Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to supporters during a rally in New Delhi.
India elections

Modi's ruling coalition to secure third term in India, exit polls show

Voting ends in world's largest democracy, with official results to be released Tuesday

2 June 2024
Sanjula Jaipuria, a 30-year resident of Varanasi, said Varanasi has become safer under the Modi government. (Photo by Satoshi Iwaki)
India elections

Modi's constituency votes in final phase of India polls

Ballot count slated for June 4 in world's largest vote, spanning six weeks

1 June 2024
 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters demonstrate in Karachi on March 2 against alleged vote rigging.
Opinion

Pakistani political parties have much to learn from Turkey's AKP

Ability to resist military interference depends on mass mobilization

29 May 2024
Indian fans arrive at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to watch the 2023 final of the Cricket World Cup.
India elections

India's Modi taps power of cricket on campaign trail

Wildly popular sport has featured in prime minister's bid for third term

29 May 2024
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks to journalists on Jan. 8 after winning her fourth term in power. The elections were marred by violence and arrests of opposition leaders.
International relations

Renewed U.S. outreach to Bangladesh signals strategic shift in region

U.S. diplomat Lu prioritizes economic partnership to counter China's influence

28 May 2024
The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis transits the South China Sea at sunset, on February 25, 2019. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Southeast Asian leaders would be better served largely ignoring China's competing claims to most of the South China Sea, rather than taking a confrontational approach.
Asia Insight

Leading Asia in an age of tension: Premiers urged to skirt U.S.-China duel

Anwar, Srettha, Mahathir weigh in on Myanmar, Taiwan and more at Future of Asia forum

28 May 2024
First-time voter Rinchen, 23, shows her inked finger outside a unique polling station in India's remote Warshi village, home to just one family and five eligible voters, on May 20.
Your Week in Asia

India election wraps up, East Asia powers meet, HK national security verdict

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

26 May 2024
A cargo vessel at the port in Chabahar, Iran, during an inauguration ceremony for the first export convoy to India via Iran in February 2019.
26 May 2024
A Chinese-backed power plant under construction in Pakistan's southern Sindh province in 2018.
International relations

Pakistan scrambles for relief on $15bn energy debt owed to China

UAE surprises with $10 bn investment in promising sectors of economy

24 May 2024
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar delivers a video address at the Future of Asia forum in Tokyo on May 24. (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
The Future of Asia 2024

India seeks to extend influence in Middle East, Africa: Jaishankar

Foreign minister says country's transformation is crucial for building multipolar world

24 May 2024
Hindu priests prepare for the 'Ganga Aarti' devotional ritual on the banks of the river Ganges at Varanasi, India. Large swathes of the sacred river are contaminated by toxic waste and sewage, despite government pledges to clean it up.
India elections

Modi accused of failing on 10-year-old promise to clean up Ganges River

Despite allocation of billions of dollars, sacred river remains heavily polluted

22 May 2024
An Azerbaijani army officer shows weapons surrendered by Armenian forces retreating from Nagorno-Karabakh in October 2023. 
Opinion

India is stepping up as a security partner in the Caucasus

Former Russian client Armenia seeks new patron after military defeats

21 May 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election campaign event in Varanasi on May 13.
Politics

Ruling BJP's ideological parent aims to restore India's lost glory

9 million volunteers help support Hindu nationalist party and leader Narendra Modi

21 May 2024
The IMF has told Pakistan it must stop subsidizing money-losing entities, such as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), as a condition for loans to help prop up its faltering economy. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Getty Images)
Asia Insight

Pakistan moves to sell national airline in test case for privatization drive

Dozens of state enterprises on auction block as IMF calls for end of subsidies

21 May 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a campaign rally in Agra on April 25. He looks set to win a third term in power.  (Photo by Shinya Sawai)
Editor-in-Chief’s Picks

Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: India's Instagrab

Shin Nakayama shares his weekly reflections and recommendations

17 May 2024
A houseboat abandoned due to falling water levels on the Jhelum River in Kashmir in January. (Sipa via AP Images)
Opinion

Climate stress means South Asia needs new formulas to share water

More intense droughts and melting glaciers are pressuring tight supplies

15 May 2024
Depositors across Bangladesh are yanking savings out of the country's crisis-hit banks, despite official assurances that deposits are safe. (Nikkei montage / Source photos by Reuters and AFP/Jiji)
Finance

Bangladesh banks in liquidity crisis, hit by forced merger plan

Institutions saddled with bad loans and fraud claims, leading authorities to downsize sector

15 May 2024
As more than 900 million Indian voters head to the polls, influencers on Instagram, X and other platforms have become key pawns in the ruling BJP's bid for a third term in power.
The Big Story

India's Instagrab: Modi's re-election bid weaponizes social media influencers

BJP leaves nothing to chance, boosting favorable online celebrities while suppressing dissent

15 May 2024
Afghan cargo is loaded at Chabahar for shipment to India in 2019: Budding multilateral cooperation centers on the Iranian deep-water port.
Opinion

Pakistan's moves to further isolate Afghanistan are backfiring

Estrangement is driving the Taliban to work with Iran and India at Chabahar port

13 May 2024
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a rally at a stadium in Kashmir on March 7, as his bodyguard looks on.
India elections

Modi's BJP skips Kashmir in India polls for first time in three decades

Ruling party suffers from 'trust deficit' in strife-torn region, analysts say

13 May 2024
Singapore's new leader, currently Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, speaks to media on April 16. 
Your Week in Asia

Wong takes helm in Singapore, Japan economy data, Australia budget

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

12 May 2024
The none-of-the-above option is at the bottom of the list of candidates in India's general election for the country's lower house of parliament. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)
India elections

'Blank vote' arouses controversy in India's general election

Questions raised about fairness of 'none-of-the-above' ballot option

12 May 2024
Seiichi Suzuki, chief representative of the India liaison office at Dai Nippon Printing, had a great-uncle who fought in northeastern India during World War II. (Photo by Satoshi Iwaki)
Life

India unveils monument to dead from brutal World War II battle

Survivors recall Imperial Japanese Army's failed push toward Delhi

11 May 2024
India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, right, on May 9 met his visiting Maldivian counterpart, Moosa Zameer, in New Delhi. (Photo from Zameer's X account)
International relations

Maldives FM meets Indian counterpart at frosty time in relations

India's Jaishankar says better ties depend on 'reciprocal sensitivity'

9 May 2024
An auto parts factory in the Indian state of Rajasthan on April 29. India is becoming a more important link in global supply chains. (Photo by Shinya Sawai)
Supply Chain

India and ASEAN rise in supply chain priority, global survey shows

Poll of 150 executives suggests China and U.S. remain vital for businesses

9 May 2024