South Asia

The Taliban’s acting prime minister asked the global community Wednesday to grant legitimacy to Afghanistan’s new government, insisting it has met all conditions required for the official recognition. Mohammad Hassan Akhund spoke at a conference in Kabul where his interim administration convened to discuss massive economic upheavals facing the country …

Human rights activist Azeem Azeemi and three other activists were detained by the Taliban for organizing a protest against Pakistani national security adviser Moeed Yusuf’s visit Tuesday to Kabul. Yusuf’s visit was subsequently postponed due to weather conditions, according to the Pakistani embassy in Kabul.  Azeemi publicized the scheduled demonstration …

China said Tuesday that Afghanistan’s Taliban will have to live up to international expectations “at an early date” to earn legitimacy for their interim government in Kabul. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the statement in response to reports the Islamist group was seeking China’s help in getting the new …

The outlawed Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Tuesday for a rare overnight attack in Islamabad that killed a police officer and wounded two others.  Police officials said two gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on a security checkpoint near one of the city’s busy markets late on Monday. They say the ensuing shootout killed both the …

The first death from a massive underwater volcanic blast near the Pacific island nation of Tonga has been confirmed, as the extent of the damage remained unknown Monday.  Tonga remained virtually cut off from the rest of the world, after the eruption crippled communications and stalled emergency relief efforts.  It …

Rights activists in India are outraged after members of two right-wing Hindu groups put up posters around the ghats of the Ganges River in Varanasi, asking “non-Hindus” to stay away from the bank of the river in the north Indian city. With the posters, members of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) …

An earthquake struck western Afghanistan on Monday, killing at least 22 people and injuring several others. The epicenter of the magnitude 5.3 quake was about 40 kilometers east of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis province, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Afghan official Bakhtar News Agency quoted local authorities …

Indian authorities have charged a Hindu monk with inciting religious violence after he called for the “genocide” of India’s Muslims at a meeting of right-wing supporters, police said Monday. Senior police officer Swatantra Kumar said Yati Narsinghanand Giri, an outspoken supporter of far-right nationalists who also heads a Hindu monastery, …

A group of United Nations human rights experts Monday alleged Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban government was attempting to steadily erase women and girls from public life.    Taliban leaders “are institutionalizing large scale and systematic gender-based discrimination and violence” against women, the experts said in a statement issued by the Office …

Aafia Siddiqui, a U.S.-educated-Pakistani neuroscientist serving an 86-year sentence in the United States for trying to kill Americans in Afghanistan, is the person whose release was sought by the hostage-taker at a Texas synagogue on Saturday. U.S. authorities said the hours-long standoff ended with all captives safe and the man …