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European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic (left) shakes hands with Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in India on Monday. Photo: X/MarosSefcovic

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

Brussels is looking past India’s ties with Moscow to secure a vital economic win, with analysts predicting a deal within months.

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

9 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

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

The charred interiors of a nightclub that caught fire in Goa, India, on Sunday. Photo: AP

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

‘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

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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

An Indian farmer sprinkles pesticide on a field as smoke rises from the chimneys of a coal power plant. The demand for coal-based power plants has risen due to prolonged heatwaves. File photo: Reuters

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

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

The burned nightclub where a fire broke out in Goa, India, on Sunday. Photo: AFP

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

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi embrace at the Palam Air Base in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: Sputnik/Kremlin/AP

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

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

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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

Buildings are shrouded in smog, in New Delhi, India, on November 29. Photo: Reuters

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

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

People walk past the ruins of houses in a village affected by heavy flooding in Batang Toru, Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

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

India’s strong economic growth impresses amid doubts on ‘overstated’ data

Questions about India’s latest 8.2 per cent GDP quarterly growth have been raised by ANZ Bank and analysts.

2 Dec 2025 - 6:45PMvideocam

Workers scan packages ahead of dispatch from the Flipkart fulfillment centre in Haryana. Domestic consumer demand is a key pillar of India’s economy. Photo: AFP

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