NEW DELHI -- Many embassies in Kabul remain closed following the collapse of Afghanistan's previous government, fueling a black market for visas sought by citizens desperate to leave the country.

TOKYO -- Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will immediately be shoved into the driver's seat of a fast-moving car, tasked with avoiding the roadblocks and potholes looming ahead, mostly related to China.

TOKYO -- Mercari, Japan's largest online marketplace for secondhand goods, is planning to step up recruiting of foreign engineers after the country reopened borders this week.

SINGAPORE -- India and Southeast Asia's technology sectors top the charts when tabling the biggest beneficiaries of an investor shift away from China's technology sector this year.

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia faces a potential hammer blow after the U.S. said it will review the country's eligibility for a trade preference scheme vital to its export-reliant economy.

HONG KONG -- China Evergrande Group may have escaped default once again, but investors on Thursday were finding clear information scarce.

SINGAPORE/BANGKOK -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday delivered a thinly veiled rebuke to U.S.-led alliance-building in the Asia-Pacific, warning against a Cold War "relapse."

TAIPEI/PALO ALTO, U.S. -- Mark Zuckerburg raised eyebrows when he announced late last month that his social media empire will be rebranded as "Meta."

BANGKOK/YANGON -- Humanitarian assistance to Myanmar must take precedence over any political negotiations, Bill Richardson, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Nikkei Asia after his Naypyitaw visit, which has drawn criticism from human rights groups.

HONG KONG -- With China's biggest annual online shopping festival reaching its climax on Thursday, initiator Alibaba Group Holding is learning to share the spotlight with rivals.