Mobile phones back in J&K

Mobile phone networks were restored in Indian Kashmir yesterday after a 72-day blackout, authorities said, but the internet remains off-limits to the region’s seven million-plus people.
14 October 2019

Father of ‘Meena Cartoon’ Ram Mohan dies

The creator of “Meena Cartoon”, Ram Mohan, passes away at the age of 88.
12 October 2019

Modi played his last card

Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “played his last card” by downgrading the autonomy of occupied Kashmir, stressing that the residents of the disputed region will not accept the decision.
11 October 2019

Bus mows down 7 Indian pilgrims

Seven pilgrims sleeping by a roadside in northern India, on their way to make a ritual dip in the holy Ganges river, were killed when they were run over by a bus yesterday, police said.
11 October 2019

Rahul Gandhi pleads not guilty

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi yesterday appeared before a magisterial court and pleaded not guilty in a criminal defamation case filed against him for his “why do all thieves share the Modi surname” remarks.
10 October 2019

Freedom of movement: HRW demands release of 30 Rohingyas held in Myanmar

Human Rights Watch has demanded that Myanmar authorities should immediately release 30 Rohingya Muslims detained for attempting to travel from Rakhine State to the city of Yangon.
9 October 2019

India SC halts tree felling for Mumbai metro

A mass felling of trees in one of the world’s most-polluted megacities was halted by India’s top court yesterday, amid protests their removal would strip the city of a precious “green lung”.
7 October 2019

Rajapakse clan steps up new bid for power

Sri Lanka’s election commission yesterday agreed to let the brother of former strongman Mahinda Rajapakse stand in the country’s presidential election, despite a string of corruption cases against him.
7 October 2019

Nepal’s former House speaker arrested over rape allegations

Police have arrested the former speaker of Nepal’s parliament after a female employee in the assembly accused him of rape. A police van arrived at Krishna Bahadur Mahara’s residence late Sunday and took him into custody after the district court ordered his arrest.
7 October 2019

BNP demands PM’s resignation for signing ‘anti-state’ deal with India

BNP demands immediate step down of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for signing “anti-state” agreements with India “ignoring the country’s national interest”.
6 October 2019

Long-term plan needed to stop violent extremism, Speakers say at Brussels conference

Stressing the necessity to stop violent extremism with long-term integrated plan, speakers at a conference in Belgium say that the threat is no longer limited in South Asia, rather Europe and the US are also affected by its destructive impacts.
6 October 2019

Bangladesh allows India to withdraw Feni river water

Bangladesh has agreed to allow India to withdraw 1.82 cusec of water from trans-border Feni river to meet the demand of drinking water for the people of of Tripura’s Sabroom town.
5 October 2019

India shelves plan to ban single-use plastic

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bold plan to tackle single-use plastics has been scrapped. In a sweeping Independence Day address on August 15, Modi suggested that he would ban single-use plastic across the country from Wednesday, the 150th anniversary
3 October 2019

Indo-Pak nuke war could kill 100m

The year is 2025 and militants have attacked India’s parliament, killing most of its leaders. New Delhi retaliates by sending tanks into the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan.
3 October 2019

India open-defecation free

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday declared the country free of open defecation, a feat he said was a major milestone for a country of 1.3 billion people, despite scepticism about his bold claim.
2 October 2019

Hong Kong mops up, braces for fresh protests after National Day violence

Hong Kong awakes to widespread damage and calls for more protests following some of the most violent clashes in nearly four months of unrest, including the shooting of a teenage demonstrator by police.
2 October 2019

Nepal’s parliament speaker steps down after rape claim

The speaker of Nepal’s parliament stepped down yesterday after a female employee of the parliament secretariat accused him of rape.
1 October 2019

More than 1,600 die in India

The heaviest monsoon rains to lash India in 25 years have killed more than 1,600 people since June, government data showed yesterday, as authorities battled floods in two northern states and muddy waters swirled inside a major city.
1 October 2019

Bringing South Asians together, through translations

At a cocktail event following the longlist announcement of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature-2019 in New Delhi, HS Narula, chairman of the infrastructure giant DSC Limited that funds the prize, comes up to Niraj Bhari, publisher of FinePrint Books, and asks why Nepali publishers repeatedly failed to submit their books for the award.
1 October 2019

Cops press panic button after snakes invade Indian police station

Three venomous snakes are removed from inside the Barjora Police Station, in the state of West Bengal of India, premises where officers pressed the panic button after a snake had appeared yesterday evening.
1 October 2019