Hundreds of thousands of new voters have registered to cast their ballot in Nepal’s first polls since a mass uprising in September ousted the government, election officials said yesterday.

Election Commission spokesman said there was "a total of 837,094 registered names" of first-time voters

A curfew was in force yesterday in a Nepalese town following clashes between young activists and loyalists of the former ruling party that was overthrown in a deadly September uprising.

Pakistan security forces killed 30 militants in two targeted operations near the Afghan frontier, the army said yesterday, a week after a suicide bombing killed 12 people in Islamabad.

Nine people were killed and 31 injured when confiscated explosives accidentally blew up at a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said yesterday, just days after a car blast in Delhi killed a dozen people.

Pakistan’s top court called a meeting of all judges yesterday, after parliament passed a constitutional amendment this week that curbed its remit, prompting two judges to quit, saying the reform “stands as a grave assault on the constitution”.

Nepal has intensified anti-poaching operations to protect its prized tigers, elephants and rhinos after dozens of convicted poachers escaped prison during an anti-government uprising in September, conservation officers said yesterday.

A suicide bombing outside district court buildings in the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed at least 12 people and wounded 27 yesterday, the interior minister said.

Pakistani Taliban claimed a suicide bombing that killed at least 12 people in Islamabad

Pakistan Navy ship “PNS Saif” arrived at the Chattogram port yesterday on a four-day goodwill visit to Bangladesh.

Peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan broke down, although a ceasefire continues between the South Asian neighbours, a Taliban spokesperson said yesterday.

Five people were killed and six were wounded in brief cross-border fire between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Thursday afternoon, a hospital official on the Afghan side told AFP, in an incident both countries blamed on each other.

The Maldives began implementing a smoking ban yesterday on anyone born after January 2007, becoming the only nation with a generational prohibition on tobacco, the Health Ministry said.

At least nine people were crushed to death after a massive crowd surge at a Hindu temple in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh yesterday, the state’s governor said.

Indian Sikh pilgrims have been issued visas for neighbouring Pakistan, the first major allowance after travel between the arch-rival nations was frozen during conflict in May.

The Maldives began implementing a smoking ban Saturday on anyone born after January 2007

Autopsies reveal 39 demonstrators were killed by bullets aimed at the chest, head and neck; human rights body probing excessive police force

Pakistan’s defence minister said yesterday he believes Afghanistan wants peace but that failure to reach an agreement during talks in Istanbul would mean “open war,” days after both sides agreed to a ceasefire following deadly border clashes.

The talks in Istanbul, which began on Saturday and are expected to continue into Sunday

Beyond a twice-weekly route between Islamabad and Manchester, PIA plans to operate flights to London and Birmingham as well