South Asia

China and Sri Lanka plan to restart discussions on a free trade agreement, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Friday, following a high-level meeting between the two countries.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will pledge to strengthen the island's defences and work more with regional partners on security in a major speech on Saturday, at a time when tensions with its giant neighbour China have risen dramatically.

Pakistan's telecom regulator blocked TikTok on Friday for failing to filter out "immoral and indecent" content, another blow to the social media app that has come under increasing scrutiny as its popularity has surged across the globe.

China was accused by Taiwan of trying to impose censorship in India after its embassy in New Delhi advised journalists to observe the "one-China" principle after newspapers carried advertisements for Taiwan's national day.

A turf war raging between criminal armed groups in Rohingya refugee camps in southern Bangladesh has forced thousands of people to flee and at least eight have been killed in clashes in recent days, police and humanitarian workers said on Thursday.

All U.S. troops in Afghanistan should be "home by Christmas," President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, just hours after his national security adviser said Washington would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year.

Millions of people in South Asia are being pushed into extreme poverty as the region where a quarter of humanity lives suffers its worst-ever recession due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Bank said on Thursday.

All U.S. troops in Afghanistan should be "home by Christmas," President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, just hours after his national security adviser said Washington would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by early next year.

India's total coronavirus cases rose by 78,524 in the last 24 hours to 6.84 million on Thursday morning, data from the health ministry showed.