Nepal: News & Insights

Pokhara Regional International Airport. (Courtesy of Kevin Qin)

Coronavirus

Nepal airport project faces delay due to coronavirus

Shortage of Chinese engineers threatens to hold up dams and other infrastructure

19 February 2020

A doctor walks out of an isolation ward at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center in Karachi that was set up as a preventative measure following the coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus

Stuck in Wuhan: Pakistani students' cry for help falls on deaf ears

Islamabad fears nation's medical facilities cannot handle coronavirus patients

13 February 2020

Foreign students in Japan are allowed to work in unskilled-labor positions, such as convenience store work, for up to 28 hours per week. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

Japan immigration

Japan intensifies crackdown on student visa overstayers

Number of countries subject to stricter checks to increase tenfold

11 February 2020

Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is at present the only gateway for air passengers visiting Nepal. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)

Economy

Nepal's new airport threatens 2.4m trees, angering greens

Government pushes on with $1.3bn project to handle flood of foreign tourists

5 February 2020

A worker stands next to robotic arms in a factory in Zhangjiakou, China: robots often supplement and support humans rather than replace them.

Opinion

Asia's economies must learn to accommodate rise of robots

Technology can complement humans but it can also eliminate their jobs

5 February 2020

Growth in demand is outstripping that of production, putting upward pressure on cinnamon prices.

Commodities

Cinnamon prices rise in a world thirsty for chai and lattes

Beloved spice also finds its way into skin care products and toothpaste

5 February 2020

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Jan. 30 that Phnom Penh's decision not to evacuate students from Wuhan is a form of "soft diplomacy."

Coronavirus

Hun Sen offers Wuhan visit, while Pakistan resumes China flights

Beijing's clout generates measured responses to the virus crisis with some allies

4 February 2020

When Chinese markets last traded on Jan. 23, the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 2.8%, its worst single-day drop since May. The Shanghai and Shenzhen markets are due to reopen on Monday.

Your Week in Asia

Chinese markets reopen, RCEP talks and India rate decision

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

2 February 2020

Kalika chief Nicholas Pandey expects Nepal to prosper from economic stability and Chinese investment.

Interview

Nepal's Kalika Group riding high on Chinese investment

China-India rail link among major BRI infrastructure projects

2 February 2020

Coronavirus

Coronavirus fears freeze Belt and Road projects in Pakistan

Opposition politicians slam government for not evacuating citizens from Wuhan

1 February 2020

Airport officials wear masks as they wait to help passengers after having their temperatures taken at Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lanka, on Jan. 24.

Coronavirus

Wuhan coronavirus spreads to Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Germany

Patient in Cambodian city of Sihanoukville is a tourist from China

28 January 2020

Health officials wear face masks at an inspection site at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Jan. 21.

Coronavirus

Wuhan coronavirus confirmed in Malaysia, Australia and Nepal

Japan declares third infection in woman who traveled from Wuhan

25 January 2020

Gotabaya Rajapaksa (in red), Sri Lankan president and former wartime defence chief, with his brothers including Mahinda Rajapaksa (left), former president, waves at his supporters in Colombo during the campaign for the November 2019 presidential election.

International relations

Sri Lanka faces EU ire after government breaks UN war obligations

Rajapaksa's stance risks country losing favored trade status with European bloc

25 January 2020

Despite the fanfare surrounding use of Gwadar port for trade with Afghanistan, experts say the facility has a long way to go before China sees any return on its investment.

Belt and Road

Beijing-backed Pakistan port opens as hub for Afghanistan trade

Gwadar challenges Indian interests in region, but China's ROI remains unclear

23 January 2020

Two months after meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, left, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new citizenship law that threatens a mass exodus of Muslims to Bangladesh.

International relations

Bangladesh fears Rohingya-like crisis over India citizenship law

Tensions mount as many Indian Muslims fear detention or deportation

16 January 2020

Yatri Motorcycles' V2 model runs off a 30 kW engine powered by a 6 kW battery and will be built in Nepal (Courtesy of Yatri Motorcycles).

Startups

Nepali startup to roll out country's first electric motorbike

Yatri Motorcycles plans to tackle fuel pollution with home-built two-wheelers

15 January 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Pakistan is trying to distance itself from U.S.-Iran tensions, not only to avoid getting caught up in violence but also to keep the Belt and Road infrastructure projects on track. (Photos by Reuters, AP)

Iran tensions

US-Iran tensions challenge Pakistan's balancing act

Islamabad aims to avoid angering Shiites as it protects Belt and Road projects

13 January 2020

The scene in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on Sept. 20, 2019. Critics wonder if India has since turned this part of Kashmir into a Potemkin village.

International relations

India invites envoys on Kashmir tour that critics call a sham

Modi maneuvers to project normalcy amid international outcry over human rights

10 January 2020

Pakistan's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Muhammad Hammad Azhar talks to the Nikkei Asian Review in Tokyo. (Photo by Yuichi Shiga)

Interview

Belt and Road corridor to boost Pakistan economy: minister

Azhar says free trade agreement with Beijing will also help

8 January 2020

Sayyed Abrar, one of the 75 participants in Project Dastaan, watches a 3D simulation of his childhood from his home in Fresno, U.S. He and his wife, Musarrat, migrated from Pakistan in 1947 and have not been able to visit since. (Courtesy of Project Dastaan)

Life

Virtual reality reconnects casualties of Partition with ancestral homes

Digital project comes out of Oxford University initiative

8 January 2020

Lawyer Huzzatul Islam, who is seeking a ban on the showing of "No Dorai" in Bangladesh, argues lead actress Sunerah Binte Kamal’s outfits, as above, are indecent though he has not seen the film. (Courtesy of Tanim Rahman)

Arts

Film on daring female surfer makes waves in Bangladesh

'No Dorai' yanked from cinemas over lead character's name

4 January 2020

An official in Imran Khan's administration said that media cooperation between Pakistani and Chinese media is necessary for countering negative propaganda against projects under CPEC.

Belt and Road

Xinhua begins Pakistan language service to push Belt and Road

Islamabad hopes China's state news agency will improve image of projects

4 January 2020

Narendra Modi has embarked on implementing his party's core political projects and he will continue on this track in 2020.

Opinion

2020 look ahead: Politics and protectionism to dominate Indian economy

Slowing growth needs corporate kick-start, but Modi only offers distractions

2 January 2020

Student activists burn effigies of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal over a legal provision that grants citizenship to minorities persecuted in neighboring countries.

Politics

India citizenship law fuels fear and anti-immigrant fervor in Assam

Muslims feel targeted while nationalists decry leniency for other groups

1 January 2020

Photos

2019 in pictures: Looking back at a year of celebrations, confrontations and more

A selection of striking images from across Asia, and the stories behind them

29 December 2019