Asia

Belgium grants visas to five Taliban officials for EU migration talks in Brussels, the first such meeting since the group seized power in 2021

Kim Jong Un ordered North Korea to speed up its military buildup and nuclear expansion, warning that US-South Korea moves are pushing the peninsula toward nuclear war

Switzerland says Iran-US talks at Burgenstock have created conditions for immediate technical discussions, after negotiators agreed a 60-day roadmap toward a final deal

Iran says nuclear talks with the US have not formally begun despite a brief exchange in Switzerland, as negotiators agree a 60-day roadmap to end the war

China imposed export controls on 10 US defense and rare earths firms and barred 46 American companies from procurement, escalating tensions with Washington

Pakistan's mango exports shrink as the Middle East war drives up shipping costs and shrinks demand in key Gulf markets

Trump threatens US tolls on the Strait of Hormuz if talks with Iran fail, as new negotiations open in Switzerland

Netanyahu says Israeli troops will stay in Lebanon's security zone "as long as necessary" after Hezbollah clashes kill four soldiers

Israeli minister Itamar Ben Gvir says "all of Lebanon must burn" after four soldiers killed, as US-Iran deal frustration grows

Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi and Turkey foreign ministers meet Sunday in Alamein, days after US-Iran talks on the war were postponed

EU leaders agreed to build stronger trade defences against a surge of China exports, while pushing for dialogue with Beijing to avoid a trade war

China welcomes the US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war and urges all parties, including Israel, to honor the agreement as strikes continue in southern Lebanon

Modi and Trump met at the G7 in France, reporting significant progress on a US-India trade deal and discussing Gulf sailor safety

Afghan government workers have begun switching off smartphones after a ban ordered by Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada took effect on Wednesday

Indian workers earn $2.60 an hour filming chores so AI robots learn to move like humans, a job that may erase their own

South Korea will move its Civilian Control Line an average of 6 km closer to North Korea, easing access for residents

Trump will host Iraqi PM Ali al-Zaidi at the White House in mid-July to discuss the future of US-Iraq relations, the US Embassy in Baghdad confirmed

India sees rising biofertilizer demand as Mideast conflict disrupts chemical fertilizer imports ahead of the monsoon planting season