A Pakistani anti-terrorism court indicted Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of deadly 2008 attacks in Mumbai, on terror financing charges yesterday, a government prosecutor and defence lawyer said. Defence lawyer Imran Gill said his client pleaded not guilty.

Indian parliament gives its seal of approval to the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which gives nationality to non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan after it was cleared by the Rajya Sabha with 125 voting for it and 105 against.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Bangladesh government sign agreements for $33.26 million in loan for a project to design the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line 5 (Southern route) that will help ease the traffic and pollution burden in Dhaka city.

The government will bring Bangladeshi migrant workers under two compulsory insurance schemes of Tk 2 lakh and Tk 5 lakh in a bid to provide financial security to them and their family members.

At least 43 people, mostly labourers, died in their sleep when a fire raged through a handbag-manufacturing factory in a congested locality of Delhi in India this morning, police say. =

The Imperial Japanese Army asked the government to provide one “comfort woman” for every 70 soldiers, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said, citing wartime government documents it had reviewed, shedding fresh light on Tokyo’s involvement in the practice.

A 23-year-old rape victim set on fire by a gang of men, which included her alleged rapists, has died in a New Delhi hospital, prompting protests from opposition leaders who blamed the ruling party for failing to check incidents of violence against women.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will head a team of lawyers to hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague next week to defend the country against accusations of genocide against the Rohingya Muslims.

North Korea on Wednesday warned that if the United States used military force against Pyongyang it would take “prompt corresponding actions at any level”, in response to comments by US President Donald Trump.

Xiaomi Corp has launched a personal loan service in India aimed at young professionals and millennials, as the Chinese smartphone vendor looks to consolidate its presence in the country's fast-growing internet finance market.

Gunmen yesterday killed six people, including the head of a Japanese aid agency, in an attack on their vehicle in Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

Indian ex-finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, 73, was granted bail yesterday, 106 days after his dramatic arrest on corruption charges that he says are part of a government witch-hunt against political opponents.

China warned yesterday that US legislation calling for a tougher response to Beijing’s treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority will affect bilateral cooperation, clouding prospects for a near-term deal to end a trade war.

Twenty-three people were killed and dozens injured as a fire triggered by an explosion in a gas tanker tore through a tile manufacturing factory in the Sudanese capital on Tuesday, officials said.

South Korean actor Cha In-ha was found dead in his home, police says, the country's third young celebrity to die in the past two months amid growing debate about the intense social pressures artists face.

A few dozen unidentified people stage a protest outside Dawn offices over publication of a news report regarding the ethnicity of the London Bridge attacker who stabbed two persons to death last week.

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak was a “victim” of the multi-million dollar 1MDB scandal that saw state coffers drained on his watch, his lawyer said yesterday, as the ex-premier gave evidence in his own fraud trial.

Typhoon Kammuri killed at least two people in the Philippines yesterday as it tore roofs of houses and forced the international airport in Manila to shut down.

Sri Lanka’s new president suspended parliament for a month from yesterday ahead of snap elections he wants to call in March to consolidate his sweeping victory.

Two civilians - a 35-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy - were killed and nine others injured yesterday when Pakistan army heavily shelled forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said.