Indian authorities cracked down on public movement and imposed a near-total communications blackout Thursday in disputed Kashmir after the death of Syed Ali Geelani, a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi.

They move from place to place at a moment’s notice in a desperate bid to evade the Taliban — girls whose lives are in danger simply because they chose to play a sport they loved.

The new, Taliban-appointed head of Afghanistan's central bank has sought to reassure banks the group wants a fully-functioning financial system, but has so far provided little detail on how it will supply funds to sustain it, said four bankers familiar with the matter.

1945 - Japanese leaders aboard the US battleship Missouri signed an unconditional surrender, ending World War Two.

There is growing concern among Pakistani officials about security in neighbouring Afghanistan, as the Taliban tries to form a government and stabilise the country following the departure of US and other foreign forces.

Lack of trust: There is widespread suspicion about the Taliban among Afghans, and for good reason. The last time the group was in power from 1996 to 2001, it imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

After two decades of focus on Afghanistan, the United States’ withdrawal this week allows the country to shift its concentration to the east, where superpower rival China is now the number-one priority.

The Taliban said the formation of Afghanistan’s new government is in its final stages, as US President Joe Biden vehemently defended his decision to end the two-decade war amid growing criticism.

The evacuation process of the six Bangladeshi engineers from Kabul could only be described as a nightmare in which they saw horrific events, including bomb blasts and killings.

China's special envoy for Asian Affairs Sun Guoxiang visited Myanmar last week for talks with its military rulers, as a new route spanning the Southeast Asian nation opened up connecting Chinese trade flows to the Indian Ocean.

As the last US troops prepared to leave Afghanistan, Hussain, a US passport holder who worked with the US military, scrambled with his six daughters through Taliban checkpoints to the gates of Kabul airport for several days in a row, hoping to catch a flight to safety.

There is growing concern among Pakistani officials about security in neighbouring Afghanistan, as the Taliban tries to form a government and stabilise the country following the departure of US and other foreign forces.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday rejected criticism of his decision to stick to a deadline to pull out of Afghanistan this week, a move that left 100 to 200 Americans in the country along with thousands of U.S.-aligned Afghan citizens.

 In the last call between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Afghanistan counterpart before the Taliban seized control of the country, the leaders discussed military aid, political strategy and messaging tactics, but neither Biden nor Ashraf Ghani appeared aware of or prepared for the immediate danger of the entire country falling to insurgents, a transcript reviewed by Reuters shows.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" in Afghanistan as he urged countries to provide emergency funding following the departure of US forces.

Celebratory gunfire resounded across the Afghan capital yesterday as the Taliban took control of the airport following the withdrawal of the last US troops, marking the end of a 20-year war that left the Islamist group stronger than it was in 2001.

The story of how 148 Afghan female students of a university in Bangladesh managed to flee the Taliban-controlled Kabul can be used as the plot of a Hollywood thriller.

Japan’s defence ministry is seeking an annual budget increase that will add to past hikes to expand military spending over a decade by almost a sixth, as it looks to counter the growing strength of neighbouring China.

When Ezmarai Ahmadi returned home from work on Sunday evening in Kabul, the usual gaggle of squealing children were waiting to greet him -- his sons and daughters, and a slew of nieces and nephews.

‘War on terror’: On October 7, 2001 -- less than a month after the September 11 attacks that killed around 3,000 people in the US -- President George W Bush launches “Operation Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan.