Asia

Afghans facing avalanche of hunger, destitution: WFP

The UN’s food agency has warned that a failing economy could plunge Afghanistan into catastrophe next year. A spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP) said during a briefing in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday that Afghanistan’s fragile economy was on the brink of collapse. “The spiraling economic …

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Bus bomb kills two in Afghan capital: Taliban

Two people were killed and four wounded in separate bomb explosions in the west of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Friday, the Taliban said. “Two civilians have been killed and three others were wounded” when a bomb exploded on a minibus in the Dasht-e-Barchi district of Kabul, the Taliban’s interior ministry …

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‘Silent strike’ against junta empties Myanmar streets

Myanmar anti-coup demonstrators staged a “silent strike” Friday, closing businesses and emptying the streets of cities and towns across the country to protest against military rule. The Southeast Asian nation has been in turmoil since the February coup, with the economy in tatters and more than 1,300 people killed by …

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Indian farmers end year-long protest

Indian farmers who have been staging a year-long protest in New Delhi announced on Thursday that they are ending their demonstrations after the government U-turned on controversial farm legislation. Announcing the decision, Balbir Singh Rajewal, a senior farm union leader, stated that the group has “received a letter from the …

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Thousands flee as Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted on Saturday, spewing out a tower of smoke and ash that plunged local communities into darkness and forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. There were no immediate reports of casualties, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said. But rescuers moved to evacuate local residents as lava …

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Taliban leader pleads for help in first address

The leader of the Taliban has delivered his first televised address since the group took power in Afghanistan in mid-August. He vowed not to interfere in other countries and asked for international aid. “We assure all the countries that we will not interfere in their internal affairs and we want …

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