South Asia

Laborers stack sugar cane at a market in Kolkata. India produces around 20% of the world's sugar.
Commodities

India's historic droughts drive up sugar and cotton prices

New Delhi's export curbs and speculative money add to inflationary pressure

31 October 2023
Mohamed Muizzu, the Maldives' president-elect, will inherit a heavy sovereign debt burden when he takes office on Nov. 17.
Economy

Maldives' new president set to take office as debt alarms intensify

World Bank, Fitch greet Muizzu with grim warnings on bills due in next few years

30 October 2023
Shambhu Acharya is Nepal's candidate for the post of WHO regional director for 11 countries across South and Southeast Asia. (Courtesy of Shambhu Acharya)
International relations

Nepal candidate for WHO post says neutrality on line in bitter contest

Shambhu Acharya takes on Bangladesh PM daughter in imminent regional chief vote

29 October 2023
"No other part of the world will see such a big growth opportunity" as India, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Nikkei on Oct. 27. (Photo by Shigeru Seno)
Interview

Japan firms should not 'miss bus' on India, commerce chief says

New Delhi ready to roll out 'red-carpet treatment' for companies that invest

28 October 2023
Supporters of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) throw objects at police during a clash in Dhaka on Oct. 28.
Politics

Bangladesh political rallies spark clashes as election tensions rise

Police disperse opposition event held on anniversary of pivotal 2006 violence

28 October 2023
Apple opened its first directly managed stores in India in April. (Photo by Rohan Mistry)
Technology

Tata to make iPhones in India with deal for Wistron business

Move could grow Apple's sales in world's most populous country

28 October 2023
Bettors at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club in Kolkata: India has now set the tax rate on all gaming and gambling-related activity at 28%.
Opinion

India's tax squeeze on gaming and gambling is a losing bet

In pressing unaffordable demands, authorities will only drive activity underground

27 October 2023
Afghan women living in Pakistan wait to get registered at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Peshawar in September 2021.
International relations

Pakistan gives last warning to undocumented Afghans and others to leave

State has 'complete data' to begin deportations after Nov. 1 deadline

26 October 2023
A model of Hindustan Aeronautics' Sukhoi-30 MKI twin-seat fighter at an exhibition in Visakhapatnam, India in March: Stock analysts are bullish on the outlook for defense companies.
Opinion

India is shooting for the moon with its arms-making push

Drive to increase local defense production and exports faces challenges

26 October 2023
A market in Colombo on Oct. 20. Sri Lanka's government is due to present next year's budget in mid-November.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka leans on IMF and China as crucial budget test looms

President Wickremesinghe faces growing public frustration ahead of elections

26 October 2023
Foxconn-led MIH Consortium shows off its Project X electric vehicle at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Oct. 26. (Photo by Yuki Nakao)
Automobiles

Foxconn-led MIH sets EV sales targets for India, Thailand and Japan

Consortium aims to sell 100,000 three-seaters annually from 2025

26 October 2023
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau to the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9, shortly before their diplomatic spat went public.
International relations

India to partially resume visas for Canadians amid diplomatic spat

Services had been suspended as countries sparred over Sikh separatist's killing

26 October 2023
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, at the G7 summit in Germany in 2022.
Opinion

India-Canada spat is no-win situation for the U.S.

Biden administration keen to avoid taking sides in row over dissident's killing

25 October 2023
A woman uses her smartphone in Gaza in 2022: The ongoing Israel-Hamas war is fast-moving and the many gaps in information leave room for misinformation to take root.
Opinion

Israel-Hamas war shows the formidable power of narrative

Democratic governments need to build societal resilience to manipulation

24 October 2023
Afghan women walk in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat province, on Oct. 10. After major earthquakes and aftershocks, some women in the region say they face obstacles to receiving aid.
Afghanistan turmoil

Female Afghan earthquake survivors face higher hurdles to aid

Taliban officials insist help is being distributed fairly; women say otherwise

24 October 2023
Oil tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz: In 2018, 76% of crude oil traveling through the strait was bound for Asia.
Opinion

India, Japan and South Korea should work together to protect shipping

Renewed Middle East fighting highlights energy security vulnerability

23 October 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar in Beijing on Oct. 19, during the Belt and Road Forum.
Belt and Road

Pakistan puts 'blind trust' in China as Belt and Road enters new phase

Countries agree to start major railway project but obstacles remain

23 October 2023
Canva staff at work in Sydney. The company has added a string of AI-powered functions to its design software.
Startups

Australia's Canva takes deep dive into AI to help regain valuation

Design software maker's co-founder says tech is key to avoid 'real opportunity cost'

23 October 2023
An "India Out" flag in the Maldives last year. Rather than building goodwill, New Delhi's investments and security support for its South Asian neighbors have largely fueled resentment.
Comment

Maldives exposes India's backfiring China containment strategy

Why New Delhi struggles to win friends and influence neighbors

22 October 2023
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, center, and his daughter Maryam Nawaz greet supporters in Lahore on Oct. 21, after he returned from four years in self-imposed exile.
Politics

Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif vows relief, not revenge, in return from exile

Army believed to tacitly back ex-PM's homecoming ahead of elections

22 October 2023
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi in 2018. Trudeau in September announced "credible allegations" that Indian agents were behind the death of a Sikh separatist, which Modi's government called "absurd."
International relations

Canada pulls dozens of diplomats from India as dispute flares

New Delhi had demanded parity after being accused in Sikh separatist's death

20 October 2023
The Mumbai skyline. Economic uncertainties are weighing on startup funding in India.
DealStreetAsia

Investments in Indian startups hit a 13-quarter low

Total of $2.23bn in third quarter came amid a difficult fundraising environment

20 October 2023
Pedestrians pass the Dhaka Stock Exchange building in the Bangladeshi capital in July. The country has secured another loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund.
Economy

Bangladesh makes grade for $681m from IMF but tougher tests await

'Accommodative' fund approves fresh lending as experts warn of insufficient reforms

19 October 2023
India's Adani Ports and local partner Gadot Group bought Israel's Port of Haifa for $1.2 billion. 
Middle East crisis

Adani Group 'very confident' in Israel port as conflict rages

Indian conglomerate's maritime unit reportedly eyeing Mediterranean investment

19 October 2023
The Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai. Under the arrangement with Daiwa Securities, Ambit will serve as an intermediary for stock transactions in India.
Finance

Japan's Daiwa to integrate India equities business with local partner

Investment bank aims to tap Ambit's knowledge of Indian business practices

19 October 2023