CNN-Asia Pacific

By Tim Lister, Radina Gigova and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN and CNN contributors Heavy fighting was reported Sunday in parts of northern Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley, where rebel fighters from the National Resistance Front (NRF) have been battling a Taliban offensive. Panjshir, a strategic slice of mountainous terrain rich with precious mineral resources around 90 miles north

By Asim Khan and Sophia Saifi, CNN Three people have died and 15 were injured in an attack on paramilitary troops in the city of Quetta in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan. Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province near the Afghan border. The province has seen a decades-long insurgency by separatists who demand independence

By Ivan Watson and CNN staff Tuhan’s family crossed the border from China’s western Xinjiang region to Afghanistan 45 years ago to escape persecution. Now, as the Taliban exerts control over the country, she fears she and other ethnic Uyghurs could be sent back to China by members of the militant group keen to curry

By Celine Alkhaldi, Sam Kiley, Rob Iddiols, Tim Lister and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN A small group of Afghan women braved the Taliban-controlled streets of Kabul once more on Saturday to demand equal rights and the ability to participate in government, CNN has confirmed. In a bold public challenge to the militant group’s rule, female activists

By Angus Watson, Nectar Gan and AnneClaire Stapleton, CNN The man responsible for Friday’s knife attack in New Zealand has been named as Ahamed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen, CNN affiliate RNZ reports. A suppression order concealing the man’s name and other details from the public was lifted after it was challenged by the New Zealand government.

By Nathan Hodge, Mia Alberti and Celine Alkhaldi, CNN A group of Afghan women activists staged a small protest in Taliban-controlled Kabul Friday calling for equal rights and full participation in political life, CNN has confirmed. In spite of the risk, a group called the Women’s Political Participation Network marched on the street in front

By Angus Watson and Jessie Yeung, CNN New Zealand police have shot and killed an ISIS supporter who injured at least six people in a supermarket “terrorist attack” in the Auckland suburb of New Lynn on Friday, authorities say. “This afternoon at approximately 2:40 p.m., a violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack,” said Prime Minister

By Emiko Jozuka, Chie Kobayashi and Selina Wang, CNN Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday said he will not run in his party’s forthcoming leadership election, effectively ceding the premiership and opening the race to other candidates after a turbulent term of less than a year. Suga, who assumed the top role last September

By Mohammed Tawfeeq, Nathan Hodge, Nilly Kohzad and Saleem Mehsud, CNN Fighting in Afghanistan’s last major holdout against Taliban rule continued through Friday after heavy clashes erupted overnight between Taliban fighters and an anti-Taliban group, according to Taliban sources. Panjshir Valley, a mountainous, inaccessible region north of Kabul, has a long history of resisting the

By Katie Hunt, CNN Geckos would definitely medal in a contest for nature’s best feet. The lizard’s sticky toes, covered in tiny hairs, mean it can climb across ceilings in a fantastic feat of evolution. But scientists say the lizards’ tails are just as extraordinary, with geckos performing a remarkable, if ungainly, maneuver that allows

CNN Editorial Research Here is a look at the life of Narendra Modi, prime minister of India. Personal Birth date: September 17, 1950 Birth place: Vadnagar, Gujarat, India Birth name: Narendra Damodardas Modi Father: Damodardas Modi Mother: Hiraba “Heeraben” Modi Marriage: Jashodaben (Chimanlal) Modi (1968-present, separated) Education: Delhi University, B.A., 1978; Gujarat University, M.A., 1983

By Ivana Kottasová, Joseph Ataman, Jo Shelley, Saskya Vandoorne, Madalena Araujo and Nilly Kohzad, CNN (CNN) — When the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan, tens of thousands of civilians decided to flee their homes. Translators, military contractors, public officials, journalists, human rights activists, employees of foreign NGOs and many others suddenly found themselves at risk. Many had