Australia yesterday slapped travel and financial sanctions on five top Myanmar military officers, accused of overseeing brutal violence against Rohingya Muslims by units under their command, following similar moves by the European Union and United States.

Malaysia's opposition leader yesterday said a quake-tsunami that killed thousands in neighbouring Indonesia was "punishment from Allah" for the activities of gay people, sparking a storm of criticism.

A foreign soldier was killed and two others wounded in an Afghan insider attack yesterday. "Initial reports indicate the attack was committed by a member of the Afghan security forces," Nato's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.

Terming the present government “incompetent”, former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has called upon all political parties to unite on one platform to declare that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government cannot run the country.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan left for Saudi Arabia to attend an investment conference boycotted by other leaders over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Maldives' top court yesterday ended weeks of uncertainty by rejecting President Abdulla Yameen's controversial bid to annul last month's election results, upholding his landslide defeat to an opposition candidate.

Problems plagued hundreds of polling centres yesterday as Afghans unable to vote in Saturday's parliamentary election were given another chance to cast their ballot.

Nearly 170 Afghans were killed or wounded in poll-related violence yesterday, officials said, as the legislative election turned chaotic with many polling centres opening hours late -- or not at all -- due to technical glitches and lack of staff.

Security for Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has been stepped up following the discovery of an alleged plot to assassinate him, two of his advisers said on Thursday.

Bhutan's voters on Thursday gave an overwhelming victory to a new party headed by a surgeon in only the third democratic election held by the Himalayan kingdom, according to provisional results.

Punjab province authorities suspended at least 116 police officials, including top officers, in connection with the killing of demonstrators

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, wedged between India and China, yesterday voted in a national election guaranteed to usher in a new ruling party which must boost the economy without compromising the country's fierce independent streak.

The Taliban yesterday issued a fresh call for Afghans to boycott this week's parliamentary elections, denouncing the vote as a foreign-imposed process that went against both Islam and Afghan culture.

Opposition in the Maldives asked the police to bar President Abdulla Yameen from leaving the country hours after he announced plans to step down in the face of a likely defeat in a court case challenging his election loss.

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday spoke to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on telephone and rejected reports in a section of the media about him alluding to the involvement of India and its external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in an alleged plot to assassinate the President and a former defence secretary of Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh has come down one spot in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Index thanks to a change in methodology to better reflect today's rapidly changing, increasingly digitised world economy.

The chair of a United Nations inquiry that accused Myanmar's military of genocide is likely to brief the Security Council this month after Britain, France, the United States and six other members requested the meeting, diplomats said on Tuesday.

Pakistan's ruling party under new Prime Minister Imran Khan has maintained its slim majority in parliament after key by-elections, final results showed yesterday.

Outgoing Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has told the Supreme Court that disappearing ink and specially treated ballot papers were to blame for his heavy election defeat last month.

An ultra-nationalist monk -- dubbed the "Buddhist Bin Laden" -- condemns the international community for their calls to bring Myanmar's generals to justice over the Rohingya crisis.