Some two and a half months after the start of peace negotiations in Qatar between the Afghan government and the militant Taliban group, the two sides have agreed on procedural terms for peace talks to end the country’s 19 years of conflict. 

China hailed as a success its pre-dawn launch on Tuesday of a robotic spacecraft to bring back rocks from the moon in the first bid by any country to retrieve lunar surface samples since the 1970s, a mission underscoring Chinese ambitions in space.

China on Tuesday announced two new coronavirus cases in the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin as it seeks to prevent small outbreaks from becoming larger ones, AP reported.

Armenia is ceding control over more than 120 towns, villages and other localities in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan in accordance with a peace deal, dpa reported, citing Armenian state news agency on Monday.

China will continue to cut its tariffs and expand imports of high-quality goods and services, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, while vowing to push reforms and promote an innovation-driven growth model.

Armenian protesters stormed the government house in the capital Yerevan on Tuesday, demanding to see the country's PM Nikol Pashinyan after he signed a ceasefire deal with Azerbaijan and Russia, news wires reported.

China has temporarily banned the entry of foreigners from at least eight countries as COVID-19 cases rise in Europe and elsewhere, AP reported. Non-Chinese can no longer enter from Russia, France, Italy, the UK, Belgium, the Philippines, India and Bangladesh, even if they hold a valid visa or residence permit for China.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other on Sunday of violating a new humanitarian ceasefire in fighting over the mountain enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, hours after it was agreed.

India’s confirmed coronavirus toll crossed 7 million on Sunday with a number of new cases dipping in recent weeks, even as health experts warn of mask and distancing fatigue setting in.

Kyrgyzstan's Central Electoral Commission announced on Tuesday it was cancelling the results of a disputed parliamentary vote that has plunged the Central Asian country into political chaos, news wires reported. The electoral body said in a statement it had "invalidated the election results" which saw parties close to pro-Russian President Sooronbay Jeenbekov score big wins amid accusations of mass vote-buying campaigns.