Afghanistan’s new Taliban government has warned US and European envoys that continued attempts to pressure them through sanctions will undermine security and could trigger a wave of economic refugees. 

Taiwan’s defence ministry warned China of strong countermeasures yesterday if its forces got too close to the island, as Beijing defended its incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone as “just” moves to protect peace and stability.

More than 100 countries yesterday pledged to put the protection of habitats at the heart of their government decision-making but they stopped short of committing to specific targets to curb mass extinctions.

Asia-Pacific airlines have lost billions of dollars this year, with jets grounded in Covid-19 transportation freezes. Now, as some of the world's strictest pandemic-related travel rules begin to ease, they're ramping up flights and ticket offers.

A laser show at Kolkata’s much-hyped Durga Puja pandal, modeled after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, has courted controversy over its laser lighting.

On October 10, Pakistan's "Father of Islamic Bomb" Abdul Qadeer Khan -- popularly known as AQ Khan -- passed away in Islamabad due to Covid-19. Unlike many other great men, Khan left behind a legacy no short of a Bond film.

Hong Kong battened down yesterday evening for the second time in less than a week as an approaching tropical storm prompted forecasters to raise their alert level and trigger safety measures.

At least 28 people were killed and more than a dozen injured yesterday after a packed passenger bus plunged off a road in a hilly region in northwestern Nepal, officials said.

China yesterday pledged to inject $233 million into a new fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries during a key UN conservation summit, despite disagreements among major donors on the initiative.

Government forces killed five suspected rebels in India-administered Kashmir, police said yesterday, a day after militants shot dead five soldiers.

The Taliban held their first face-to-face talks with a joint US-EU delegation yesterday in Qatar as Brussels pledged one billion euros ($1.2 billion) in aid for Afghanistan.

At least 15 people have died during unseasonably heavy rain and flooding in north China’s Shanxi province earlier this month, local officials said yesterday, after the normally dry region received three months’ rain in one week.

At least 28 people died on Tuesday in western Nepal after the bus they were on skidded off a mountain road and fell hundreds of meters (yards) into a gorge, authorities said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today cautioned against “selective interpretation” of human rights and looking at the issue through political prism to diminish the country’s image.

The navies of Quad countries -- the US, India, Japan, and Australia -- began the second phase of a maritime exercise in the Bay of Bengal today as the chief of American naval operations arrived in New Delhi on a five-day visit.

At least 95-100 Right to Information (RTI) applicants have been killed while 190 were attacked in India in the last 15-16 years, according to a report by Transparency International India (TII).

Chinese authorities confirmed Tuesday 13 people had died after a bus plunged into a rushing river amid heavy flooding that has caused 15 other fatalities in the north.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted his government is “not delivering” as shortages persist of food, medicines and other essential items because of a dire foreign exchange squeeze.

A key UN summit tasked with protecting biodiversity opened in China and online yesterday, as countries meet to protect ecosystems and prevent mass extinction weeks before the COP26 climate conference.

China and India yesterday blamed each other for the failure of high-level talks to ease tensions along a disputed Himalayan border between the nuclear-armed neighbours.