https://www.scmp.com/rss/318216/feed South Asia's latest news, current affairs, politics and regional issues. en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Simon Tay Simon Tay The good news is, when US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Washington this week, neither chose confrontation. Amid the high pomp and ceremony, what China has called “constructive strategic stability” continues. Even an uneasy truce in great power relations can be useful. Both recognise the considerable incentive to prevent their economic rivalry from spiralling out of control. Even limited understandings can reduce risks in artificial intelligence (AI) and other... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3368638/us-china-world-asean-must-do-more-avoid-choosing-sides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3368638/us-china-world-asean-must-do-more-avoid-choosing-sides?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:30:12 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India’s “cockroach” youth movement is testing whether it can turn anger over education and jobs into a broader challenge to the country’s political establishment, two months after its protests helped force an education minister to resign over alleged entrance exam leaks. Its latest target is another powerful institution: the country’s election watchdog. The shift marks a transition for the movement from high-profile demonstrations in New Delhi to a more diffuse campaign of school audits,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368821/indias-cockroach-movement-targets-election-chief-political-pivot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368821/indias-cockroach-movement-targets-election-chief-political-pivot?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 10:30:17 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah proposed a climate alliance with neighbouring India and China, urging action to protect the fragile Himalayan ecosystem after catastrophic flooding across the region. “Glaciers and floods do not travel with stamps and passports,” Shah told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “As an urgent first step, we propose that we establish the Himalaya climate resilience mechanism, led by Nepal, India and China, so the Himalayas become a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368779/flood-ravaged-nepal-pushes-climate-deal-india-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368779/flood-ravaged-nepal-pushes-climate-deal-india-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 07:02:44 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Britain’s Newcastle University faced criticism on Thursday for awarding a sustainability professorship to Anant Ambani, the son of Asia’s richest man and owner of a scandal-hit giant wildlife centre in India. Vantara, which calls itself the world’s largest rescue centre, last month announced a major reset of its procedures following concerns about its rapid and vast acquisition of animals from around the world, including endangered species. Newcastle University said on September 14, it awarded... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368732/newcastle-university-under-fire-over-anant-ambani-professorship-amid-vantara-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368732/newcastle-university-under-fire-over-anant-ambani-professorship-amid-vantara-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2026 01:20:10 +0000 Reuters Reuters Sri Lanka’s main opposition took to the streets on Thursday to protest against judicial reforms, including raising the retirement age for judges, that the government says are needed to reduce legal delays. Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told thousands of supporters outside parliament that the legislation proposed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s left-wing administration would “annihilate” judicial independence. The government unveiled two bills last month to increase the number of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368676/sri-lankas-opposition-protests-against-contentious-judicial-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368676/sri-lankas-opposition-protests-against-contentious-judicial-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 11:15:06 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji For millions of Indians, buying a cup of chai or groceries from roadside vendors has come to mean reaching for their phones rather than wallets – a habit made possible by a system that has so far charged consumers nothing for such everyday transactions. Now, a decade after the government launched the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India is asking some merchants to pay for the hugely popular system – raising questions over whether it can preserve the low-cost model that drove its mass adoption... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368661/what-can-asia-global-south-learn-indias-new-digital-payment-fee?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3368661/what-can-asia-global-south-learn-indias-new-digital-payment-fee?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Sep 2026 10:02:05 +0000 Ravi Kant Ravi Kant A country’s diaspora can be a symbol of its pride and power. A nation’s diaspora can help it build international value through success stories, promote its soft power through culture and contribute to its economic progress through remittances, investments and transfers of expertise. India and China have among the world’s largest diasporas. They also offer two very different models of how countries can leverage their diasporas. In India, before the 1991 reforms, people mostly saw those who left... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3367636/china-leveraging-its-diaspora-boost-economy-unlike-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3367636/china-leveraging-its-diaspora-boost-economy-unlike-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 21:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse An attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday killed an Indian sailor, Omani and Indian authorities said, with the latter condemning the ongoing attacks in the vital shipping lane. Since the start of the Middle East war, Iran has sought to impose its control over the maritime conduit for Gulf oil and gas, occasionally striking ships accused of failing to coordinate with its authorities or deviating from its preferred route. In retaliation, the US has been enforcing a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3368562/indian-sailor-killed-attack-vessel-hormuz-india-and-oman-authorities-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3368562/indian-sailor-killed-attack-vessel-hormuz-india-and-oman-authorities-say?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 19:20:43 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India has joined a new multilateral grouping comprising a cross-regional mix of middle powers, in a move analysts say reflects New Delhi’s efforts to broaden its diplomatic options as it pushes for changes to the global order. