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A roadside vendor counts Indian rupee notes in Mumbai on November 28. Photo: AFP

Rupee slump ‘a little relief’ for Indian exporters amid US trade talks

The lower rupee is helping Indian industries that have been absorbing tariff losses in the hopes of a US-India trade deal, analysts say.

4 hours agovideocam

India-EU trade pact nears finish line despite carbon tax dispute and Russia

10 Dec 2025 - 5:00PM

IndiGo flight chaos exposes risks of India’s aviation duopoly

10 Dec 2025 - 3:22PMvideocam

Nepal charges Chinese contractor with corruption over airport deal

A watchdog alleges the company colluded with ex-ministers to inflate costs and siphon off US$74 million from the Pokhara airport project.

9 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Staff members wait for the arrival of passengers at Pokhara International Airport in December last year. Photo: China News Service/VCG/Getty Images

Owners flee to Thailand after Indian nightclub fire killed 25

Authorities have appealed to Interpol for help to find brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who escaped to Phuket.

9 Dec 2025 - 3:33PMvideocam

Why a leading party in Bangladesh is facing uncertainty as election looms

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s leadership crisis threatens to undermine its advantage ahead of the February election, analysts say.

8 Dec 2025 - 9:01PM

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‘Like a market’: Chinese marriage brokers hunt for brides in Nepal

China’s bachelor crisis meets Nepal’s poverty in a trade that blurs the lines between arranged marriage and coercion.

9 Dec 2025 - 2:36PM

A screenshot of a WeChat account that posts videos of Nepali girls and hosts live streams. Photo: Handout

India to pause coal power expansion beyond 2035 amid grid stress

Several Indian utilities are signing contracts with coal-fired power generators to meet a projected surge in demand for cooling.

8 Dec 2025 - 2:50AM

Bangladesh mass grave from 2024 uprising exhumed with UN support

The UN says up to 1,400 people were killed in the crackdowns, forming the basis for the former prime minister’s conviction for crimes against humanity.

7 Dec 2025 - 10:54PM

India regulator faults airline CEO amid severe disruption

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers has been ordered to explain the cancellations that affected almost half of its flights.

7 Dec 2025 - 7:28PM

A passenger waits outside the IndiGo Airlines kiosk at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Saturday. Photo: AFP

627 dead in Sri Lanka landslides as rains batter South, Southeast Asia

At least 1,812 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

7 Dec 2025 - 7:45PM

An aerial view of flooded Niyamgamdora, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Tourists among 25 killed in India’s Goa nightclub fire

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident at the Birch nightclub in Arpora.

8 Dec 2025 - 1:17PMvideocam

5 killed in latest clash at Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing

Each side has accused the other of launching ‘unprovoked’ attacks at the crossing between Chaman and Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:52PM

India caps airfares as IndiGo crisis hits 5th day, stranding hundreds

IndiGo’s spate of cancellations has prompted fare increases on flights operated by other airlines on popular routes.

6 Dec 2025 - 6:25PM

Travellers look at updates on flights, as they stand next to a screen displaying details of cancelled IndiGo airlines flights, at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, India, on Saturday. Photo: Reuters

Indonesia’s flood death toll hits 908, hundreds still missing

The governor of hard-hit Aceh warns starvation has become the gravest threat to survivors in remote villages cut off by the devastation.

6 Dec 2025 - 7:23PMvideocam

An aerial photograph shows extensive flooding in Kuala Simpang, Indonesia’s Aceh province, on Friday following heavy rains. Photo: Reuters

India and Russia agree to boost trade to US$100 billion by 2030

India’s Modi greeted Putin with a bear hug before announcing free electronic visas for Russian tourists.

6 Dec 2025 - 1:15PM

Can India still rely on Russia as a ‘time-tested’ defence partner?

India has to balance meeting its defence needs from Russia and managing its trade ties with the US as tariffs continue to loom.

5 Dec 2025 - 8:31PMvideocam

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Video | Travel chaos in India after over 1,200 flights cancelled

IndiGo attributed the chaos to a combination of operational and weather-related challenges.

5 Dec 2025 - 7:15PMvideocam

Photo: SCMP

New Delhi’s smog surge linked to 200,000 respiratory cases

Acrid smog chokes Delhi’s skyline each winter, when cool air traps a deadly mix of pollutants from crop burning, factories, and traffic.

5 Dec 2025 - 4:55AMvideocam

Cyber scams threaten confidence in India’s outsourcing industry

Fraudsters leveraging India’s cost advantages and skilled workforce create a systemic risk for legitimate businesses, analysts warn.

4 Dec 2025 - 7:37PMvideocam

‘Complete mayhem’: chaos after India’s largest airline cancels 1,200 flights

IndiGo blamed the disruption on ‘unforeseen operational challenges’ including technical glitches, adverse weather and new rules for workers.

4 Dec 2025 - 7:24PM

A man looks at a screen displaying delayed IndiGo Airlines flights at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Trump’s second term ‘harmful’ for Quad nations, poll finds

Respondents in Australia, Japan, India view Trump 2.0 negatively, as US helpfulness in Asia declines amid China concerns; Aukus support varies.

4 Dec 2025 - 3:13AM

Donald Trump speaks during a press conference after being found guilty over hush-money charges in New York City in May 2024. Photo: AFP

Extreme weather

Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

From Indonesia’s deadliest disaster since 2018 to a state of emergency in Sri Lanka, Asia reels from a week of climate-fuelled destruction.

3 Dec 2025 - 5:45PMvideocam

India scraps mandatory cybersecurity app on new phones after backlash

The Indian government confidentially ordered companies like Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi to install the Sanchar Saathi app on their new phones.

3 Dec 2025 - 7:03PM

Air India probed for flying plane without valid safety certificate

India’s aviation regulator said it was investigating the carrier after it operated eight flights without a valid airworthiness certificate.

2 Dec 2025 - 9:58PMvideocam

An Air India Airbus A320 aircraft approaching Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: Getty Images

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