Pakistan

A medical personnel uses a bag-mask valve at an isolation facility in Metro Manila on May 1: few problems are insurmountable when collaborative science rise to the occasion.
Opinion

Reimagining Asia's response to COVID-19

Purpose-driven leadership, digital transformation and collective effort are critical

19 August 2020
Foreign workers on a construction site in Ahmadi, Kuwait, are threatened not only by COVID-19 but also potentially by unemployment in a draft law. 
International relations

Kuwaiti dream of cutting foreign workers threatens Indians most

Fewer jobs, cheaper oil and COVID-19 may reduce Filipinos and Pakistanis as well

13 August 2020
Prime Minister Imran Khan meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in September 2019, a time when Saudi Arabia was seen as something of a white knight in Pakistan. (Photo courtesy of Pakistan's Press Information Department)
International relations

Saudi Arabia pulls support for Pakistan as Kashmir tiff widens

As Riyadh takes India's side, China comes through with $1bn for Islamabad

10 August 2020
Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at the site of an attack at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on June 29.
Belt and Road

Pakistani separatist groups unite to target China's Belt and Road

Experts say Islamabad and Beijing will be forced to increase project security

1 August 2020
A proposed $400 billion economic partnership between China and Iran has some experts questioning the value of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. (Source photo by Reuters) 
Belt and Road

China-Iran deal overshadows Pakistan Belt and Road project

Beijing's plan to invest in Tehran's Hormuz port threatens Islamabad's value

21 July 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has two agreements in as many months from Beijing to fund hydropower projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/EPA/Jiji)
Belt and Road

Pakistan benefits from China-India clash with hydropower deal

Himalaya tensions also give Islamabad opportunity to make a case for debt relief

6 July 2020
An armed conflict between China and India, Kashmiris have come to believe, might be a good thing. (Photo by Bhat Burhan)
International relations

Kashmiris see ray of hope in India-China standoff in Himalayas

Locals expect help but global community remains silent about Delhi's crackdown

2 July 2020
Police survey a damaged car at the site of an attack at the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on June 29.
Belt and Road

Gunmen opposing 'Belt and Road' attack Pakistan bourse; 8 dead

Militant group vows to continue fight against Chinese presence in Balochistan

29 June 2020
The pandemic-induced slowdown may offer the Asia-Pacific region a prime opportunity not only to catch up on environmental targets, but also to lay the groundwork for a greener future. © Illustration by Hiroko Oshima
Asia Insight

Asia risks missing 'green' economic reset after coronavirus

Except in South Korea, experts see absence of environmental resolve in region

23 June 2020
Taxes on petrol and diesel in India account for around 69% of the retail price, the highest in the world.
Opinion

Indian government stops consumers benefiting from cheap oil

New Delhi has not passed on reductions in crude price but in fact raised taxes

22 June 2020
Major China-backed infrastructure projects in Pakistan are being slowed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Belt and Road

Pakistan slashes budget for Belt and Road Initiative projects

Completion date for Karachi-Peshawar rail link even more uncertain

19 June 2020
Tracks at Dazhou Station in China's Sichuan Province form part of the Belt and Road freight route.
Belt and Road

Coronavirus blocks Belt and Road, cutting Q1 project value by 64%

Refinitiv report says China had over $90bn in late, stalled or scrapped projects

17 June 2020
A family wait outside a railway station in New Delhi on June 1: COVID-19 has laid bare the weakness of South Asia's economies.
Opinion

South Asia risks coronavirus lost decade

India and Pakistan's poor disease management will cost them dearly

17 June 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a televised address in March in which he said: "Ninety percent of cases of coronavirus are normal flu, and clear up without any treatment."
Coronavirus

Conspiracy theories help coronavirus take root in Pakistan

Religious fervor and distrust of government combine with deadly results

13 June 2020
A boy receives polio vaccine drops at a Karachi train station in 2016.
Politics

Coronavirus threatens to upend Pakistan's long war against polio

39 nations at risk as public funds are diverted to fight COVID-19

3 June 2020
A swarm of desert locusts flies over a ranch near the town on Nanyuki in Laikipia county, Kenya, Feb. 21.
Natural disasters

India and Pakistan brace for worst locust attack in 27 years

Amid COVID-19, Modi vows to 'salvage our crops' as drones and helicopters readied

1 June 2020
Repatriated overseas Filipino workers arrive at an airport after weeks of quarantine in Pasay City on May 26: they send home more than $35 billion annually.
Opinion

Coronavirus shock exposes Asian governments' addiction to remittances

Money which overseas workers send home has prevented needed reforms

28 May 2020
Pakistan has secured funding from China for a major hydropower joint venture in Kashmir, but the loan terms have not been revealed.  
Belt and Road

China ignores India over dam project in Pakistani Kashmir

Debt-laden Islamabad gets Beijing funds for joint venture opposed by Delhi

24 May 2020
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 2, 2018. 
Belt and Road

Pakistan bans political party critical of China's Belt and Road

Government claims 'reasonable grounds' for terror link as rights groups cry foul

21 May 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
Remdesivir has been granted emergency use authorization to treat COVID-19 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Pharmaceuticals

Gilead licenses remdesivir production to India and Pakistan

Royalty-free deals allow makers to distribute coronavirus drug to 127 countries

13 May 2020
(All images from Amazon.com)
Arts

Top 10 South Asian books to read during lockdown

From Indian mysteries to Nepalese histories, we have the perfect selection

13 May 2020
A man attempts to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts in Kenya on Feb. 21: it is the worst outbreak to strike the country in 70 years.
Opinion

World must protect India and Pakistan from threat of locust swarms

Insects wipe out crops and pastures, damaging food supply and livelihoods

13 May 2020
Pakistan has plans to create a smart city in Gwadar Port, a major part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Belt and Road

Pakistan request opens door for Belt and Road project debt relief

COVID-19 economic hit gives China little choice but to help cash-strapped allies

11 May 2020
Kochi Marutaka, an infrastructure builder based in Kochi, Japan, has impressed potential clients in Asia with projects such as widening a 380 meter stretch of road in a mountainous region in Pakistan.
Engineering & Construction

Japanese builder's methods mean faster, cheaper bridges in Asia

Kochi Marutaka puts up infrastructure in mountainous areas, drawing limelight

10 May 2020