Taliban govt resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities yesterday said they will resume issuing passports in Kabul, giving hope to citizens who feel threatened living under the Islamists' rule. Thousands of Afghans have applied for new travel documents to escape a growing economic and humanitarian crisis described by the United Nations as an "avalanche of hunger". Authorities will start issuing the documents from today at Kabul's passport office, Alam Gul Haqqani, the head of the passport department in the interior ministry, told reporters. New applications will be accepted from January 10,  he added.

At least 12 killed in Pakistan gas blast

At least 12 people were killed and several more injured yesterday by a gas blast in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, police said. The explosion went off in a bank building in the Sher Shah area and social media and TV footage showed the two-floor structure's windows and doors blown out, with documents scattered across a wide area. Cars and motorcycles parked nearby were also damaged. Provincial police told AFP a bomb disposal squad was investigating, but "apparently the leakage of gas was the cause". They said 12 people had been confirmed killed, and 13 were being treated for injuries. Explosions caused by faulty gas cylinders -- which are used for cooking as well as in cars –- are common in Pakistan.

Death toll from Philippines Typhoon Rai passes 30

At least 33 people were killed in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, official figures showed yesterday, with a charity reporting "alarming" destruction on islands that bore the brunt of the storm. Hundreds of thousands fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai ravaged the southern and central regions of the archipelago, knocking out communications and electricity in many areas, ripping off roofs and toppling concrete power poles. Rai was a super typhoon when it smashed into the popular tourist island of Siargao on Thursday, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometres per hour. The Philippines -- ranked as one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change -- is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipe out harvests, homes and infrastructure in already impoverished areas.