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar co-chaired the inaugural Partners for Multilateralism (P4M) Summit on Monday, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “We meet at a time when the global order is under stress,” Jaishankar said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368506/indias-new-p4m-middle-power-group-enters-crowded-field?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368506/indias-new-p4m-middle-power-group-enters-crowded-field?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2026 09:30:05 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Tuesday that trade negotiations with India are making “good progress” and that the two countries are aiming to conclude talks by the G20 summit in mid-December. Carney also said India had, to his understanding, confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Canada around that time, though the precise date had not been finalised. “We are making good progress in our trade negotiations with India,” Carney said at a news conference on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368443/canada-seeks-wrap-india-trade-talks-soon-us-ties-fray?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3368443/canada-seeks-wrap-india-trade-talks-soon-us-ties-fray?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 23:52:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Sri Lanka’s High Court has found 15 of the 24 men accused of being directly involved in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings guilty. The attacks killed 279 people and wounded around 500. The three-judge bench found that 14 of the accused were guilty on all charges, which included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, while nine others were acquitted. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368385/sri-lanka-trial-2019-easter-sunday-bombings-set-finish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368385/sri-lanka-trial-2019-easter-sunday-bombings-set-finish?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:26:58 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s party said on Monday that his three sisters had been arrested ahead of ‌a protest ⁠march planned for September 27. “Punjab police have raided Aleema Khan’s home and have abducted Imran Khan’s other two sisters, his nephews and their children,” Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said on social media. “Khan’s sisters and their children were taken into custody but the children were released,” PTI’s information... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368301/sisters-pakistans-imran-khan-arrested-lahore-jailed-ex-pms-party-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368301/sisters-pakistans-imran-khan-arrested-lahore-jailed-ex-pms-party-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:59:24 +0000 Joseph Sipalan Joseph Sipalan Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim caused a bit of a stir in India recently with his spirited rendition of a Bollywood classic – a lighthearted moment that also neatly captured his broader push to deepen ties with the South Asian giant. A video of Anwar singing, from memory, Kishore Kumar’s 1965 hit ballad “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat” (“Are you a dream or are you reality?”) was first posted to his social media accounts last Sunday before quickly being picked up by Indian news outlets. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368034/anwar-was-song-india-will-malaysia-reap-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3368034/anwar-was-song-india-will-malaysia-reap-rewards?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Sep 2026 02:00:06 +0000 Emma White Emma White Alina B.K. should have been preparing for her end-of-year university exams, but news of devastating floods along the Nepal–Tibet border kept pulling her back to a troubling question: what kind of future awaits her? The 21-year-old forestry student, who coordinates the Pokhara network of Nepalese Youth for Climate Action, said she struggled to concentrate as reports of death and destruction deepened her fears about a changing climate. “With the floods and deaths happening around us, it is really... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368052/young-nepalis-battle-climate-dread-wake-flood-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368052/young-nepalis-battle-climate-dread-wake-flood-disaster?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:00:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The death toll from an explosion and gun attack at a police headquarters in northern Pakistan rose to at least 31, including 16 police personnel, a senior police official said on Saturday, with fighting ongoing. An attacker rammed an explosives-laden car ‌into the Old Police Lines complex while gunmen stormed the compound on Friday afternoon as officers and ⁠their families were praying in a mosque. The police complex at Kohat, a town of around 220,000 people in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368092/31-dead-pakistan-after-suicide-bomber-gunmen-attack-police-complex?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368092/31-dead-pakistan-after-suicide-bomber-gunmen-attack-police-complex?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 04:47:28 +0000 Reuters Reuters Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is caught in an energy policy bind with no easy exit. Cutting Russian oil imports to avoid potential new US tariffs could increase fuel prices ahead of key regional elections, or stress government finances. Maintaining such purchases could cripple Indian exports to its largest market. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and among the biggest buyers of Russian crude, reacted unusually strongly on Thursday to a US congressional bill that would allow... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368081/indias-modi-caught-between-much-needed-russian-oil-and-us-trade-threats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3368081/indias-modi-caught-between-much-needed-russian-oil-and-us-trade-threats?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Sep 2026 00:46:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Singaporean climber died on Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak, expedition organisers said. Lau Wee Seng, 50, felt unwell as he was descending from Camp II at around 6,000 metres after an acclimatisation rotation, according to The Himalayan Times newspaper. “He passed away this morning; arrangements have been made to airlift his body,” Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions said on Thursday. The mountaineer had arrived in Samagaun on September 7 as part of a team aiming to scale... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367921/singaporean-climber-dies-nepals-mount-manaslu-first-foreign-casualty-season?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367921/singaporean-climber-dies-nepals-mount-manaslu-first-foreign-casualty-season?