Thousands of Afghans protested against the Taliban in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday, according to a former government official and local television footage, after residents were asked to vacate a residential army colony.

The United States said Tuesday it had evacuated nearly 500 "military and civilian" Afghans from Uzbekistan, while the ex-Soviet country declared there were now no Afghan refugees on its territory.

Hong Kong will create a host of new national security offences, a senior official confirmed yesterday, building on a law Beijing imposed last year that has criminalised much dissent and transformed the city.

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog fined Google nearly $180 million on Tuesday for abusing its dominance in the mobile operating systems and app markets, it said, the latest in a series of regulatory moves against tech giants around the world.

Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi returned to court yesterday to face charges of incitement and flouting Covid restrictions, her lawyer said, a day after failing to appear on health grounds.

The Taliban yesterday thanked the world for pledging hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency aid to Afghanistan, and urged the United States to show “heart” in future dealings. 

The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is a shattering earthquake that will shape the Middle East for many years, a senior Gulf official has said, warning that – despite the group’s promises of moderation – the militant group is “essentially the same” as last time it was in power.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi returned to court on Tuesday, a day after a non-appearance on health grounds, seeming relieved, but saying she was still "somewhat dizzy", her lawyer said.

Fifteen people including a seven-year-old boy have been found inside a refrigerated truck in Vietnam after they tried to escape areas of the south badly hit by Covid-19, state media said yesterday.

Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi skipped the resumption of her coronavirus-delayed trial in a junta court because she felt ill, her lawyer said yesterday.

Donors have pledged more than $1.1 billion to help Afghanistan, where poverty and hunger have spiralled since the Islamist Taliban took power, and foreign aid has dried up, raising the spectre of a mass exodus.

India is worried that growing complacency as Covid-19 infection rates and deaths decline could lead to people skipping their second vaccine shots, leaving communities vulnerable to the coronavirus, said two health experts briefed on the matter.

The Indian government yesterday informed the Supreme Court that it is not going to file a detailed affidavit on petitions seeking inquiry into alleged use of spyware Pegasus. The government had asked for time to decide on filing the affidavit twice.

Malaysia’s new government signed an agreement to cooperate with the opposition yesterday in exchange for a promise of reforms, a bid to bring stability after intense political turbulence.

The Taliban co-founder and now deputy prime minister of Afghanistan released an audio statement yesterday saying he was alive and well after news of his supposed demise went viral on social media.

The United Nations' human rights chief criticised on Monday the Taliban's record since seizing power in Afghanistan, saying stated commitments did not match realities on the ground such as the status of women.

Japan must counter neighbouring China's assertiveness by beefing up the coast guard and improving its coordination with the military, Fumio Kishida, a contender to head the ruling party and become the next prime minister, said on Monday.

Deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was unable to appear at a court hearing on Monday for health reasons, a member of her legal team said, describing her condition as dizziness caused by motion sickness.

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane carrying a handful of passengers touched down at Kabul airport Monday, the first international commercial flight to land since the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan on August 15.

North Korea test-fired a new "long-range cruise missile" over the weekend, state media reported Monday, with the United States saying the nuclear-armed country was threatening its neighbours and beyond.