Pakistan

A supporter of Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, waves a flag during a campaign rally on July 22 in Karachi, Pakistan.
Politics

Pakistan goes to polls as debt reckoning looms

Islamabad likely to need bailout from IMF or Beijing

24 July 2018
A Chinese national flag is affixed to a buffer stop on a railway at a freight yard in the Kazakh border town of Khorgos.
Belt and Road

China's Belt and Road stirs up local anxieties

Loans and investments ignore profits and blur economics and security

24 July 2018
Street poles are decorated with the flags and banners of political parties in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on July 23 ahead of a general election.
Opinion

Pakistan entering another phase of instability?

Elections will likely deliver either a weak coalition or unpopular majority

24 July 2018
Rohingya refugees at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh appeal to a United Nations Security Council visit at Rohingya camp on in late April.
Opinion

Impunity rules in Southeast Asia

No easy route to accountability for crimes against humanity in Myanmar's Rakhine State

20 July 2018
Facebook posts fueled sectarian tensions in Sri Lanka that erupted into anti-Muslim violence in March, forcing the country to declare a state of emergency.
Facebook

Facebook to remove posts sparking violence in emerging Asia

Platform reckons with role in sectarian attacks in Myanmar and Sri Lanka

20 July 2018
The flags of China and Sri Lanka flutter in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in happier times. 
International relations

China unresponsive over FTA talks with Sri Lanka

Beijing possibly hoping for a return to power of the Rajapaksa clan

19 July 2018
Facebook's WhatsApp messaging service has clearly failed to deal with the downsides of its services in emerging economies.
Opinion

WhatsApp, murder and the dark side of social media

Amid controversy over lynchings in India, message service must boost support in emerging markets

18 July 2018
Galle Heritage Villa: Happy tranquility in Galle Fort (Photo by Rajpal Abeynayake)
Arts

The architect who let the light into Sri Lanka

Geoffrey Bawa's 'tropical modernism' sweeps the island's hotel sector

15 July 2018
Supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif protest his 10-year prison sentence. The military is thought to have had a hand in his ouster by the Supreme Court.
14 July 2018
A boy holds a Pakistani flag in Islamabad.
International relations

China lends $1bn to Pakistan to boost foreign reserves

Islamabad's dependence on Beijing loans grows further

1 July 2018
Assam residents wait to check whether they made the first draft of the National Register of Citizens in the state's Kamrup district in January. (AFP/Jiji)
Politics

India migrants face judgment day with border state's census

Assam on edge as Modi's 2014 vow to eject 'Bangladeshi infiltrators' echoes

28 June 2018
Pakistan has handed over the development and management of the strategically important Gwadar port to China until 2059.
Opinion

China tie is key to Pakistan's security and prosperity

Cooperation with Beijing represents a chance to forge regional peace

27 June 2018
Soybeans being loaded at a port in China's Jiangsu Province. China, the world's largest consumer of soybeans, relies on U.S. imports for up to 30% of its needs.
Trade war

Soybean showdown: China removes tariffs in Asia

Beijing touts alternatives to US, but effect may be limited

27 June 2018
AIIB President Jin Liqun says the bank looks to finance quality projects that avoid pushing countries into the "debt trap" faced by some borrowers related to Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Economy

No 'debt trap' with AIIB, president vows

India's Modi wants greater involvement with China-led development bank

27 June 2018
Laborers constructing a flyover in New Delhi, India in February. 
Economy

China-led AIIB to spend $3.5bn with focus on India

Bank says it is 'apolitical' and wants to connect Asia and Africa

25 June 2018
A Telenor sign outside a cellphone retailer in Myanmar's Shan state. The Norwegian telecom operator offers the country's lowest calling prices thanks to strict cost controls. (Photo by Yuichi Nitta)
Companies

Telenor bets on Asia's bottom-of-the-pyramid market

Norway's telecom operator expands presence in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan

18 June 2018
Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, greets Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 8.
International relations

China-led Shanghai grouping offers challenge to G-7

From North Korea to Iran, the SCO's unity contrasts with Western rancor

9 June 2018
(© Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images)
Asia Insight

China emerges as wild card in elections across Asia

Incumbents draw on Beijing's support as opponents tap resentment of its influence

5 June 2018
Dhaka's traffic congestion represents an urgent issue, as it costs the city over $2 billion a year in economic activity. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Companies

With Dhaka metro order, Marubeni aims to unclog Asia's streets

Japanese trading house and India's Larsen join hands in Bangladeshi capital

1 June 2018
Women in Bangladesh wear T-shirts and caps with messages about safe migration on International Migration Day. (Courtesy of UN Women)
17 May 2018
A jewelry shop in Peshawar: Pakistan has struggled to get the wealthy to pay income tax.
17 May 2018
Executives from the Dhaka, Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges attend Monday's signing ceremony in Bangladesh. Chinese investors may secure funding more easily for special economic zones that Beijing is building in Bangladesh. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
17 May 2018
The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges teamed to buy a 25% stake in Bangladesh's main bourse. They also will provide $37 million in technical support. (Photo by A.Z.M. Anas)
International relations

China's Belt and Road builds trail of stakes in Asian bourses

Shanghai-Shenzhen group beats Indian bid for share of Bangladesh's main exchange

15 May 2018
The Bangladeshi government is promoting the launch of the country's first satellite, to be controlled from a ground station in Joydebpur, north of Dhaka, as a milestone ahead of national elections. (Photo by Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Economy

Bangladesh to join space age amid skepticism about costs

Government hopes satellite launch will help image ahead of elections

10 May 2018
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, and Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Oli during a ceremonial reception for the latter in New Delhi on April 7.
International relations

China's specter looms over Modi's Nepal visit

Indian PM faces diplomatic hurdles but could win votes back home

10 May 2018