Afghanistan’s Taliban government is pressing for the release of billions of dollars of central bank reserves as the drought-stricken nation faces a cash crunch, mass starvation and a new migration crisis.

Win Htein, a senior aide to Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday on charges of high treason, media and one of his family members said.

India has deployed recently acquired US-made weaponry along its border with China, part of a new offensive force to bolster its capabilities as the countries remain deadlocked over territory.

Six years ago, nearly every country in the world set targets for reducing their carbon emissions -- but the sum total of their pledges fell far short of what was needed to keep the planet from dangerously overheating.

The proscribed Islamist group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) resumed its march from Gujranwala yesterday, with thousands of activists travelling in cars, buses and on foot continuing their journey towards Islamabad.

China has submitted a revised plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions before the end of this current decade, but critics say the country that produces 27 percent of global emissions has failed to go further and demonstrate leadership at a critical moment for the planet.

Top US General Mark Milley has called China’s recent hypersonic missile test “very close” to a Sputnik moment.

Reuters, Shanghai

India has rejected calls to announce a net zero carbon emissions target and said it was more important for the world to lay out a pathway to reduce such emissions and avert a dangerous rise in global temperatures.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said on Thursday it has agreed with China to upgrade their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, a day after reaching a similar deal with Australia.

Chief Minister of India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Yogi Adityanath, today said those celebrating Pakistan’s victory against India in the recent T20 World Cup match will face sedition charge.

Three students from Jammu and Kashmir, who are studying at an engineering college in Agra, were arrested for allegedly committing “cyber terrorism” by updating their WhatsApp status to hail Pakistan’s victory against India in the T20 World Cup cricket match three days ago.

Chinese authorities have told Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, once the country’s richest man, to use his personal wealth to alleviate the embattled company’s debt crisis, according to media reports.

Thousands of demonstrators from a banned Pakistani Islamist group clashed with police yesterday, killing and wounding several people from both sides, police and the group said.

China yesterday insisted that Taiwan had no right to join the United Nations, after the United States ratcheted up tensions with a call for the democratic island to have greater involvement in the world body.

India’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered an independent investigation into the alleged government use of Pegasus spyware on journalists, opposition politicians and activists with the chief justice calling the implications “Orwellian”.

Bottled water, vaccine development, short video platform TikTok and electric vehicle technology propelled the big earners on China's rich list this year, as embattled property moguls and others facing regulatory scrutiny slipped down the rankings.

Hiroshima A-bomb survivor Sunao Tsuboi, who became a prominent campaigner for nuclear disarmament and met Barack Obama on his historic visit to the city, has died aged 96, his advocacy group said Wednesday.

Japan’s former Princess Mako and her newly-wed husband Kei Komuro held a much-anticipated press briefing yesterday after finally tying the knots.

Asia suffered its hottest year on record in 2020, the United Nations said yesterday ahead of the COP26 summit, with extreme weather taking a heavy toll on the continent’s development.