Economy

China Machinery Engineering Corp. and Chinese bank loans are helping Pakistan expand an open-pit coal mining site in Tharparkar. Here, dump trucks work the mine.
Climate Change

Pakistan to burn more domestic coal despite climate pledge

Islamabad expands use of lignite to ease burden of expensive imported fuel

24 January 2022
Russian S-400 missile air defense systems, pictured in Kaliningrad region, Russia, in August 2020: Delhi's arms deals with Moscow risk attracting sanctions of its ally in Washington.
Opinion

Buying more Russian weapons will not lift India's economy

Young people need high quality jobs, not increases in defense spending

23 January 2022
A man counts change at a gas station on Oct. 18, 2021, in Colombo. 
Economy

Dollar drought leaves Sri Lanka groping in the dark

Oil in short supply, basic necessities grow scarce as foreign reserves dwindle

22 January 2022
A man counts Sri Lankan rupee notes at a currency exchange shop in Colombo, Sri Lanka. A U.S. dollar can fetch about 40 more rupees on the streets than at banks.
Economy

Sri Lanka pays foreign debt at expense of domestic economy

Drop in tourism income and migrant worker remittances squeeze government income

18 January 2022
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is seeking reduce the island's trade dependence on China with her New Southbound Policy of deepening economic ties with 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)
International relations

Taiwan makes new push to drum up Southeast Asia investment

'New Southbound Policy' helps region but Taipei could do more, experts say

18 January 2022
Kashmiri workers pack apples into boxes to be sold in markets across India. (Photo by Kaleem Geelani)
Trade

Kashmir's apple growers demand action against Iranian imports

Protests mount as prices plunge and unsold produce piles up

17 January 2022
Sri Lankan rupee banknotes sit in a bucket at a fruit stall in Colombo. The country is running out of imported food, fuel, medicine and a key ingredient of milk tea.
Economy

Sri Lanka economists tell government to default on bond, buy food

$500m should be redirected to pay for fuel, medicine and other essentials, experts say

15 January 2022
A woman walks in a market area in Jammu in August 2021: India's rather laissez-faire approach may finally yield some benefit.
Opinion

India is well placed to beat the omicron variant

Devastating delta wave has dramatically increased COVID immunity

15 January 2022
Empty trailers meant to house workers at a gold and copper exploration site in the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes has put Pakistan in a corner.
Economy

Pakistan struggles to settle delayed mining license dispute

Islamabad seeks to avoid billions in penalty and interest, but local opposition grows

14 January 2022
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi share a joke, as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison watches, at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November. (Photo courtesy of No. 10 Downing Street) 
Trade

U.K., India launch trade talks as London seeks Indo-Pacific pastures

'Deal with booming economy offers huge benefits,' Johnson says

13 January 2022
Pasture-raised hogs on Bowling Green Farms in Bryantown, Maryland. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Trade

Quad brings home the bacon: India to allow imports of U.S. pork

Agreement lifts decades-old hurdle to agricultural market

11 January 2022
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left, was apparently eager to settle a dispute over an unpaid bill for fertilizer with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. (Nikkei montage/AP/Reuters)
International relations

Sri Lanka settles $6.9m fertilizer bill with Chinese supplier

President Rajapaksa's tussle with Beijing ends just before Wang Yi's visit

8 January 2022
An Afghan man tends to a poppy field in 2014. Political upheaval in Afghanistan and Myanmar last year is threatening neighboring India with a wave of illicit narcotics.
Afghanistan turmoil

India faces double drugs threat from Afghanistan, Myanmar

Officials worry narcotics will pour in amid political, economic crises

4 January 2022
A woman shoveling coal in Kamduni, West Bengal, where the government hopes to mine the country's biggest block. 
Economy

Protests cast shadow over mining of India's largest coal block

West Bengal project pits locals against state as foreign firms see opportunity

2 January 2022
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan needs to make a difficult decision over a fiscal bill submitted in the National Assembly.
Economy

Pakistan considers higher taxes to meet IMF demands

Parliament to decide on indirect duties, as central bank role also under scrutiny

30 December 2021
U.S. Marines are on guard during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Aug. 20: policymakers in Washington have decided to leave the morass of middle Eurasia to others. (Handout photo from U.S. Marine Corps)
Opinion

2022 look ahead: Central Asia will cement its turn against the West

Expect China and Russia to step in and take advantage

30 December 2021
India has approved molnupiravir to treat adult patients.
COVID vaccines

India approves 2 more COVID vaccines, Merck's antiviral drug

Inoculation to be expanded to 15-18 age group in anticipation of omicron wave

29 December 2021
Narendra Modi, pictured in New Delhi on Nov. 29: there has been no change to the Modi playbook.
Opinion

2022 look ahead: India's economy will not meet expectations

A slew of state elections will be a crucial test for Narendra Modi

29 December 2021
As the pandemic continued in 2021, Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing seized power, the U.S. and U.K. agreed to share nuclear submarine tech with Australia, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai made an explosive revelation and BTS ruled the airwaves. 
Asia Insight

From Myanmar to AUKUS to BTS: Newsmakers that shaped Asia in 2021

As COVID raged, the security landscape shifted and superstars made their mark

28 December 2021
Sri Lanka plans to pay Iran in tea to settle an oil debt.
Economy

Tea leaves for oil -- Sri Lanka struggles with runaway inflation

Island nation's price increases could act as bellwether for global prices

25 December 2021
Workers sow paddy crop near Kotshamir village in Bathinda, Punjab's southern distric, on June 7: most of India's farmers have no access to reliable demand forecasting.
Opinion

Price guarantees will not help India's farmers

A futures market paired with crop-neutral income support would be much better

21 December 2021
A file photo of a port in Bangkok. Thailand detected its first omicron case in December but it has not suspended its border reopening policy for tourists, prompting economists to revise upward the kingdom's economic growth forecast.
Economy

Philippines, Thailand poised for faster growth in 2022: survey

Economists upgrade ASEAN GDP forecast but lockdowns weigh on Malaysia

20 December 2021
The India-funded Chabahar Port in Iran in early 2019. New Delhi wants the site to become a gateway to trade with Central Asia. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
International relations

Spotlight on trade gateway as India hosts talks with Central Asia

Sunday discussions look set to focus on New Delhi-funded port in Iran

18 December 2021
A ban on cryptocurrencies would negatively impact the country at large.
Opinion

Crypto ban would move India closer to an authoritarian nightmare

Proposal threatens nation's foundations as a liberal democracy

18 December 2021
An drug user lies unconscious by the side of a road in Kapurthala, Punjab, in October 2019: the use of drugs such as heroin among people has become so rampant in the northern Indian state.
Opinion

Drug problem in India's Punjab looms over crucial state election

Once an economic powerhouse, region has suffered a reversal in fortunes

16 December 2021