China’s President Xi Jinping pledged on Friday to support Myanmar in its rebuilding efforts following the Southeast Asian nation’s deadliest earthquake in recent years, according to state media Xinhua.

India and Pakistan yesterday accused each other of launching fresh strikes involving drones and artillery for the third consecutive day, raising fears of a wider conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir offers a potentially rich intelligence harvest for China in its own rivalry with India as it gleans data from its fighter jets and other weapons used in action by Pakistan.

Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad is giving President Donald Trump three months before his fellow Americans force him to rethink his stringent global tariff strategy, accusing the US leader of “living in an old world”.

"We will not de-escalate -- with the damages India did on our side, they should take a hit," Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told media at a briefing

The drills involved a 600-millimetre multilayer rocket system and a tactical ballistic missile.

AFP looks at how the trade row between the world's two economic superpowers is playing out

China's exports to the United States fell 17.6 percent month-on-month in April, official data showed Friday, as Beijing navigates a high-stakes trade war with Washington.

Blackouts enforced in border districts

Pakistan's army said it shot down 25 Indian drones, while New Delhi accused Islamabad of launching overnight raids with "drones and missiles", and claimed it destroyed an air defence system in Lahore

Says Pakistan defence minister

This was the second time that top government functionaries and opposition leaders met

Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday ruled that civilians could be tried in military courts, overturning an earlier ruling by the apex court.

Bangladesh has expressed deep concern over the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan, urging both countries to remain calm, exercise restraint, and refrain from taking any actions that could further aggravate the situation.

Here are key reactions

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India's response was 'non-escalatory and measured'

The western districts of Rajasthan have been placed on high alert

India said it struck nine Pakistani 'terrorist infrastructure' sites, some of them linked to an attack by Islamist militants on tourists that killed 26 people in Indian Kashmir last month

Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu said nearly 40 percent of the country's imported rice came from India and Pakistan

Poonch's local revenue officer Azhar Majid told AFP from the town's hospital  that there had been "29 injured and eight deaths"