Delegates representing some 70 countries descended on Kabul for a conference on the future of Afghanistan, the first to be held in the country since an American-led coalition routed the Taliban in 2001. President Hamid Karzai presented an optimistic plan… more »

In Kampala, Uganda’s capital, at least 76 people were killed in explosions at a restaurant and a rugby club as they watched the final of the football World Cup. The Shabab, an Islamist militia group in Somalia, claimed responsibility. Uganda contributes… more »

Agricultural Bank of China, the last of China’s big state-owned banks to float on the stockmarket, raised $19.2 billion in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It could end up being the world’s biggest-ever initial public offering. Investors are betting that AgBank,… more »

China and Taiwan signed one of their most significant agreements since 1949: a deal designed to liberalise trade and investment across the Taiwan strait. Hundreds of tariffs will be reduced in both directions. Both governments are eager to convince Taiwa… more »

General Stanley McChrystal was relieved of his command of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan after Rolling Stone published an article in which the general and his aides openly disparaged the Obama administration and America’s civilian leadership in… more »

Tony Hayward, the boss of BP, said the company would honour all “legitimate” claims for damages in the wake of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Existing American law would cap BP’s liability at $75m, but there have been calls for a retrospective chan… more »