A Chinese passenger jet veered off the runway during takeoff and caught fire on Thursday, sending black smoke billowing into the air and injuring more than 30 people.

Five-time former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be reappointed on Thursday in an effort to bring stability to the island nation, engulfed in a political and economic crisis, a party official said.

India’s Allahabad High Court today dismissed a petition which sought the opening of 22 locked rooms in Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world.

An Indian couple are taking their son to court demanding that he and his wife produce either a grandchild within a year or cough up almost $650,000.

Thailand’s public health minister, who has spearheaded the country’s drive to decriminalize cannabis, says the government will distribute 1 million of the plants free when most legal restrictions on production and possession of the drug are lifted next month.

India today said a one-stop portal is being developed to provide credible information to foreigners seeking medical treatment in India.

A Sri Lankan court on Thursday banned former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his politician son Namal and 15 allies from leaving the country over violence against anti-government demonstrators.

North Korea confirmed its first Covid-19 outbreak on Thursday, calling it the "gravest national emergency" and ordering a national lockdown, with state media reporting an Omicron variant had been detected in Pyongyang.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Wednesday he would appoint a new prime minister and cabinet this week, after his elder brother and former premier Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned following deadly violence in the country.

Sri Lanka’s economy will “collapse” unless a new government is urgently appointed, the central bank chief warned yesterday, as security forces fanned out on the streets to restore order after spasms of mob violence. 

India’s environment ministry has allowed coal mines with clearances to increase output by 40 percent to step up production by up to 50 percent without seeking feedback from locals, it said in a memo reviewed by Reuters.

India’s Supreme Court yesterday suspended a colonial-era sedition law that activists say is often used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to target free speech and dissent.

China’s consumer inflation rose at its quickest pace in nearly half a year, official data showed Wednesday, reflecting the growing costs of the country’s zero-Covid curbs and high commodity prices.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the possibility of holding general elections prior to the appointment of a new army chief cannot be ruled out.

The Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka today refuted speculative Sri Lankan media reports about India sending its troops to Colombo, saying India is fully supportive of Sri Lanka’s democracy, stability and economic recovery.

Sri Lanka's president urged people on Wednesday to reject what he called attempts to foment racial and religious disharmony, as clashes broke out in many parts of the country over the government's handling of a devastating economic crisis.

Sri Lanka’s defence ministry yesterday ordered troops to shoot on sight people involved in looting or damaging property, a day after mobs targeted the homes of ruling-party politicians.

The son of the disgraced late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos yesterday vowed to work for all people after his stunning election victory, and told the world to judge him by his presidency, not his family’s past.

Protesters and a key trade group in Sri Lanka called for a new government to take control of the crisis-hit country on Tuesday as the president called for calm a day after clashes killed eight people, pushing his brother to quit as prime minister.

Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa - who resigned as prime minister after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters and sparked a day of violence - will not flee the country, his son told AFP.