Politics

The Bangladesh central bank building in Dhaka
Politics

Philippine lender hurls allegations at Bangladeshi central bank

RCBC wonders if Bangladesh is covering up details of big cybertheft

12 December 2017
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Dec. 7.
Economy

China-Maldives trade pact catches India off guard

Deal rushed through island nation's legislature under cover of darkness

8 December 2017
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, front row, center, poses alongside vice-president Jusuf Kalla at the opening of the Bali Democracy Forum in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Dec. 7. (Photo by Simon Roughneen)
Politics

Asia's Muslim leaders slam Trump's decision on Jerusalem

Indonesian foreign minister vows to stand 'with the Palestinian people'

7 December 2017
Pope Francis, right, and Myanmar Buddhist leader Bhaddanta Kumarabhivamsa, chairman of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, speak in Yangon on Nov. 29.
Politics

Pope Francis clears a new path for Christianity in Asia

Vatican watches over minorities while making overtures to China

7 December 2017
Pope Francis, right, and Myanmar Buddhist leader Bhaddanta Kumarabhivamsa, chairman of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, speak in Yangon on Nov. 29.
Asia Insight

Pope Francis clearing new path for Christianity in Asia

Vatican watches over minorities while making overtures to China

5 December 2017
Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, general secretary of Bodhu Bala Sena also known as Buddhist Force, gestures during a protest outside the Indian High Commission in Colombo in 2013.
Opinion

Sri Lanka sees emerging tensions between Buddhists and Muslims

Legacy of civil war should serve as a warning of the costs of ethnic and religious conflict

1 December 2017
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks to the media after giving evidence before the Bond Commission in Colombo on Nov. 20.
Economy

Sri Lanka's bond inquiry scandal leaves top leaders shaken

External debts some calling as country's reputation takes a hit

30 November 2017
A man making party's flag for the Nepal's upcoming general elections at Bagbazaar, Kathmandu on Nov. 8. (Getty Images)
Politics

Nepal vote set to favor China over India

Result could reverse fate of cancelled mega hydropower project

24 November 2017
Women work at a textile factory in a suburb of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Economy

ADB to issue first 'gender bond' at $90m

Japan's Dai-ichi Life invests in women's empowerment products

24 November 2017
The planned missile is seen being equipped on the cutting-edge F-35 stealth fighter used by Japan's Air Self-Defense Force. (Courtesy of ASDF)
International relations

Japan and UK to collaborate on missile development

Tokyo's first non-US partnership would develop an air-to-air weapon

24 November 2017
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks to the media after giving evidence before the Bond Commission in Colombo on Nov. 20.
Economy

Sri Lanka government shakes as bond scandal inquiry ends

Economic prospects damaged as Colombo struggles to repay foreign debt

24 November 2017
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, left, meets with Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw on Thursday.
Rohingya crisis

Myanmar and Bangladesh reach deal to repatriate Rohingya

Refugees to start returning in two months, with details still up in the air

24 November 2017
Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at a news conference at Myanmar International Convention Center in Naypyitaw on Nov. 21.
Politics

Suu Kyi promises 'steady progress' on Rohingya refugees issue

Myanmar's State Counselor to discuss problem at bilateral meeting with Bangladesh

21 November 2017
Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, left, talks with Federica Mogherini, the EU's top diplomat, in Naypyitaw on Nov. 20.
Rohingya crisis

EU pushes Myanmar for speedy end to refugee crisis

Suu Kyi stresses threats from illegal migration and extremism

21 November 2017
Protesters, with a banner saying "Save Mattala International Airport," march towards the Indian consulate in Hambantota in early October. (Photo by Jeewan Chandimal)
Economy

Sri Lankan hub dealings pit China against India

New Delhi jostles for airport control after Beijing gains stake in nearby port

16 November 2017
Mattala Airport, opened in 2013 at a cost of $209 million, has been dubbed the world’s emptiest airport, with just one airline customer. (Photo by Sanjana Hattotuwa)
Economy

India and China flex muscles over Sri Lankan hub

New Delhi jostles for airport control after Beijing gains stake in nearby port

6 November 2017
A street market in Mumbai: India faces widening gender gaps in politics, healthy life expectancy and basic literacy.
Economy

India plunges to 108th in gender equality ranking

Asia's big economies slip, with China in 100th place and Japan in 114th

2 November 2017
A Bangladesh border guard soldier stops newly arrived Rohingya Muslims from moving ahead towards refugee camps, at Palong Khali, Bangladesh on Oct. 17.
Politics

Tensions over Rohingya return highlight donor dilemmas

Moves to redistribute northern Rakhine land complicate refugee return plans

27 October 2017
People in period costumes re-enact the Oct. 18, 1867, handover ceremony during the 2016 Alaska Day event in Sitka, Alaska.
Politics

Jonathan Hillman: How to acquire territory -- it's not like buying Alaska anymore

Russia got gold, America got land, but it was never actually that simple

26 October 2017
Myanmar Home Minister Kyaw Swe and Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan met in Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw.
Politics

No deal yet for Myanmar to take back Rohingya refugees

Meeting by ministers yields little concrete results

25 October 2017
Yangon hosted the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, a biennial gathering, last month.
22 October 2017
Cattle producer Sadeeq Agro won attention when it sold a bull it had imported from Texas for around $20,000 during the Eid al-Adha festival in September. (Photo by A.Z.M. Anas)
Politics

Bangladesh cattle herds surge as India curbs smuggling

Apparel makers seize on higher beef prices to set up farms

21 October 2017
Win Myat Aye, Myanmar's minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, says repatriating Rohingya refugees "is not difficult." (Photo by Thurein Hla Htway)
Politics

Rohingya repatriation may begin soon -- but it will be slow

Myanmar minister says process can begin in November, but indicates a glacial pace

19 October 2017
Gold bars stacked in a safe deposit room.
Economy

Nepal takes central role in China-India gold smuggling

Poor infrastructure and lax security blamed for upsurge

16 October 2017
The sun rises as thousands of Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar a day before wait by the road where they spent the night between refugee camps near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Oct. 1.
Politics

Myanmar can begin Rohingya repatriation next month, official says

Complex verification process could stretch out return over years

12 October 2017