Indian Sub-continent

India firm denies tampering with tests in probe of cough syrup deaths

NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - India's Maiden Pharmaceuticals, whose cough syrups have been linked to the deaths of children in Gambia, on Saturday denied it had tampered with test samples or bribed officials to do so, as alleged in a complaint under investigation by local health officials.

800,000 Afghan refugees return home: Afghan official

KABUL, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- About 800,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland Afghanistan since October, Afghan caretaker government chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

"Since October, around 800,000 refugees have returned home, with half of them from Pakistan," the local television channel Tolonews quoted Mujahid as saying.

The majority of the remaining 400,000 others have returned from Iran and thousands of others from Türkiye, Mujahid said.

At least 31 killed in floods in India's Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - At least 31 people were killed in floods and heavy rain in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu this week, a top federal minister said on Friday, as rescuers struggled to reach scores still stranded in high waters.

Heavy rains have paralysed several districts of the state, inundating entire neighbourhoods, roads and railway tracks, days after a cyclone hit India's south-eastern coast, causing widespread damage.

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

ISLAMABAD, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan bail in a case related to a leak of state secrets, but it was not clear how he could be released while serving a three-year sentence for corruption and facing other charges.

The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022. He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.

Indian opposition lawmakers protest against their suspension from parliament

NEW DELHI, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Opposition parties in India on Friday staged a protest here against the recent record suspension of 146 lawmakers from the two houses of the parliament.

The protest called by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was attended by leaders from Congress, left parties, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and other opposition parties of the coalition.

Pakistan's jailed Imran Khan uses AI-crafted speech to lure votes

ISLAMABAD, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Pakistan's jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, whose party isn't allowed to hold public rallies, used an audio clip generated by artificial intelligence (AI) late Sunday to address a virtual rally in the first event of its kind in the country.

CPEC helps advance goals of economic development, regional connectivity, say Pakistani experts

ISLAMABAD, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has proved to be a corridor of opportunities for Pakistan, advancing the goals of economic development, regional connectivity, and shared prosperity, said Pakistani experts during a seminar.

CPEC has served to promote bilateral relations between China and Pakistan, regional integration, and overall development, said the experts and academics at the recently held seminar organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), an Islamabad-based think tank.

Sri Lanka: Air Arabia Operates Direct Flights Between Colombo, Abu Dhabi

COLOMBO, Dec 16 (NNN-XINHUA) – Air Arabia has been operating direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Colombo, every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said, yesterday.

The ministry said, Air Arabia launched its first direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Colombo on Dec 8, this year, from the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The first flight from Abu Dhabi to Colombo was welcomed by a water cannon salute, upon arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

Pakistan: Taliban sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence, says UN report

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Taliban officials are sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence, according to a U.N. report published Thursday.

Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were 23 state-sponsored women protection centers in Afghanistan where survivors of gender-based violence could seek refuge. Now there are none, the U.N. report said.

Officials from the Taliban-led administration told the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan that there was no need for such shelters or that they were a Western concept.

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