the second phase of a maritime exercise in the Bay of Bengal today as the chief of American naval operations arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted his government is “not delivering” as shortages persist of food, medicines and other essential items because of a dire foreign exchange squeeze.

A key UN summit tasked with protecting biodiversity opened in China and online yesterday, as countries meet to protect ecosystems and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference.

The United States said on Sunday the first face-to-face meeting between senior US and Taliban officials since the hardline group retook power in Afghanistan was "candid and professional" and that the US side reiterated that the Taliban would be judged on their actions, not just their words.

The Taliban have warned the United States not to “destabilise” the regime during their first face-to-face talks since the US withdrawal, as a deadly sectarian bombing raised further questions about their grip on power. 

Hundreds of people in restive Indian-administered Kashmir have been detained by police investigating a spate of targeted killings by suspected rebels, officials told AFP yesterday.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, lionised at home as the father of Pakistan’s atomic bomb despite admitting he was at the centre of a nuclear proliferation ring, died yesterday at age 85.

Nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan passed away in Islamabad on Sunday morning at the age of 85.

The International Criminal Court on Friday said it cannot rule on a prosecutor’s request to resume a war crimes investigation of Afghanistan until it can decide who represents the country in international bodies.

The European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) has observed that the Pandora Papers reflect a deep-seated malaise in South Asia, Pakistan in particular.

Strolling casually with their machine guns in hand, Halimi and hundreds of fellow Taliban fighters enjoyed a rare day off with a visit to a popular waterside amusement park in Kabul.