Politics

Bangladesh's finance minister has blamed money laundering through manipulation of trade invoices for exacerbating the country's trade deficit.
Economy

Bangladesh widens net for laundered billions as forex reserves fall

Government tries mix of sticks and carrots as experts warn of low success rate

6 September 2022
U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity launch event in Tokyo on May 23. 
Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific nations to agree on better supply chain communication

IPEF draft statement for Sept. 8-9 meeting also includes push for clean energy

4 September 2022
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former Sri Lankan president, fled the country in July.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka's ex-president Rajapaksa returns from brief self-exile

Former leader under tight security as nation faces surging inflation, tax increase

3 September 2022
The Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier, is slated to enter full service next year. (Handout photo from the Indian Navy)
Indo-Pacific

India's first homegrown carrier enters into service in tense Indo-Pacific

Vikrant represents step toward self-reliance and answer to China's blue-water advance

3 September 2022
The Afghan Taliban's Acting Minister of Defense Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob accused Pakistan of allowing the U.S. to use its airspace for the drone strike that killed al-Qaida's leader.
International relations

Pakistan-Taliban drone strike spat keeps ties in downward spiral

Afghan rulers needle Islamabad over killing of al-Qaida chief, cozy up to India

2 September 2022
Sri Lanka, suffering under an economic crisis and skyrocketing inflation, has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund to obtain $2.9 billion.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka to obtain $2.9bn from IMF, needs creditors to play ball

Final board approval still hinges on lender assurances and promised reforms

1 September 2022
A demonstrator waves a Sri Lankan flag earlier this year: After protests in the crisis-hit country brought down one president, his replacement appears close to securing IMF help.
Sri Lanka crisis

Sri Lanka makes late push for IMF bailout after unveiling budget

Lender to announce answer Thursday; experts deem president's plan 'positive'

31 August 2022
Afghan women march in front of the education ministry building in Kabul on Aug. 13.
Afghanistan turmoil

A year after U.S. exit, Afghanistan faces 'worst case scenario'

Dwindling human rights and hunger crises leave global community with few options

30 August 2022
Protesters in New Delhi rally against the early release of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case in late August.
Politics

India, Modi haunted by past after Bilkis Bano gang rapists freed

Thousands urge top court to revoke release of men convicted in 2002 Gujarat riots

30 August 2022
Nowshera, in Pakistan's province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Aug. 29: The climate minister has said that a third of the country has been flooded.
Economy

Flood-hit Pakistan faces swirling risks despite IMF lifeline

$1.1bn loan eases fears of default but climate and politics pummel Sharif government

30 August 2022
Over 20 million people use Twitter in India. (Source photos by Kosaku Mimura and AP)
Companies

Twitter whistleblower's accusations spark worry in India

Social media giant describes allegations as 'a false narrative'

30 August 2022
Chinese and Russian national guards take part in a joint drill in China in 2017. Beijing's troops will participate in the Vostok 2022 drills hosted by Russia.
International relations

Russia drills set stage for China, India troops to meet amid tension

Neighbors in Himalayan standoff expected to participate; start pushed to Thursday

30 August 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their meeting in New Delhi on Dec. 6. 2021.
Comment

India attempts to diversify energy sources with cheap Russian oil

Despite Western pressure, New Delhi says more imports from Moscow are best for nation

29 August 2022
Inflation is forcing many households in Pakistan to cut back on meals. 
Your Week in Asia

IMF decision on Pakistan, China PMI, Macao junket king's trial

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

28 August 2022
India's policy change would allow non-residents of Jammu and Kashmir, including its soldiers, to register to vote in elections.
Politics

India faces pushback over 'outsiders' voting in Kashmir

Electoral shift seen as attempt to alter Muslim-majority region's demographics

28 August 2022
People in New Delhi chanted slogans and sang songs in solidarity with the victim during protests against the release of convicted rapists.
Society

Protests in India against release of 11 convicted rapists

Men freed on 75th anniversary of national independence

28 August 2022
Bangladesh, where consumers are feeling the pain at the pump, is looking for cheaper fuel options. (Photo by Shahru Nayef)
International relations

Bangladesh eyes cheap Russian fuel oil to lower import bills

Dhaka wary of antagonizing West but desperate to ease inflation, forex pressure

27 August 2022
A woman walks on a flooded road in Hyderabad, Pakistan, on Aug. 24. Authorities say over 3,000 kilometers of roads have been damaged and around 670,000 homes have collapsed.
Natural disasters

Pakistan floods hit millions as political storm hinders response

Cash-strapped Sharif government banks on international assistance

27 August 2022
An Indian fighter plane flies over a mountain range in Leh, in the Ladakh region, where the country has a border dispute with China.
Indo-Pacific

India presents China a two-front problem, U.S. Navy chief suggests

Adm. Gilday calls New Delhi an essential strategic partner of the future

27 August 2022
Children from the Rohingya refugee community play outside their shacks in a camp in New Delhi in 2018.
Politics

India political row underscores Rohingya refugees' cloudy future

Minister's retracted tweet highlights questions of policy, security and religion

26 August 2022
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, center, addresses an anti-government rally in Islamabad on Aug. 20, when he made controversial statements against police and a judge.
Politics

Imran Khan lands in court on terror, other charges: 5 things to know

Pakistan ex-PM spared arrest for now but faces possible disqualification, prison

25 August 2022
Rohingya refugees mark the second anniversary of their exodus at a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Aug. 25, 2019. Another three years later, they still have nowhere else to go.
Politics

Rohingya refugees mark 5th 'Genocide Day' as repatriation hopes dim

Military control in Myanmar keeps millions in Bangladesh limbo

25 August 2022
Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks to Nikkei Asia in Colombo on Aug. 23. (Photo by Ryosuke Hanada)
Interview

Sri Lanka president urges China to change tune on debt as IMF visits

In interview, Wickremesinghe says creditors 'must sing from same hymn sheet'

24 August 2022
Gwadar's seafront under development in February 2021: Local experts say a railway is crucial to make the city a successful major port.
Belt and Road

Oman offer to build Gwadar railway conjures Pakistan port's past

Singaporean investment also weighed as Belt and Road stop lacks train access

24 August 2022
Finance chiefs from ASEAN nations, China, South Korea and Japan attend a news conference after the Asian Development Bank annual meeting in Chiang Mai in May 2000: Their agreement can be a blueprint for the Quad.
Opinion

The Quad should help South Asia with a currency swap plan

Financial aid in coordination with IMF would show bloc transcends military concerns

23 August 2022