Category: South Asia

Mantasha Bano was 28 weeks pregnant when her cries of sudden, unbearable pain prompted neighbours to call an ambulance in the rural Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It never came, and Bano’s baby was stillborn. Medical workers in the northern state have reported a marked increase in stillbirths as the coronavirus pandemic strains hard-pressed rural […]

China and India said they had agreed to de-escalate renewed tensions on their contested Himalayan border and take steps to restore “peace and tranquillity” following a high-level diplomatic meeting in Moscow. Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar met in Moscow on Thursday and reached a five-point consensus, including agreements the […]

HANOI: Washington’s top diplomat urged Southeast Asian countries on Thursday to stand up to “maritime bullying” by China and to reassess business deals with its state firms, adding to heated exchanges between two powers jostling for influence. Speaking remotely to foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), Secretary of State […]

An 86-year-old grandmother was allegedly raped and assaulted by a man nearly five decades younger than her in India, BBC News reported, in the latest shocking case of sexual violence against women in the country. Police in the capital New Delhi have arrested a man in his 30s who allegedly duped the octogenarian into accompanying him before […]

NEW DELHI: India’s top tourist attraction the Taj Mahal is set to reopen more than six months after it was shut, officials said on Tuesday, even as the vast nation battles soaring coronavirus infections. India, home to 1.3 billion people, on Monday overtook Brazil to become the world’s second most-infected nation with more than 4.2 […]

COLOMBO: A burning oil tanker began leaking diesel off Sri Lanka’s coast, naval officials said on Tuesday, fuelling fears of a major environmental disaster. The Panama-flagged New Diamond, carrying 270,000 tonnes of crude oil and another 1,700 of diesel fuel, has been burning since Thursday. A diesel oil slick was observed near the crippled vessel […]

China accused Indian troops of violating a bilateral agreement and firing warning shots in the air during a confrontation with Chinese personnel on the disputed border on Monday, amid renewed tensions between the two countries. Chinese border guards took “countermeasures” to stabilise the situation, Zhang Shuili, spokesman for the military’s western command theatre, said in […]

The Indian Army has asked its Chinese counterpart if five civilians who went missing from an eastern border state days ago were in their custody, an Indian military spokesman said on Monday. Relations between the nuclear-armed Asian giants have hit a multi-decade low since clashes at their western Himalayan border in June that killed 20 Indian soldiers. […]

India displaced Brazil on Monday to take second place after the United States in terms of coronavirus infections, with 90,082 new cases whose numbers are expected to grow, while some cities re-opened underground train services shuttered for months. With its nationwide tally of 4.2 million exceeded only by the US figure of 6.2 million, India […]