Asia

India is exploiting recommendations by a global money-laundering watchdog as a "draconian" tool to shutter civil society groups and suppress activists and critics, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

At least 100 people were killed and more than 150 injured when a fire broke out during a wedding at an event hall in the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, officials said early Wednesday.

Iran has sentenced four people to death for selling contaminated bootleg alcohol that killed 17 people and sent dozens more to hospitals in June, the judiciary said on Tuesday.

Indonesia launched its first carbon exchange on Tuesday, giving companies a chance to offset their emissions as Jakarta pledges to reach carbon neutrality in its power sector by 2050.

Fighters loyal to the Syrian government have clashed with Kurdish-led forces in a mainly Arab district of eastern Syria, leaving 25 people dead in two days, a war monitor said Tuesday.

The Philippines has accused China of installing a ‘floating barrier’ to stop fishing boats from entering a disputed area in the South China Sea. The Philippines’ coast guard said the 300m (1,000ft) obstacle was preventing fishermen from working in a lagoon in the Scarborough Shoal. China claims more than 90 per cent of the South…

Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians in a pre-dawn raid Sunday in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the army confirmed "counter-terrorism" activity in the occupied territory.

Filipino fisherman Arnel Satam guns the motor of his tiny wooden boat as he makes a dash for the shallow waters of Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea, with Chinese coast guard speedboats in hot pursuit.

Hundreds of protesters rallied in Sydney on Saturday against a plan to adapt Australia's constitution to enshrine Indigenous rights, ahead of a referendum next month. The crowd gathered in the city's Hyde Park railed against the proposal, which if it passes on October 14, would give Indigenous peoples the right to be consulted on policies…

A notice demanding Hardeep Singh Nijjar appear in court is still stuck on his house in Punjab, where the Sikh separatist's village neighbours believe Canada's accusation that India was responsible for his killing.

The UN called Friday on Iranian authorities to scrap a new law that dramatically increases penalties for women who flout strict Islamic dress code, describing it as "repressive and demeaning".

Protesters have set fire to a mayor's office on an Indonesian island to demand compensation over a mining company's activity in their area, police said, adding that several arrests had been made.