Mohsin khan

By Omar R Quraishi A president of China has come to Pakistan after a relatively long gap of nine years. Xi Jinping, who took office in 2012, said in a statement before embarking on his now historic visit that though he had never gone to Pakistan it felt as if he was going to a brother's home.

SEOUL: A North Korean defector living in South Korea said on Wednesday he has launched balloons carrying thousands of copies of the film "The Interview" to North Korea, despite protests from the isolated country and emailed death threats.

TOKYO: The dollar firmed Thursday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting showed a split over the timing of an interest-rate increase, keeping chances of a June hike alive.

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rebounded in Asia Thursday on bargain-hunting after a surge in US crude stockpiles and record output in Saudi Arabia sparked a sell-off, analysts said.

WASHINGTON: It's not just your imagination: most American teenagers are online or on their smartphones every day, and many are almost continually connected. 

SEOUL: North Korea fired two surface-to-air missiles into the sea this week as US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter visited the region for talks in Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea's defence ministry said Thursday.

BEIJING: Almost 30,000 people living near a Chinese chemical plant where a huge fire blazed for a total of nearly 50 hours were evacuated before the flames were finally extinguished Thursday, media said.

BEIJING: A railway between China and Nepal that could include a tunnel under Mount Everest is under consideration, Chinese state media said Thursday, as Beijing builds links with a country India regards as firmly within its sphere of influence.

DHAKA: At least 25 people were killed and many more injured when a packed bus slammed into a tree in Bangladesh early Thursday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's police chief said on Monday that 17 people, including two who recently returned from Syria, had been arrested on suspicion of plotting terror attacks in the capital Kuala Lumpur.