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US diplomat found dead in Myanmar as police treat case as possible homicide

Thai woman is in custody in connection with investigation after man was reportedly found dead at a hotel in Yangon

A US diplomat has been found dead in Myanmar’s largest city, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman had been detained by police in connection with the investigation.

US officials in Thailand and the US embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the state department, which confirmed the “death of a US government employee” assigned to the embassy in Yangon, but gave no other details.

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© Photograph: Thein Zaw/AP

© Photograph: Thein Zaw/AP

© Photograph: Thein Zaw/AP

Two killed in rare street demonstration over women’s rights in Afghanistan

Taliban forces fire on crowds in Herat, who were protesting at manhandling of women arrested over hijab dress code

A Taliban crackdown on women’s dress code in Afghanistan has escalated into a rare mass street protest in the western province of Herat, with at least two people killed by security forces.

Officials made a wave of arrests in recent days targeting women and young girls accused of “improper hijab”. Residents say many families had received no information about the whereabouts or condition of those detained.

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© Photograph: Handout

© Photograph: Handout

© Photograph: Handout

Weather tracker: Monsoon season brings vital rainfall to parts of Asia

India declares onset as up to 280mm of rain falls in 72 hours in Kerala, while downpours hit south-west Thailand

The monsoon season has officially begun in parts of Asia, marking the start of a period of enhanced rainfall vital to the region’s economy.

The south-west monsoon begins each year as a consequence of a growing temperature difference between the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean. Through spring, the land heats up more rapidly than the surrounding sea, creating a pressure difference that draws moisture-laden ocean air inland. Once this contrast reaches a critical point, the humid air pushed over the continent rises, condenses into cloud and unleashes intense rainfall across the region.

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© Photograph: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

‘What if all cockroaches came together?’ The youth movement threatening to shake up India’s politics

Cockroach Janta party began as online joke but is growing into one of the most unexpected challenges to country’s rightwing government

The call out to the youth of India was simple: “Get ready to swarm the streets of Delhi with peaceful and loving dissent.” They came in their thousands.

The weekend marked the first public protest of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP), a movement that began as an online joke, but which has swiftly grown into one of the most unexpected challenges to the indomitable power of the country’s rightwing Narendra Modi government – driven by millions of discontented and disillusioned young people.

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© Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

Missing Sherpa guide found alive on Everest after funeral rites had begun

Climbing support team rescue Hillary Dawa Sherpa almost a week on from when he was last seen

A Nepali guide who was believed to have died on Mount Everest has been found crawling to base camp a week after going missing – and after his funeral rites had begun.

Dawa Sherpa, also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa after the famous climber Edmund Hillary, was last seen on 29 May but did not reach base camp with other climbing groups.

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© Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA

© Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA

© Photograph: Narendra Shrestha/EPA

Cricket Canada suspended over allegations of gang-linked corruption

ICC’s decision comes amid growing concerns the team is being influenced by members of a notorious gang in India

Cricket’s international governing body has suspended Canada over what it described as “serious breaches of its membership obligations”, dealing the latest blow to an organization that critics say has become a “laughing stock” within the sport.

The suspension also comes amid growing concerns that one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports is being influenced by members of a notorious gang that operates with impunity from an Indian prison cell.

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© Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Allison-ICC/ICC/Getty Images

Eighteen people killed in Afghanistan truck crash, including 10 children

Truck was carrying Afghan families returning Pakistan when it overturned, official says

A truck overturned in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing 18 people on board including 10 children, a provincial official told Agence France-Presse.

Deadly traffic crashes are common in Afghanistan, due in part to poor roads after decades of conflict, dangerous driving and a lack of regulation.

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© Photograph: Siddiqullah Alizai/AP

© Photograph: Siddiqullah Alizai/AP

© Photograph: Siddiqullah Alizai/AP

Exam fail: Indian students complain en masse about marking errors in key final exams

New digital marking system is aimed at reducing human errors but many students say it has resulted in wrong grades

A national outcry has erupted in India after more than 400,000 students requested copies of their answer sheets amid mounting complaints of errors in the marking of the country’s most important school-leaving examinations.

Within days of the grade 12 exam results being issued, students began reporting marking discrepancies they linked to a new digital marking system.

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© Photograph: Hindustan Times/Getty Images

© Photograph: Hindustan Times/Getty Images

© Photograph: Hindustan Times/Getty Images

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