Politics

Hundreds of people run alongside a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane as it moves down a runway of the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug.16.
Afghanistan turmoil

Asian countries rush to bring back citizens from Afghanistan

India evacuates embassy staff while Chinese mission 'operating normally'

17 August 2021
Activists shout slogans during a protest against Indian government of using Pegasus spyware in New Delhi on Aug. 2: mistrust among the government, opposition and local leaders has rarely been higher.
Opinion

Pegasus spyware threatens to chip away our freedoms

Tech companies are already playing a larger and more destabilizing role

17 August 2021
Migrant workers wait for trains at Kozhikode Railway Station to leave for their homes in May as more COVID cases are reported in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
Coronavirus

Why Kerala accounts for half of India's new COVID cases

Elderly and diabetics, delta variant, international arrivals could be key factors

17 August 2021
Members of Japan's artistic swimming team watch fireworks during the closing ceremony to the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday.
Asia Insight

Asia's Olympic star rises on record medal haul and viewership

But patchy investment and geopolitics cast doubt on continued success

10 August 2021
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears by video link at the launch of the digital payment system, e-RUPI, in New Delhi on Aug. 2. (Photo courtesy of the government of India)
Economy

Indian government touts digital payment of welfare benefits

PM Modi likely to get political lift from e-RUPI recipients, say analysts

9 August 2021
An Indian military helicopter arrives to carry supplies from a forward airbase in Leh, in the Ladakh region, in September 2020.
International relations

India and China withdraw from one Himalayan standoff

Both forces end 'forward deployments' in Gogra area, Indian side says

7 August 2021
A Shukhoi-30 MKI of India Air Force is on display at Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad in October 2020: if India remains a good defense customer with Moscow, it will help balance Russia's relations with China.
Opinion

Quad partners should temper Indian expectations

New Delhi's reliance on Russian weapons and limits on free speech remain concerns

4 August 2021
Shoppers crowd a market in Ahmedabad, India. The use of cashless payments took off after the government abolished high-denomination bank notes in 2016. 
Economy

India welfare payments go digital with e-RUPI system

Mobile platform also covers public services in bid to target spending

4 August 2021
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold a joint news conference in New Delhi on July 28.
International relations

Quad to tackle 'most important issues of our time,' Blinken says in India

Jaishankar joins US in affirming call for stable, sovereign Afghanistan

28 July 2021
India's monstrous second wave of COVID-19 caused most of its over 400,000 fatalities during the pandemic and derailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vaccine diplomacy.
Asia Insight

India's COVID second wave disrupts vaccine export plans

Asia faces shortage as world's biggest jab producer still battles outbreak at home

20 July 2021
An intensive care unit worker conducts a medical check on a COVID-19 patient at Bogor City Hospital, Indonesia on June 23.
Coronavirus

Indonesia overtakes India to become Asia's COVID epicenter

Southeast Asia's largest economy reports new daily record of 47,899 new cases

13 July 2021
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan holds a dose of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine called Covaxin in January. Vardhan resigned on July 7.
Politics

Modi's health minister quits as India braces for third COVID wave

Opposition pounces on cabinet reshuffle, calling it a 'failed' pandemic response

8 July 2021
Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan holds a dose of Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine, called Covaxin in New Delhi on Jan. 16.
Coronavirus

India raises COVID jab production amid sharp dip in cases

Modi calls vaccination 'best hope,' aiming to inoculate all adults by year-end

7 July 2021
An Indian army convoy travels towards Leh through Zoji La, a high mountain pass bordering China in Ladakh on June 13: India has shifted its military posture from defense to potential offense.
Opinion

China's hostility ensures the rise of a more antagonistic India

Military standoffs along the Himalayan border continue to intensify

7 July 2021
Black smoke billows from the industrial zone of Hlaing Thar Yar township in Yangon on Mar. 14: India could play a stronger mediation role.
Opinion

India's look east policy should start with Myanmar

Growing anti-China sentiment among protesters is a warning to New Delhi

2 July 2021
A police officer stands outside the Jammu air force station after two suspected blasts were reported early morning in Jammu, India on June 27. Indian officials called it the first such incident of its kind in India. 
Politics

First drone attack in India marks new phase for Kashmir dispute

Air base is thought to be hit by bomb-laden unmanned vehicle

28 June 2021
Tweets by Indian celebrities, one of the many backing the Indian government, on a mobile screen, pictured in New Delhi on Feb. 4: there appears to be a consensus among all major political parties that free speech must be restricted.
Opinion

India actively limits free speech and that is what people want

Tolerance is declining sharply, especially among those aged 18 to 34

25 June 2021
The emergency room of a New Delhi hospital. COVID-19 has forced millions of Indians to seek care at expensive private hospitals whose bills often wipe out family nest eggs.
Coronavirus

India's health care emergency predates COVID

No safety net and expensive medical bills sink many patients into poverty

25 June 2021
A woman receives a COVID-19 vaccination at a shopping mall in Noida, India, on June 22: Health authorities in the country have expressed concern about the new delta plus variant.
Coronavirus

India reports 40 cases of new 'delta plus' strain

'Variant of concern' sparks worries of third wave of COVID-19

23 June 2021
Britain and the European Union are competing for closer ties with Narendra Modi’s India. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)
22 June 2021
A man receives a vaccine shot in New Delhi on Feb. 13. The country began a free nationwide COVID-19 vaccination program for all adults on June 21.
COVID vaccines

India's Modi government starts free COVID shots for all adults

Move speeds up process to reach goal of vaccinating 940m citizens by year-end

21 June 2021
India's ban against foreign imports of military equipment extends to helicopters.
Aerospace & Defense Industries

Modi's 'Make in India' campaign lifts defense sector amid China row

Over 200 imports now restricted as standoff proves boom for domestic arms makers

19 June 2021
People shop at a roadside vegetable market in Ahmedabad, India, on June 15 after authorities eased coronavirus restrictions following a drop in COVID-19 cases.
Coronavirus

India's COVID cases dip sharply but fears of resurgence surface

Experts warn of another 'explosion' of infections as crowds hit streets

18 June 2021
Twitter says it has made two of three required appointments and that the final one is in the works, but government officials say none of the appointments will be considered.
Technology

India blasts Twitter for failing to comply with social media rules

IT minister tweets that platform chose to take path of 'deliberate defiance'

16 June 2021
The parody of da Vinci's "The Last Supper" mocks members of the Group of Seven along with partners Australia and India.
International relations

'Last G-7': China revels in parody mocking US and allies

Viral cartoon shows bald eagle with money printer as host in satirical Last Supper

16 June 2021