The Taliban said Monday they were ready for peace talks with the Afghan government, as authorities announced that the release of hundreds of militants accused of serious offences would begin in the next few days. The fate of some 400 Taliban prisoners has been a crucial hurdle in launching...

India’s recoveries from the novel coronavirus rose to 1,530,070 on Monday, accounting for 69% of its cases.  “The recovery of more than 1.5 million has been made possible because of the policy of testing aggressively, tracking comprehensively and treating efficiently. Better ambulance...

Chinese government-linked hackers have been targeting U.S. election infrastructure ahead of the 2020 presidential election, White House National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday, indicating a more active level of alleged Chinese interference. O’Brien’s comments appeared to go...

The United States has registered over five million cases in the coronavirus pandemic, Johns Hopkins University's real-time tally showed Sunday, as well as over 162,000 deaths as the country struggles to control the disease. The US tally reached 5,000,603 cases on Sunday morning and 162,441...

Police in Mauritius on Sunday prepared to board a grounded ship leaking tonnes of oil into its crystal-clear waters, as clean-up crews confronted a growing ecological disaster on the archipelago's pristine shores. The bulk carrier MV Wakashio has been seeping fuel into a protected marine...

Thousands of prominent Afghans Sunday approved the release of about 400 Taliban prisoners, including many involved in attacks that killed scores of Afghans and foreigners. The resolution recommending the release of the prisoners was passed at the end of a three-day "loya jirga" -- a...

Brazil Saturday surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths and three million cases of infection, crossing the grim milestone after President Jair Bolsonaro said he had a "clear conscience" on his response to the outbreak. With 100,477 fatalities and 3,012,412 confirmed cases, the South American...

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese tech giant Huawei is running out of processor chips to make smartphones due to U.S. sanctions and will be forced to stop production of its own most advanced chips, a company executive says, in a sign of growing damage to Huawei’s business from American pressure....

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anxious residents of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves Saturday to create makeshift oil spill barriers as tons of fuel leaking from a grounded ship put endangered wildlife in further peril. The government has declared...

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the territory's current and former police chiefs and eight other officials for their role in curtailing political freedoms in the territory. The sanctions were imposed under an executive order U.S....

A US ban on the WeChat messaging platform could cut lines of communication between friends in China and America and force people to switch to a replacement, social media users said on Friday. US President Donald Trump has announced sweeping restrictions against Chinese-owned WeChat and...

At least five people were killed while 10 were rescued Friday morning from a massive landslide in the southern Indian state of Kerala, local officials said. “Some more families are trapped in the area and the search is ongoing," Idukki’s district police chief, known as Karuppasamy. R, told...

Global coronavirus cases exceeded the 19 million mark Thursday, according to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University.  The number of deaths from the virus has reached 713,406, with recoveries topping 11.48 million. The US remains the worst-hit country, with over 4.88...

The US consulate in Hong Kong on Friday said it was "ludicrous" to suggest its diplomats meeting with pro-democracy politicians could breach the city's new national security law, a charge levelled in a recent Chinese state media report. Earlier this week, China's state-owned tabloid Global...

India's official coronavirus case tally passed two million on Friday after a daily jump of more than 60,000. The South Asian giant becomes only the third country to reach the figure, after the United States and Brazil. The rate of spread in the world's second-most populous country also...

President Donald Trump on Thursday said that a vaccine may be produced ahead of the US presidential election on November 3 -- a more optimistic timeline than given by his top infectious diseases doctor. Asked by radio talk show host Geraldo Rivera whether a vaccine could come by the...

The World Health Organization Thursday warned against "vaccine nationalism," saying vaccine-hogging richer countries would not be safe coronavirus havens if poor nations remained exposed. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it would be in the interest of richer nations to ensure that...

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War II should bolster the world’s determination not to repeat mistakes, Turkey’s president said in a message to a memorial service marking the 75th anniversary of the bombing of the Japanese city. The service took place in Tokyo's Peace...

Days of heavy rain could cause flooding or landslides across North Korea, officials warned, as the South said Thursday 16 people had died in the downpours lashing the peninsula. North Korea is particularly vulnerable to sustained heavy rain as many mountains and hills have long been...

The internal watchdog looking into accusations against Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly quit Wednesday, just months after his predecessor was fired. The State Department's acting inspector general, Stephen Akard, is a longtime aide to Vice President Mike Pence and his installation in...