The US has designated four leaders of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban groups as global terrorists, Secretary of State Tony Blinken has said as he emphasised that the Biden administration will ensure that terrorists do not operate with impunity in Afghanistan.

India does not need to be told what to do on democracy, the country's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, who assumed Presidency of the UN Security Council for the month of December, said here on Thursday.

The Taliban dispensation in Afghanistan has said that India will resume work in at least 20 stalled projects in several provinces across the war-torn country.

Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who led his country out of isolation after the crushing of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square and supported economic reforms that led to a decade of explosive growth, has died, state TV said. He was 96.

China has warned American officials not to interfere in its relationship with India, the Pentagon has said in a report to the Congress.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made a clear break with the past on UK-China relations as he declared that the "so-called golden era" of bilateral ties is over in the face of the "systemic challenge" posed by the Chinese regime to British values and interests.

Chinese universities are sending students home as the ruling Communist Party tightens anti-virus controls and tries to prevent more protests after crowds angered by its severe ", " restrictions called for President Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reiterated the UK's commitment to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India as part of the country's wider focus on enhancing ties with the Indo-Pacific region.