Asia News from WN Network

Gunman kills at least six in attack on mosque in Afghanistan’s Herat 2024-04-30
Al Jazeera

A gunman stormed a mosque in western Afghanistan and killed six people, a government spokesman says. Ministry of Interior Affairs spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said “an unknown armed person shot at civilian worshippers in a mosque” at about 9pm (16:30 GMT) on Monday in Andisheh town of Guzara district...

photo: AP / Siddiqullah Khan

Philippines and China in new confrontation at Scarborough Shoal 2024-04-30
Al Jazeera

The Philippines has accused China of “dangerous maneuvers and obstruction” and reinstalling a barrier at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which Beijing blockaded and seized from Manila in 2012. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said two Philippine vessels on maritime patrol...

photo: AP / Renato Etac via AP, File

Azerbaijan’s president says Baku to spare no efforts to advance peace agenda 2024-04-29
Anadolu Agency

During a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Baku will persist in “sparing no efforts” to advance the peace agenda between his country and neighboring Armenia. “Recalling that the Republic of Azerbaijan was the...

photo: Creative Commons / Kremlin.ru

Xi tells Blinken US, China should be 'partners, not rivals' 2024-04-26
The Philadelphia Inquirer

BEIJING, China – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday told top US diplomat Antony Blinken...

photo: AP / Mark Schiefelbein, Pool

China warns diplomatic ties with US could face 'downward spiral' as Blinken visits Beijing 2024-04-26
France24

China's foreign minister on Friday urged visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to address rising disagreements or risk a "downward spiral" between the two powers after months of efforts to ease tensions. ......

photo: AP / Mark Schiefelbein, Pool

India election: Second phase of voting today as Modi vs Gandhi campaign heats up 2024-04-26
Khaleejtimes

India began voting on Friday in the second phase of the world's biggest election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his rivals raise the pitch of the campaign by focusing on hot-button issues such as religious discrimination, affirmative action and taxes. Almost one billion people are eligible to...

photo: AP / Channi Anand

Blinken kicks off direct engagement with China ahead of tough talks 2024-04-25
Voa News

State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the necessity for "direct" and "sustained engagement" between the United States and China during his first official meeting in Shanghai, a city home to more than 1,000 U.S. companies. Thursday morning, Blinken held talks with Chen...

photo: AP / Alex Brandon

Blinken back in China seeking pressure but also stability 2024-04-24
Korea Times

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by at the Kong Fuan, Director General of the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China R. Nicholas Burns and U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, upon his arrival in Shanghai, China, April 24,...

photo: AP / Mark Schiefelbein, Pool

‘Absolute power’: After pro-China Maldives leader’s big win, what’s next? 2024-04-24
Al Jazeera

Very few expected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party to win Sunday’s parliamentary elections, that too by a landslide. For this was a man whose triumph in the presidential poll last year came by a fluke. Back then, the 45-year-old mayor of the capital Male entered the presidential race only...

photo: AP / Rafiq Maqbool, File

China evacuates over 100,000 as heavy rain continues to lash south 2024-04-23
Al Jazeera

China has evacuated more than 100,000 people as heavy rain continues to lash the southern province of Guangdong. Authorities raised the highest level of alarm on Tuesday as the storms showed no sign of letting up. Flooding has already killed four people, with another 10 reported missing, in just the...

photo: AP / Ng Han Guan