China’s factory activity shrank for a seventh straight month in October, official data showed Friday, as trade uncertainty ahead of talks between President Xi Jinping and US leader Donald Trump weighed on the economic powerhouse.

India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has said “poor governance” was the driving factor behind the uprisings that led to the fall of governments in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in recent years.

Indian Sikh pilgrims have been issued visas for neighbouring Pakistan, the first major allowance after travel between the arch-rival nations was frozen during conflict in May.

The Maldives began implementing a smoking ban yesterday on anyone born after January 2007, becoming the only nation with a generational prohibition on tobacco, the Health Ministry said.

At least nine people were crushed to death after a massive crowd surge at a Hindu temple in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh yesterday, the state’s governor said.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted Xi Jinping for their first meeting yesterday as the Chinese head of state took centre stage and reforged old ties at an Asian summit from which US leader Donald Trump was largely absent.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth yesterday took aim at Beijing over an increase in “destabilising actions” in the South China Sea and committed to supporting Southeast Asian countries with technology to help them respond jointly to Chinese threats.

The stampede occurred at the Venkateswara temple in Kasibugga in Srikakulam district

The Maldives began implementing a smoking ban Saturday on anyone born after January 2007

The fire involved a restaurant in one of the building’s upper floors

The United States has signed a 10-year defence framework agreement with India, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday.

Agreement aims to deepen military ties, tech collaboration

Pheu Thai members elected Julapun Amornvivat, a former deputy finance minister

Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors warn Trump after his directive to Pentagon on nuclear testing

Chinese leader Xi Jinping was expected to meet Canada and Japan's new prime ministers for the first time on Friday, a day after agreeing to a trade war ceasefire with US President Donald Trump..The meeting in Busan, South Korea saw Trump announce a cut in US tariffs and Xi agree to maintai

Myanmar authorities yesterday announced the arrest of three artists for undermining the upcoming junta-organised election, wielding new speech laws that rights monitors say oppress dissent.

Mediators from Turkey and Qatar convinced them to resume talks, said Reuters sources

China exercises a virtual monopoly on so-called "rare earth" metals, essential for everything from household appliances to cars, energy and weapons

Investors cautiously optimistic of trade truce extension

Myanmar’s military government will hold the second phase of its multi-stage election on January 11, state media said yesterday, a vote dismissed as a sham by Western countries, the United Nations and human rights groups.