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South Asia

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A still from an AI-generated video recreated from a news conference shows communist leader Pradeep Gyawali crying. Photo: Handout

Viral lies: AI deepfakes hijack reality in Nepal’s election run-up

From fake fist-fights to made-up arrests, AI-generated clips are confusing voters in a nation where just 31 per cent are digitally literate.

24 Jan 2026 - 4:00PMvideocam

India, EU ramp up push for ‘historic’ free-trade deal amid US tariff tensions

22 Jan 2026 - 6:45PM

Unrest in Iran complicates India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy

22 Jan 2026 - 4:20PM

Journalists in Indian Kashmir face censorship as police demand ‘peace’ pledges

Journalists face summons and pressure to vow not to ‘disturb peace’ following reports on state profiling of religious institutions.

21 Jan 2026 - 9:17PM

In August 2019, newspapers in Ahmedabad headline Kashmir’s lost special status, as local journalists face pressure to pledge not to ‘disturb peace’. Photo: Reuters

Bangladeshi student leaders ousted Hasina. Now their political future is unsure

The party born of protests that toppled Sheikh Hasina now finds itself overshadowed by a resurgent Jamaat-e-Islami.

20 Jan 2026 - 5:17PMvideocam

23 dead, over 60 missing after massive fire destroys Pakistan shopping centre

Police say the market’s layout and presence of flammable materials such as carpets and blankets kept the blaze going throughout the weekend.

19 Jan 2026 - 8:46PMvideocam

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Why India is losing ground over Bangladesh and Myanmar to regional rivals

Pakistan and China have been drawing closer to Bangladesh and Myanmar in areas such as defence and trade at India’s expense, analysts say.

16 Jan 2026 - 6:35PMvideocam

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets then Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina before a meeting in New Delhi on June 22, 2024. Photo: AP

‘Trump’s wrath’: India’s aim to diversify trade via Iran faces tariff threat

The 25 per cent tariff against countries that trade with Iran may curtail India’s plan to develop the Chabahar port in Iran.

16 Jan 2026 - 1:01AMvideocam

Pakistan’s arms deals cleared for take-off as orders soar for JF-17 jets

The jets, co-produced with China, proved their worth during the India-Pakistan tensions, when they destroyed an S-400 air defence system.

16 Jan 2026 - 11:12AMvideocam

Trump’s 500% tariff push raises risk of India-US trade freeze

Such punitive tariffs would erode India’s export competitiveness and force the country to reorient its trade elsewhere, analysts warn.

15 Jan 2026 - 5:03PM

A train carrying cargo containers rides along a railway track in Ajmer, India, in August 2025. The US is India’s largest export market, receiving about 18 per cent of its total goods exports. Photo: AFP

China-India relations

Building bridges? India proposes inviting Chinese firms back to public projects

India plans to remove curbs that effectively shut Chinese firms out of most of its government projects in a bid to ease shortages and delays.

14 Jan 2026 - 4:28PMvideocam

Employees work on a wind turbine blade at an Adani Group factory in Mundra, India. Photo: AFP

Germany’s Merz backs India-EU trade deal during first official visit to Asia

The German chancellor and India’s Modi have signed agreements aimed at boosting bilateral trade and enhancing defence cooperation.

13 Jan 2026 - 5:46PMvideocam

Gig workers’ strike in India spurs debate on human cost of delivery race

More than 200,000 gig workers recently staged protests across major Indian cities, prompting concerns about the necessity of quick commerce.

12 Jan 2026 - 6:46PM

Next appointment, 2027: US visa squeeze hits India’s tech talent

With H-1B renewals stalled, a new generation of Indian professionals is questioning whether to pursue their American dreams.

12 Jan 2026 - 11:00AMvideocam

Immigrants prepare to become American citizens at a naturalisation service in New Jersey in 2018. Indians dominate the H-1B scheme, accounting for more than 70 per cent of approved visas in recent years. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

India’s Modi to host German leader to bolster trade, defence ties

Merz’s visit is his first to an Asian country since he took office, ahead of a planned EU-India summit and as they work on a free-trade agreement.

11 Jan 2026 - 11:13PM

A poster featuring German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (right) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Ahmedabad, India, on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Nepal’s ex-king voices concern after protests as supporters rally

Gyanendra Shah was deposed in 2008 in a democratic uprising after he suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament in 2005.

11 Jan 2026 - 7:59PM

Pop culture in Asia

Soft power, hard cash: inside Southeast Asia’s billion-dollar anime obsession

Driven by Gen Z spending and streaming, the region’s US$1.3 billion anime market represents a triumph for Japan’s cultural push.

13 Jan 2026 - 9:36AM

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India overtakes Japan in economic size – while prosperity trails far behind

Becoming the No 4 economy is a source of pride. Now, the race is on to turn statistical success into 8 million new jobs a year.

10 Jan 2026 - 8:52AM

Shoppers walk along a street illuminated with decorative lights ahead of New Year celebrations in Bengaluru, India, last month. Photo: AFP

India-Bangladesh talks over Ganges waters may turn murky over politics, UN pact

Bangladesh’s election, Hasina’s presence in India and Dhaka’s signing of the UN water convention could complicate the 1996 Ganges agreement.

13 Jan 2026 - 8:15AMvideocam

‘Buyers are indefinitely gone’: Indian exporters lay bare pain from tariffs

The slow-moving trade talks and steep levies are hurting major sectors, forcing firms to seek new markets and offer deep discounts.

7 Jan 2026 - 10:18AMvideocam

India’s home-grown stealth fighter dream: can Rolls-Royce make it a reality?

The British aircraft engine maker is promising full technology transfer and local IP rights for India’s fifth-generation AMCA programme.

7 Jan 2026 - 8:11AM

Visitors stand next to a prototype of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s most advanced stealth fighter jet, at an air show in Bengaluru, India, in February 2025. Photo: Reuters

India’s Tata Steel, JSW accused of price-fixing in collusion probe

India, the world’s No 2 crude steel producer, faces crackdown as probe finds price collusion; top firms brace for fines, financial scrutiny.

6 Jan 2026 - 6:12PM

An operator at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant in south Wales in August 2023. Photo: AFP

Asian economies to face volatile oil prices over Venezuela, US plans for Caracas

After the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, oil and gas prices are set to continue fluctuating this year due to geopolitical issues, analysts say.

5 Jan 2026 - 6:36PM

Trump threatens India with tariff hikes to abandon Russian oil for trade deal

With Trump ally, Senator Lindsey Graham proposing 500 per cent tariffs, New Delhi faces ‘hard choice’ between Russian oil and vital US trade access.

5 Jan 2026 - 6:10PM

Nepal’s ex-PM questioned over protest crackdown which led to overthrow

Nepal’s former prime minister KP Sharma Oli had said he would not submit to questioning, accusing the investigation of lacking a ‘constitutional basis’.

4 Jan 2026 - 11:12PM

Former Nepali Prime Minister and newly elected leader of the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), KP Sharma Oli (left) looks on during the party’s 11th general convention in Kathmandu on December 18 last year. Photo: AFP

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