Asia

A mob of youngsters beat a Muslim man to death in Pakistan on Saturday after the victim was accused of blasphemy, police said, the latest killing in the country related to religious sensitivities. Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations can stir mobs and violence. Hundreds of youths stormed…

Eleven pilot whales were saved on Saturday after they became stranded near the shore on Sri Lanka's west coast in the early hours, wildlife officials told AFP. A navy team aided the rescue effort alongside local fishermen who raised the alarm when they spotted the pod after midnight near the resort village of Kudawa. "There…

Bangladesh said Saturday it had withdrawn two new school textbooks after protests from Islamist groups incensed by a curriculum overhaul to recognise transgender identities, same-sex relationships and secular science.

Tens of thousands of Iranians hit the streets in Tehran and other cities on Saturday to mark the 44th anniversary of the Islamic revolution, after months of anti-government protests. For the past two years, the 1979 overthrow of the Western-backed shah was commemorated mainly in vehicles and on motorcycles due to Covid restrictions. But this…

An IMF team left Pakistan on Friday after crisis talks with the government failed to deliver a deal on financial aid that would help the South Asian country avert economic collapse.

It wasn't the nuclear missiles, ranks of goose-stepping soldiers or medal-bedecked generals that captivated most attention at North Korea's recent military parade: it was a 10-year-old girl. Alongside the country's leader Kim Jong Un, the girl -- likely Kim's second child Ju Ae -- inspected a guard of honour in the most recent of a…

Beijing condemned on Thursday US President Joe Biden's comments that Xi Jinping faced "enormous problems", saying the remarks were "extremely irresponsible".

At least four people were killed Thursday when an earthquake struck the capital of Indonesia's breakaway eastern region of Papua and crumpled a waterfront restaurant, officials said.

Hopes were fading Thursday for rescuing survivors of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, which has killed over 17,500 people in one of the deadliest tremors in decades.

China said Thursday it refused an offer of a call with the US defence chief because of Washington's "irresponsible" decision to shoot down an alleged surveillance balloon last week. "This irresponsible and seriously mistaken approach by the US did not create a proper atmosphere for dialogue and exchanges between the two militaries," China's defence ministry…

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping faces "enormous problems," including a fragile economy.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un oversaw a major military parade showcasing a record number of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, state media reported Thursday, including what analysts said was possibly a new solid-fuelled ICBM.