Politics

Gopizza currently has 60 outlets across South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, India and Hong Kong.(Screenshot from Gopizza Facebook page)
DealStreetAsia

South Korea pizza chain raises $25m for bigger slice of India market

Gopizza wants 100 stores in India by 2023, up from 15 now

18 October 2022
Classes have resumed for the fall at New York University. Students from China are increasingly deciding against schools in the U.S. (Photo by Mana Yumi)
US-China tensions

India surpasses China in sending students to U.S.

Fewer Chinese students study in U.S. due to political tensions and COVID restrictions

18 October 2022
From left, Mallikarjun Kharge, 80, and Shashi Tharoor, 66, are battling to become the new president of India's opposition Congress party. (Source photos by AP and Reuters)
Politics

India's Congress party to pick 1st non-Gandhi president in decades

Beleaguered opposition hopes to kick-start comeback but critics question process

17 October 2022
Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo on Sept. 3: Wickremasinghe is a proxy president in the eyes of protesters.
Opinion

Sri Lanka will not resolve its political crisis without elections

President Ranil Wickremasinghe is struggling without a public mandate

16 October 2022
An electronics store in Mumbai draws festive-season shoppers. Smartphone sales will be a closely watched indicator of the India's consumer health this year. (Photo by Ryosuke Hanada)
Consumer

Chinese 5G smartphones in focus as India's festive season roars back to life

Holiday spending forecast to top $32bn, approaching pre-COVID level

15 October 2022
New police recruits in the Indian state of Gujarat: Law enforcement authorities in the state are under fire over alleged police treatment of Muslims.
Politics

Outrage as India flogging video underscores Hindu-Muslim tensions

Police accused of beating Muslim men for throwing stones; Amnesty slams 'disrespect' for law

13 October 2022
Investors are eagerly waiting for labor reform promised as part of Modinomics.
Comment

India's long-delayed labor reform rollout leaves investors in limbo

States' legislative autonomy stalls a centerpiece of Modinomics

12 October 2022
India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks to reporters in Australia after a meeting at Parliament House in Canberra on Oct. 10.
International relations

India defends reliance on Russian arms on Australia visit

Jaishankar says West neglected New Delhi for decades but Quad is 'strong'

10 October 2022
Russian energy exports have helped fund Moscow's war in Ukraine. (TASS via Kyodo)
Energy

India's imports of Russian oil jump fivefold, helping war efforts

Shipments to China rise 17% even as Western sanctions spread

10 October 2022
A cheetah is seen after India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi released it in Kuno National Park on Sept. 17.
Environment

India's wild cheetah imports spark debate over science, resources

More of the spotted cats are due to arrive from Africa this month

8 October 2022
Chinese troops hold a banner reading, "You've crossed the border, please go back," in Ladakh, India, in May 2013: An incremental, salami-slicing approach of bulletless aggression has come at little international cost.
Opinion

China's expansionism creeps along as West distracted by Ukraine

India retreats further into own territory with Himalayan buffer-zone pullbacks

7 October 2022
India's top court recently said that in the context of abortion rights, "the meaning of rape must ... be understood as including marital rape."
Politics

India abortion ruling applauded but safety fears, taboos persist

Court allows term limit of 24 weeks for all, recognizes marital rape as valid reason

7 October 2022
Red-hot steel plates pass through a press at a Tata Steel plant. The company and its rivals face soaring production costs. 
Interview

India's Tata Steel taps Australia, North America for coal

CEO says company needs to replace Russian cargoes after halting purchases

7 October 2022
A guard stands in a watchtower of Kashgar prison in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China on May 3, 2021.
International relations

U.N. rights council rejects debate on China's treatment of Uyghurs

Motion to discuss Xinjiang suffers rare defeat as Indonesia and Pakistan oppose it

6 October 2022
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan gives a speech in Peshawar on Sept. 6. Access to YouTube was disrupted during the live-streamed address.
Politics

Pakistan ex-PM Khan feels squeeze from TV, YouTube, VPN curbs

Ousted leader says he faces 'blackout' as some question his own record on censorship

3 October 2022
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the revamped Kartavya Path, earlier known as Rajpath, leading to the country's seat of power, on Sept. 8.
Politics

Modi chips away at India's colonial relics as critics doubt motives

Changes to names and buildings bring debate over Hindu nationalist agenda

2 October 2022
Bhutan's capital Thimphu has lots of greenery, even in the center of the city. (Photo by Moyuru Baba)
Climate Change

Carbon-negative Bhutan offers lessons on fighting climate change

Kingdom proves emissions can be offset by focusing on environment over growth

2 October 2022
A Pakistan military helicopter: A recent crash has turned a spotlight on separatist insurgents in Balochistan, though experts question their claims that they shot the aircraft down.
Politics

Pakistan army helicopter crash stirs rumors, spotlights insurgency

Experts link increased Baloch militant activity to destabilization in Afghanistan

30 September 2022
Drivers push auto rickshaws in a line to buy fuel in Colombo in late July, during the country's economic crisis. The government has said it aims to finalize a $2.9 billion IMF bailout by December.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka eyes December bailout, IMF says timing hard to predict

Colombo seeks one-stop shop for talks with creditors like China, India, Japan

29 September 2022
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari trade places to deliver remarks after meeting at the State Department in Washington on Sept. 26.
International relations

India, China loom over Pakistan's push to repair ties with U.S.

Restart of Washington's military assistance to Islamabad upsets New Delhi

28 September 2022
Bangladesh is eager to reduce its reliance on the dollar as its taka depreciates, in part by trading with China in yuan. (Source photos by Getty Images and Reuters)
Economy

Bangladesh aims for yuan trade as cushion against mighty dollar

Shrinking forex coffers spur scramble for alternative currency arrangements

27 September 2022
Chinese efforts to develop suspected dual-use ports in countries surrounding India -- dubbed a "string of pearls" -- have attracted attention for years.
Asia Insight

Indian Ocean rivalry: China's naval maneuvers irk New Delhi

Submarine deals and ship deployment hint at Beijing's power projection

27 September 2022
Pakistan's Ishaq Dar in 2016. 
Politics

Ishaq Dar to become Pakistan's finance minister for fourth time

Appointment comes at time of economic crisis and floods

27 September 2022
Narendra Modi, left, and Fumio Kishida wave before their dinner in Tokyo on May 24. The two leaders have an opportunity to inject new energy into the bilateral relationship.
Opinion

In saying goodbye to Abe, Modi should get close to Kishida

Visit offers Indian PM chance to reinject vigor into bilateral relationship

26 September 2022
The U.S. has launched a public-private partnership to help women in Afghanistan, among other assistance measures. (Source photos by AP and Reuters) 
Afghanistan turmoil

Taliban 'not only game in town': U.S. engages Afghanistan from afar

Prisoner swap, initiative for women highlight multidimensional 'remote diplomacy'

24 September 2022