Afghanistan’s Ghani vows to pursue Taliban negotiations amid donations push

President Ghani’s call comes in a virtual address to the Geneva donor conference, where dozens of nations are expected to pledge billions of dollars in aid. But diplomats predict a dip in funding due to uncertainties over peace and Covid-19 pandemic.

Rising xenophobia spurs push for fresh Malaysian hate speech law

Wave of hate speech and misinformation aimed at Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar has been appearing on Malaysian Facebook pages, according to a Reuters report.

Pope Francis: China's Muslim Uighurs are 'persecuted'

While the pope has spoken out before about the Rohingya who have fled Myanmar, and the killing of Yazidi by Daesh in Iraq, it was the first time Pope mentioned the Uighurs.

China rebukes US for 'Open Skies Treaty' withdrawal

Beijing says Trump administration's decision to pull out from 35-nation treaty including Russia will have a negative impact on international arms control and disarmament.

Afghan spy chief: Taliban rigging hobby drones to drop bombs

National Directorate of Security head Ahmad Zia Shiraj says militants used drones in Kunduz and Paktia provinces and urges government to stop importing the gadgets.

Joshua Wong pleads guilty at Hong Kong protest trial

Wong and two other activists were taken into custody after the hearing. Wong was not a leading figure in last year’s anti-China protests but has drawn the wrath of Beijing, which sees his activism as a “black hand” of foreign forces.

Pakistan minister's Nazi taunt irks France

Shireen Mazari's tweet that French President Macron was treating Muslims like Nazis had treated Jews in World War 2 angers Paris which is seeking withdrawal of comments.

Pompeo meets Kabul, Taliban negotiators in Qatar

Top US diplomat Mike Pompeo met separately with Afghan government and Taliban officials amid signs of progress in their talks in Doha.

Students, 'dancing dinosaurs' rally in Thailand's Bangkok

Thousands march against lacklustre education system while others protest with giant "asteroid" balls and half a dozen T-Rex characters representing the country's "political dinosaurs".

Georgia opposition boycott election runoffs

All the opposition parties have denounced as rigged the October 31 parliamentary elections and have staged mass protests, calling for snap polls – a demand the ruling Georgian Dream party has rejected.

Azerbaijan pesident criticises West's silence on Armenian crackdown

“Every day an opposition leader gets arrested in Armenia in a completely unfounded manner. Has any Western country reacted to this? No! Did they condemn it? No!,” Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev says.

Huge crowd gathers for Pakistani firebrand cleric's funeral

No cause of death has been announced for the 54-year-old Rizvi, who died on Thursday after suffering a high fever and difficulties breathing, and no Covid-19 test or autopsy were conducted on the long-time wheelchair user.