Politics

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke to her Swedish counterpart, Stefan Lofven, who assured her that garment buyers would honor purchase agreements. (Nikkei collage/Akira Kodaka)
Trade

Bangladesh goes to bat for textile industry as buyers scrap orders

Trade group teams up with rights lobby for 'battle' with European partners

31 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
Despite stellar economic growth over the past decade, many Bangladeshis have no safety nets and economic survival outweighs COVID-19 concerns. 
Asia Insight

Coronavirus risks pushing millions of Bangladeshis back into poverty

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's leadership severely tested by food and income setbacks

12 May 2020
A doctor tests a patient for the coronavirus in Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, at the outset of India's nationwide lockdown, which has failed to conquer the novel coronavirus.
Coronavirus

India and Pakistan's 'red zones' keep COVID-19 trajectory on rise

New Delhi modifies strategy as stringent lockdown fails to flatten curve

7 May 2020
Life in Singapore's migrant worker dormitories has become heavily restricted as authorities rush to stop a rise in infections. (Courtesy of Singapore's Ministry of Manpower)
Coronavirus

Virus clusters push Singapore to test thousands of migrant workers

Cramped dormitories generate city-state's biggest wave of infections yet

15 April 2020
Women carry relief supplies provided by local authorities amid the coronavirus outbreak in Dhaka on April 2.
Economy

Bangladesh seeks IMF lifeline after record stimulus package

Cash infusion may not be enough to cushion blow from COVID-19 crisis

10 April 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
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
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
People walk by a banner aimed at raising awareness of the coronavirus in Islamabad. Pakistan, as of Saturday, does not have a confirmed case of the infection. 
Coronavirus

Coronavirus fears freeze Belt and Road projects in Pakistan

Opposition politicians slam government for not evacuating citizens from Wuhan

1 February 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
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
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
Vietnamese residents take photos as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un goes past in Hanoi on Feb. 26.
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
Nepalese police personnel detain a demonstrator during a protest against the new map of India in Kathmandu, Nepal Nov. 10, 2019.
24 December 2019
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad delivers a speech at the Kuala Lumpur Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Dec. 19.
International relations

Mahathir's Muslim summit turns Malaysia-Saudi ties bitter

The kingdom may cut hajj pilgrimage quotas for Malaysians in retaliation

24 December 2019
A man stands on the back of a vehicle carrying sacks of onions in the ancient Nepalese city of Bhaktapur. India has banned onion exports in response to flooding, forcing Nepal to turn to China for supplies.
18 December 2019
The new Indian four-lane highway to the Kartarpur Corridor border crossing was not very busy on Nov. 24. (Photo by Michael Hayes)
Tea Leaves

Small border crossings can have big dimensions

India and Pakistan test if a frontier gate can help build some trust

18 December 2019