Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Pakistan's long battle with militants as part of the post-9/11 "war on terror".  Evidence of murder and torture by soldiers and insurgents is emerging only now. The BBC has gained rare access to some of the victims. It was early

Sonia Gandhi has been chosen the chairperson of the Congress's elected parliamentarians at the meeting of the party's parliamentary committee this morning. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposed her name.  The suspense is now over whom the chairperson names as the

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman slammed Iran over recent attacks targeting the kingdom, describing the incidents on Saturday in a speech before Muslim leaders gathered in Mecca as “terrorist acts” that threaten global energy supplies. It was the monarch’s strongest words yet since

Donald Trump has said Boris Johnson would be an "excellent" choice for the Conservative Party leadership. In an interview with the Sun ahead of his visit to the UK, Mr Trump said: "I think Boris would do a very good job." The US president said other candidates had sought his

At least 12 people were killed and several injured on Friday in a mass shooting at a government building in the US state of Virginia. Police said the suspect, a long-term and current Virginia Beach city employee, fired "indiscriminately" in a public utilities building. The gunman,

India's economy has grown at its slowest pace in almost five years, according to the latest data released by the government. The new numbers are a cause of concern for PM Narendra Modi, who started his second term on Thursday, writes the BBC's Sameer Hashmi. In the past

Amit Shah, who led the BJP to a magnificent national election victory, will be Home Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new government, which establishes him as the new number two. Rajnath Singh, who was Home Minister in the previous government of PM Modi, will be Defence

China is set to hike tariffs on a range of US goods on Saturday, marking the latest strike in the trade war between the world's two largest economies. Beijing will raise tariffs on $60bn (£47.6bn) worth of US products, which will hit more than 5,000 items. The rates on

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath for the second time on Thursday after a spectacular victory in the national election a week ago.  Over 50 ministers joined him in the swearing-in held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of 8,000 guests including world leaders,

US President Donald Trump has announced tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in a bid to curb illegal immigration. In a tweet, Mr Trump said that from 10 June a 5% tariff would be imposed and would slowly rise "until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied". President Trump

Narendra Modi has been sworn in for a second term as India's prime minister after his party won a landslide majority in the recent election. Thousands were invited to the ceremony in Delhi, including regional leaders and Bollywood stars. But notable names were excluded,

Seven South Korean tourists have died and at least 19 more are missing after a boat capsized on the Danube river in Hungary's capital, Budapest. Thirty tourists and three tour guides, as well two Hungarian crew members, were on the boat when it was hit by another vessel while

At least 50-60 ministers will be sworn in on Thursday, including 8-10 from NDA allies, and there might be another expansion soon as the maximum strength could be of 81 ministers, which is 15% of the strength of the Lok Sabha. Earlier on Thursday, Narendra Modi visited the National War

Papua New Guinea has appointed a new prime minister after weeks of political upheaval. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to elect James Marape, a former finance minister, who resigned in April in protest against a gas project. His appointment comes after the outgoing leader Peter

Myanmar's army is committing fresh war crimes against ethnic groups in Rakhine state, according to human rights group Amnesty International. In a new report, Amnesty accuses the army of carrying out extrajudicial killings, torture and arbitrary arrests amid an operation against an

A fire has broken out a plywood shop in Kolkata. The fire reportedly broke out in a bamboo shed and a plywood shop on Rifle Range Road in Kolkata's Park Circus area. No casualties have been reported as of yet. According to news agency ANI, 12 fire tenders are on the spot. India

Malaysia will return 450 tonnes of contaminated plastic waste to the countries that shipped it, in a refusal to become a dumping ground for the world's trash. Nine shipping containers at Port Klang, west of Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday were found to contain mislabeled plastic and

An Australian teenager who broke an egg on a controversial far-right senator's head says he has given almost A$100,000 (£55,000; $69,000) to survivors of the Christchurch mosque attacks. Will Connolly, 17, egged Fraser Anning in March - prompting people online to dub him "Egg Boy"

A move by the US to put Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on a trade blacklist "sets a dangerous precedent," the firm's top legal officer said. Speaking at a press conference, Song Liuping said other companies and industries may be targeted next. The US recently added Huawei to a

North Koreans are forced to pay bribes to officials to survive in their isolated country, where corruption is "endemic" and repression rife, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday (May 28). Officials across North Korea extort money from a population struggling to make