South Asia

If approved, P D Singh will succeed Zarin Daruwala, who is set to retire on April 1, 2025, after nearly a decade in the role

A lone former diplomat, who has continued to stay in India, has somehow kept the Afghan Mission/Consulates running

Of course, the elephant in the South Asia room continues to be China. But a strategy of containment that goes beyond banning apps is in place in the neighbourhood

The unfairness in the allocation of responsibility for controlling CO2 emissions is evident in the shifting of the burden of emission reductions from consumers to producers

Blinken emphasised the significance of South Asian culture in the United States, highlighting that the country derives strength from its diversity

A year on, rebel forces have ground down the junta, pushing the military out of vital borderlands and making inroads into the contested heart of Myanmar

Vietnam elected Luong Cuong, a military general, as its new president on Monday, the fourth official to fill the role in 18 months. Cuong, 67, was elected by the National Assembly to replace To Lam, who remained president even after he was formally appointed as the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party in August. The role of the general secretary is the most powerful position in Vietnam while the presidency is largely ceremonial. Cuong, who has served in the Vietnamese army for over four decades, has been a Politburo member since 2021. His appointment took place after months of uncharacteristic tumult in Vietnam's politics and the death of former party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who had dominated the country's leadership since 2011. Trong was an ideologue who viewed corruption as the single gravest threat in maintaining the party's legitimacy and launched a sweeping anti-graft campaign known as the blazing furnace. It singled both business and political elites,

The JV will own Mothercare brand and all its IP assets for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Bangladesh

Leaders from 120 member and signatory countries will gather in New Delhi for the Seventh Session of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Assembly, set to take place from November 3 to 6, 2024, at Bharat Mandapam.The curtain-raiser event, held on Wednesday, with representatives from 60 countries attending the event.Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy and President of the ISA Assembly, Pralhad Joshi, addressed the gathering, saying, "ISA has evolved into a key platform for global solar cooperation, now encompassing 120 Member & Signatory Countries. This growing commitment demonstrates solar energy's significant role in addressing our shared energy access challenges and the adverse effects of climate change."He added, "The progress made by ISA's Member Countries in adopting solar energy is remarkable. Solar energy, available year-round and in abundance in some of our Member Countries, holds the potential to be the game-changer in the theatre of global climate action. Its ..

India's economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year, ending in March 2025, was revised to 7 per cent year-on-year

India can play a role in supporting the global south in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) development by technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and promoting the adoption of open source technologies, a top Ministry of External Affairs official said on Wednesday. Delivering his key note address at the Global Technology Summit Innovation dialogue co-hosted by the MEA and Carnegie India virtually, Special Secretary (ER and DPA), MEA, Periasamy Kumaran said how over the past decade and a half, DPI has evolved from a conceptual framework to a tangible, practical force, catalysing unprecedented innovation, driving improved public service delivery and promoting greater economic inclusivity and development. He noted that today, the DPI model has emerged as a key Indian value proposition and is being adopted and adapted by countries worldwide. "Based on our own experience during this period, for DPI based solutions to work and to produce the kind of outcomes in vision, we require three k

The Lancet Oncology study highlighted that South-Central Asia recorded the highest number of oral cancer cases linked to smokeless tobacco and areca nut use

The mobility sector in emerging markets of South and Southeast Asia is growing so rapidly that it could absorb up to USD 1.3 trillion in green capital by 2030, mirroring China's phenomenal electric vehicle (EV) growth, according to a report. The Powering an affordable EV revolution in emerging Asia report, released on Friday -- ahead of the Climate Week NYC by investors LeapFrog Investments and Temasek alongside electric mobility companies Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited and Battery Smart -- showed affordable entry points for electric mobility across the low-income markets of emerging Asia. An analysis of the lifetime cost of owning an electric vehicle versus fossil-fuel powered vehicles highlighted how electric scooters and electric three-wheelers have hit price tipping points across the region, spiking demand for green mobility even amongst first-time vehicle buyers. Case studies from Mahindra Last Mile Mobility Limited and Battery Smart also found that manufacturing and ...

The World Health Organization on Monday called on countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region to accelerate measures to reduce road traffic deaths, a leading cause of mortality among young people aged 15-29. "Vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and two or three-wheelers constitute 66 per cent of all reported road traffic deaths in our region," said Saima Wazed, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, in her address at the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion (Safety 2024) which began here today. She emphasised that the roads and their networks need to be designed prioritising those most at risk -- children and adolescents, people with disabilities, pedestrians and other vulnerable groups. The WHO South-East Asia Region accounted for 330,223 of the 1.19 million estimated global road traffic deaths in 2021, representing 28 pc of the global burden, the WHO said in a statement. With 70 per cent of the global population projected to live i

The Philippine defense chief said Tuesday that China is the biggest disruptor of peace in Southeast Asia and called for stronger international censure over its aggression in the South China Sea, a day after China blocked Philippine vessels from delivering food to a Coast Guard ship at the Sabina Shoal. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr spoke at an international military conference organized in Manila by the US Indo-Pacific Command amid a spike in clashes between China and the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea and in its airspace. China is the biggest disruptor of international peace in Southeast Asia, Teodoro told the conference, which was attended by military officials and senior diplomats from the US and allied countries. He later told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that international statements of concern against China's increasingly assertive actions in the disputed waters and elsewhere were not enough." "The antidote is a stronger collective ...

Southeast Asia is among the regions most prone to natural disasters, but a new analysis released Thursday shows its people also feel the best equipped to deal with them. It seems logical that the countries in and around the Pacific Ring of Fire, vulnerable to earthquakes, typhoons, storm surges and other dangers, are also the best prepared, but the survey by Gallup for the Lloyd's Register Foundation shows that's not always the case in other regions. Frequent exposure to hazard isn't the only factor that determines how prepared people feel, Benedict Vigers, a research consultant with Gallup, told The Associated Press. The report found the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has played a key role in disaster risk reduction, and Vigers said the region's wider approach includes widespread and effective early-warning systems, scaled-up community approaches and regional cooperation, and good access to disaster finance. Southeast Asia' success in feelings of disaster preparedness can

India's proposed investments in South Asia nation up 350% since 2018-19

In a statement, Pakistan's Foreign Office said, 'We are confident that the resilient spirit and unity of the Bangladeshi people will lead them towards a harmonious future'

The presidential election in Sri Lanka is to take place on September 21, the independent elections commission announced today. The announcement ended months long speculation that the election would be postponed to extend the term of the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe. The government gazette no 2394/51 issued today said in terms of article 31 (3) of the constitution the election would take place on September 21 while the nominations would be accepted on August 15. The election announcement set to end the balance term of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted mid 2022 in a popular public uprising. Rajapaksa had been elected with a record near 7 million votes in November 2019 when the last presidential election was held. Tens of thousands who got into the streets early 2022 demanded Rajapaksa to step down for his failure to tackle the island's gravest economic crisis since 1948. Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country on July 9, 2022 and incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe who was

From a military standpoint, while the regional rivalry is not insignificant, it is the territorial contestation that is more important at the moment