NEW YORK -- It was a grueling weekend for Zalmay Khalilzad.

The Biden administration's 70-year-old point man for stabilizing Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrawal had seen his monthslong efforts almost pay off. The peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan government was back on track, though both sides had stopped short of a cessation of hostilities.

But with the Taliban making rapid advances across the country and gaining control of vital border crossings, coupled by reports of destroyed infrastructure and atrocities committed against

TOKYO -- The official cost estimate for hosting the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been raised by 294 billion yen ($2.67 billion) to around 1.644 trillion yen, meaning the event will be much costlier than the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and likely on par with the 2012 London Olympics, which were the most expensive summer Olympiad in history.

According to

PALO ALTO, U.S. -- Two-thirds of Netflix's subscriber growth came from the Asia-Pacific region in the last quarter, the streaming video giant reported on Tuesday, amid an overall slowdown in new paid users as pandemic-related lockdowns ease around the world.

But while the U.S. entertainment giant sees the region as a bright spot, it faces fierce competition as more content providers roll out streaming services in populous Asian countries where they see strong growth potential.

"We're

Boonsithi Chokwatana is the Chairman of Saha Group, Thailand's leading consumer products conglomerate. This is part 3 of a 30-part series.

I was born in Bangkok on July 25, 1937, the third son of my father, Thiam, and my mother, Saipin. People in China believe that having three boys in a row is a sign of good fortune, so my parents were very happy about my birth.

The rented house I was born in was located on Songwat Road,

KARACHI -- Following a terror attack that killed nine Chinese engineers in northern Pakistan last week, Beijing has ramped up pressure on Islamabad, postponing a high-level joint committee for the Belt and Road Initiative and halting a billion-dollar hydropower project.

The Dasu Hydropower project currently under construction in northwest Pakistan is led by China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) at an estimated cost of over $4 billion. It is slated to have a capacity of 4,320 MW.

Contrary to media reporting, the project

TAIPEI -- All iPhones released next year will be 5G-capable, including Apple's first revamp of its budget handset in two years, as the company looks to boost sales of a product that still accounts for more than half of its revenue.

Apple will not introduce any new 4G models next year, sources familiar with the matter told Nikkei Asia, and will instead begin selling a version of its cheapest handset -- the popular iPhone SE -- that is compatible with the next-generation communication standard

SEOUL -- North Korea's food shortages have reached crisis levels, and inequalities have sharply widened ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the country to close its borders in January last year.

The reclusive nation will be short by about 860,000 tons of food this year, or about two months of normal demand, the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in a recent report.

The government has been trying to get the population to supply their own food but with little

SEOUL -- Digital lender Kakao Bank is defending its valuation method ahead of an initial public offering next month, after South Korea's financial regulator demanded that a pair of big name companies correct their filings.

CEO Yun Ho-young said Tuesday that Kakao Bank's valuation, calculated in comparison with global peers rather than local lenders, is reasonable because digital banks differ from conventional ones as their businesses are based on mobile devices and do not require brick-and-mortar branches.

South Korea's largest digital bank

KARACHI -- Russia is increasing diplomatic efforts to revive ties with Pakistan through a $2.5 billion natural gas pipeline while offering to bolster anti-terrorism support. Analysts see the moves as a bid to acquire a new energy market to offset declining business from the West and to increase regional heft as the U.S. deepens ties with India and leaves Afghanistan.

On July 15, a Russian delegation signed a pact in Islamabad stipulating the terms for the PakStream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project, formerly known as