President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sweeping sanctions Thursday on Iran’s banking sector, taking a major new step to cripple the arch-rival’s already struggling economy weeks ahead of US elections.

After dissolving the State Madrassa Education Board in 2018, Indian state Assam’s education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma yesterday announced that the state government is going to close down all government-run madrassas in the state.

Australia’s right-wing former prime minister Tony Abbott registered as an agent of foreign influence yesterday, after controversially taking up a role as a trade advisor to the UK government.

India yesterday successfully test-fired the “Rudram” Anti-Radiation Missile, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), from a Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft off the east coast today.

Pakistan has decided to block social media App TikTok for failing to filter out “immoral” content, three top government officials said yesterday.

Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the Nov 3 election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

US Vice President Mike Pence’s debate with Democrat Kamala Harris attracted 57.9 million TV viewers, the second-highest audience ever for a matchup between vice presidential candidates, according to Nielsen data released on Thursday.

A police sting that busted a prostitution ring and triggered a back-and-forth in the courts has revealed a conflict in Indian law over a woman’s right to sell sex and a state’s right to stop her.

Thirteen men, including members of two right-wing militias, have been arrested for plotting to kidnap the Democratic governor of the US state of Michigan and “instigate a civil war”, officials said Thursday.

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has fractured global alliances and go-it-alone has turned ugly, some world leaders said today’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the UN World Food Program was a commitment to the belief that only a concerted effort can save humanity from further disaster.

Azerbaijan’s president has ruled out making any concessions to Armenia ahead of talks aimed at halting the deadliest fighting in the South Caucasus region for more than 25 years.

Republican President Donald Trump prepared today to return to the campaign trail with two potential rallies at the weekend after his Covid-19 diagnosis sidelined him for a week in the White House race against Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Global shipping giant Maersk will stop using military-owned ports in Myanmar, a lobby group has said after leading a campaign against international companies with links to the armed forces.

The United Nations food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), wins the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas.

China has joined a global scheme for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccine backed by the World Health Organization (WHO), it said on Friday, giving a major boost to an initiative shunned by U.S. President Donald Trump.

China was accused by Taiwan of trying to impose censorship in India after its embassy in New Delhi advised journalists to observe the “one-China” principle after newspapers carried advertisements for Taiwan’s national day.

All US troops in Afghanistan should be “home by Christmas,” President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, just hours after his national security adviser said Washington would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year.

The EU must stand up to Russia when it violates international norms, France and Germany’s foreign ministers said on Thursday, adding that a decision to push sanctions over the poisoning of a Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny did not end dialogue.

The European Parliament has called for the EU to step up its targets for cutting greenhouse emissions in response to climate change. Lawmakers voted late Wednesday to press the bloc to slash emissions by at least 60 percent by 2030 -- a bigger cut than currently proposed by the European Commission, the EU executive.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s party is projected to be one seat short of a being able to govern alone, and has a double-digit lead over its rival, with just over a week to the general election, an opinion poll showed yesterday.