Politics

The landscape near the copper and gold mine site in the Reko Diq district in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province.
Anjabai, center, has been forced to work in the fields of other farmers in Madhya Pradesh, India, to pay off her debts after unseasonably heavy rains ruined most of her own soybean crop. (Photo by Nipun Prabhakar)
Big in Asia

India's distressed farmers limit Modi's leeway in Trump trade talks

Poor harvests, falling crop prices and multiplying debts fuel rural discontent

1 November 2025
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh shake hands after signing a 10-year bilateral defense framework in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 31. (Screenshot from Hegseth's official X page)
Defense

US and India sign 10-year defense pact to share info, cooperate on tech

Amid trade tariff tussle, advancement in security ties signals warming of relations

31 October 2025
Hindu devotees worship the Sun god on the banks of Yamuna river during a Hindu religious festival on a smoggy morning in Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi, Oct. 28.
Environment

Delhi tries artificial rain to tackle Indian capital's toxic air pollution

Experts say cloud seeding is not a permanent solution to Delhi's deadly smog

31 October 2025
INS Vikrant, India's first domestically built aircraft carrier, was made by Cochin Shipyard.
Transportation

India shipbuilders bet global ambitions on shift away from China

State-owned Cochin Shipyard receives more overseas orders amid New Delhi's push

31 October 2025
Oil docks at the port of Chabahar in Iran in January 2012.
International relations

India says its Iran port granted 6-month sanctions waiver by US

Move comes a month after Washington revoked 2018 exemption on Chabahar Port

30 October 2025
Young Maoist fighters train at a temporary camp in the jungle near the border between the Indian states of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in 2010. (Photo by Ishan Tankha)
Politics

Mass Maoist surrender signals potential end to India's longest insurgency

238 rebels lay down arms in area containing iron ore, coal and bauxite reserves

30 October 2025
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar (left) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York City, U.S., Sept. 22.
International relations

Is US-Pakistan bonhomie still a headache for India?

Rubio says Washington-Islamabad ties do not come at expense of relations with New Delhi

29 October 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top right, delivers a virtual speech to the ASEAN-India Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 26.
International relations

Malaysia's Anwar says 'real progress' made in ASEAN-India trade deal review

With Modi attending summit virtually, experts see year-end deadline as likely to be missed

27 October 2025
The New Development Bank's headquarters in Shanghai. Experts believe China will support Pakistan's application to join the BRICS bank despite funding setbacks over Belt and Road projects in the country. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

Pakistan seeks China support to join BRICS bank amid likely India objection

Membership of Shanghai-based lender requires approval from four of five founder countries

24 October 2025
Changes in visa policy have led to a decrease in international applications for U.S. business programs.
Education

Asian business schools see growth as interest in US programs wanes

Foreign student applications in America drop 3% amid visa restrictions, economic uncertainty

24 October 2025
Muslims offer prayers at Jama Masjid on the occasion of Eid al-Adha in the old quarter of Delhi on June 7.
Artificial intelligence

AI tools amplify anti-Muslim hate on Indian social media: think tank

Researchers see surge in sectarian content; call for 'systems to identify misuse'

23 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington on Feb. 13.
Trump tariffs

Trump says he discussed 'world of trade' with India's Modi

US president says India is 'not going to buy much oil from Russia'

22 October 2025
Indian Navy Ship Sahyadri made a call at Yokosuka, Japan, on Oct. 21 as part of a three-month tour of East and Southeast Asia. (Photo by Kenji Kawase)
Defense

Indian navy visits Yokosuka as hawkish Japanese PM Takaichi sworn in

Indo-Pacific nations strengthen maritime ties while Delhi cements old and new alliances

21 October 2025
For Tatsuo Yasunaga, chairman of the Japan Foreign Trade Council and chair of Mitsui & Co., it's important for Asia to show where it can contribute to what the U.S. president wants -- the revitalization of the American economy.  (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Yuki Kohara)
Big in Asia

Japan's trading houses to Asia: We'll help you grow in era of Trump turmoil

Chairman of industry group touts diversified business model as partnership solution

