India yesterday assumed the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of August. It has several important items on

 China and a number of Asian countries ramped up Covid-19 curbs yesterday as Delta variant cases surged and tens of thousands rallied in France against restrictions designed to stop the pandemic.

Afghan government forces struggled against Taliban assaults on several major cities yesterday as the insurgents stepped up a nationwide offensive that saw a key airport in the south come under rocket fire overnight. 

Myanmar’s military ruler Min Aung Hlaing has taken on the role of prime minister in a newly formed caretaker government, state media reported yesterday, six months after the army seized power from a civilian government.

China’s growth in new home prices slowed in July for the first time in five months, with smaller cities especially weighed down by higher mortgage rates, price caps on resale homes and other steps to cool speculation, a private-sector survey showed on Sunday.

Chinese factory activity weakened in July to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic, data showed Saturday, as manufacturing was impacted by slowing demand, weak exports and extreme weather.

China’s securities regulator said on Sunday it will seek closer cooperation with its US counterpart and will support overseas listings, after US regulators tightened disclosure for Chinese companies and voiced concern about Beijing’s regulatory actions.

Myanmar's military ruler Min Aung Hlaing has taken on the role of prime minister in a newly formed caretaker government, state media reported on Sunday, six months after the army seized power from a civilian government.

Small groups of students protested against Myanmar’s military junta yesterday in Mandalay and a human rights group accused the armed forces of crimes against humanity as the country approached six months since the army’s takeover. 

The mastermind behind a 2019 attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary troops has been killed in a shootout with security forces, Indian police in Kashmir said yesterday. 

Eleven people were killed in eastern India after torrential rains swept away homes and triggered landslides, officials said yesterday, taking the country’s monsoon death toll above 230. 

Hundreds of black-clad Malaysians yesterday staged an anti-government protest in defiance of a ban on public gatherings under coronavirus curbs, piling pressure on the embattled prime minister to resign.  

India's Punjab state government has ordered schools -- all classes -- to reopen from August 2, as the state further relaxed Covid-19 restrictions.

Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will mark “Muslim Women Rights Day” across India tomorrow to celebrate the enactment of the law against instant triple talaq.

Hundreds of black-clad Malaysians staged an anti-government protest Saturday in defiance of a ban on public gatherings under coronavirus curbs, piling pressure on the embattled prime minister to resign.

Britain warned the United Nations Security Council Thursday that half of coup-wracked Myanmar’s population of 54 million could become infected with Covid-19 within the next two weeks.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has denied a report that Pakistani fighters have crossed the border into Afghanistan to aid the Taliban in its fight against the Afghan government. 

Imprisoned by the military, detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is isolated from the young protesters now forging their own struggle for democracy outside of her shadow. 

The first person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law was jailed for nine years yesterday for terrorist activities and inciting secession, judges said, in a watershed ruling with long-term implications for the city’s judicial landscape. 

India’s Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear next week the plea of senior journalist N Ram seeking a probe by a sitting or a retired judge into the Pegasus snooping matter.