18 October 2025
New Delhi will pay for the construction of rail lines totaling 89 kilometers between India and Bhutan, which will be the latter's first such line. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Yuji Kuronuma)
International relations

India, Bhutan to be linked by first rail lines as China's influence grows

New Delhi to bear entire cost of nearly $460m for Himalayan strategic projects

17 October 2025
India accounts for 70% of U.S. H-1B visa recipients, a large percentage of whom wind up at big tech companies.
Immigration

H-1B visa price hike makes India outsourcing an option for some US firms

$100,000 application fee is 'tough' hurdle, CEO of tax services provider says

17 October 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington in February.
Trump administration

Trump says India agrees to halt Russian oil purchases

US president cites Modi's assurance, but trade to resume after Ukraine war ends

16 October 2025
People carry the Pakistani flag-draped coffin of a soldier, who died following overnight border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, during a funeral in Kurram, a tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, on Oct. 12.
International relations

Pakistan's Afghan attacks expose its frustration with militants and others

Taliban 'closeness with India' proves final straw in sparking Islamabad action

15 October 2025
A U.S. State Department official has confirmed that Ashley Tellis, a leading expert on U.S.-India relations, was arrested on Oct. 11.
International relations

US-India and security expert Ashley Tellis arrested over secret documents

Affidavit says expert printed classified documents at government buildings

15 October 2025
U.N. peacekeepers from India stand on an armored personnel carrier before a patrol in a Sudan contested town in 2009.
Defense

India to host conclave of army chiefs from UN peacekeeping nations

Local media reports say China and Pakistan not invited to Oct. 14-16 forum

13 October 2025
Saurabh Agrawal, left, chairman of Tata Capital, and Rajiv Sabharwal, managing director and CEO of Tata Capital, at a press conference announcing the company's initial public offering in Mumbai on Sept. 29.
Your Week in Asia

Tata Capital IPO, KMT leadership election, US-China port fees

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

12 October 2025
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is welcomed by an Indian official at New Delhi, Oct. 9. (Handout via Reuters)
International relations

India reopening embassy in Kabul, says foreign minister

Key announcement comes as Jaishankar meets Afghan Taliban's Muttaqi in Delhi

10 October 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, greets his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, in Mumbai on Oct. 9.
Trade

Modi and Starmer to boost trade, defense ties in wake of deal

Indian companies to invest in UK, British universities to open Indian campuses

9 October 2025
Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, pictured here attending a conference in Tehran in December 2023. (West Asia News Agency via Reuters)
International relations

Taliban's 1st high-level India visit to send signals to US, China, Pakistan

Development comes after UN Security Council Committee grants exemption to travel ban

8 October 2025
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth holds a Squad defense ministers meeting in Singapore with counterparts from Japan, Australia and the Philippines on May 31. (U.S. Department of Defense)
Japan leadership race

Will Takaichi's Japan engage with Quad, Squad or new 'Asian Quad'?

Defense chiefs of US, Japan, Australia and Philippines to meet soon

8 October 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures during a joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on Feb. 13. 
Opinion

The US-India romance is over

Relationship is at risk of collapse as Washington pushes New Delhi closer to Moscow

6 October 2025
Security personnel patrol near a gateway leading to the old Town of Leh, which is noted for narrow alleyways and ancient architecture. (Photo by Quratulain Rehbar)
Politics

Ladakh unrest exposes India's uneasy governance at China border

Current discontent risks creating another unstable area in strategically important region

5 October 2025
Students receive treatment at a makeshift clinic in Indonesia's Bandung on Sept. 25. They are among thousands who suffered from food poisoning after eating government-financed free school meals.
Politics

Indonesia's Prabowo plows on with free meal program despite public backlash

President says poisoning has affected only a tiny proportion of 1bn servings

3 October 2025
India ranks 69th of 148 countries in terms of female political empowerment, according to the World Economic Forum. (Nikkei montage/source photos by Reuters)
Politics

Indian harassment ruling sparks worries over women's place in politics

Top court says parties are not workplaces, exempting them from safeguards

3 October 2025