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:12:05 +0000 Bernard Chan Bernard Chan The Himalayan disaster that tore through the China-Nepal border last month was a human calamity before it became a media story. A torrent of ice, rock, mud and debris swept through valleys, destroying key infrastructure, severing roads and communications, and leaving families desperate for news. In Gyirong county in the Tibet autonomous region, the disaster hit a major border crossing and created a rescue environment as physically difficult as any imaginable. The human toll extends beyond the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3367709/what-china-nepal-floods-teach-us-about-crisis-communication?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3367709/what-china-nepal-floods-teach-us-about-crisis-communication?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:30:04 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India and Vietnam could turn their competition for “China plus one” investments into a complementary partnership, analysts say, combining New Delhi’s scale and technology capabilities with Hanoi’s manufacturing agility and links to East Asian supply chains. Such a shift could deepen both nations’ roles in global production networks across high-value industries – from electronics and pharmaceuticals to renewable energy – while giving companies reliable alternatives as they diversify supply chains... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3367879/india-and-vietnam-aim-turn-china-plus-one-rivalry-trade-gains?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3367879/india-and-vietnam-aim-turn-china-plus-one-rivalry-trade-gains?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 11:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse When transgender woman Kali Sidharth Medepalli began hormone replacement therapy in India, she expected to complete her medical transition and undergo surgery within a year. But just months after she began treatment earlier this year, India’s parliament amended the country’s transgender law, and the clinic where she was receiving care stopped her medicines. “Everything shut down,” the 23-year-old communications specialist and LGBTQ rights activist said in the southern city of Hyderabad. Kali... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367806/indian-transgender-patients-left-limbo-following-legal-amendments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367806/indian-transgender-patients-left-limbo-following-legal-amendments?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 03:33:36 +0000 Reuters Reuters New Delhi and Islamabad summoned each other’s top diplomats to lodge strong protests after an Indian and a Pakistani naval vessel collided in international waters. India’s foreign ministry said that it had called in Pakistan’s senior envoy to formally register a strong objection over what it said was “unacceptable and unprofessional conduct” of Pakistani naval units that led to a collision with an Indian warship. Pakistan’s foreign ministry also said it had officially called upon the charge... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367789/india-pakistan-summon-each-others-diplomats-after-naval-ships-collide-arabian-sea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367789/india-pakistan-summon-each-others-diplomats-after-naval-ships-collide-arabian-sea?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2026 01:10:32 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Donald Trump’s proposal to give adult Americans US$5,000 if Republicans win November’s midterm elections has drawn an unusual accusation from India: that the US president is borrowing from the country’s welfare-heavy political playbook. Speaking days after Trump floated the US$5,000 proposal on September 9, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar told an event held by India’s main opposition Congress party: “Trump is copying us.” Shivakumar argued that the pledge reflected the wider... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367737/trump-taking-notes-india-us5000-cash-pitch-draws-freebie-comparisons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367737/trump-taking-notes-india-us5000-cash-pitch-draws-freebie-comparisons?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:00:08 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India and Russia are seeking to push one of Asia’s oldest defence relationships beyond arms sales and into a more technology-driven industrial partnership, analysts have said, with missile exports and fighter-jet offers emerging as early tests. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook hands and embraced on Friday ahead of last weekend’s Brics summit in New Delhi, prompting Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to post on social media: “A bond that keeps... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367604/india-and-russia-push-expand-defence-ties-more-joint-production?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367604/india-and-russia-push-expand-defence-ties-more-joint-production?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Sep 2026 03:00:08 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow India scored a diplomatic win at the latest Brics summit, analysts have said, after steering an increasingly unwieldy bloc towards a joint declaration despite deep divisions over geopolitical conflicts and the global order. Observers said New Delhi achieved “pragmatic consolidation” by avoiding forcing members to assign blame for contentious geopolitical issues, keeping the focus on trade, technology and greater representation for the Global South. That compromise came at a cost, however, with... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367558/india-scores-brics-win-joint-declaration-despite-divides?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367558/india-scores-brics-win-joint-declaration-despite-divides?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Sep 2026 09:00:06 +0000 Reuters Reuters The Himalayas are approaching a tipping point as glaciers melt faster than a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches “peak water” by mid-century, according to a study released this month. The findings come after the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the ‌Nepal-Tibet border, which caused cascading landslides and flash floods in the valleys below. At least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,300 are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367426/himalayan-glacier-bankruptcy-threatens-water-security-2-billion-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367426/himalayan-glacier-bankruptcy-threatens-water-security-2-billion-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 07:20:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Every spring, mason Mohammad Ghulam Sarwar boards a train to Indian Kashmir, seeking higher wages despite the risk of being targeted by militants in the disputed Himalayan region. Sarwar, 25, is one of an estimated half a million migrant workers who stream into the Himalayan region each year, forming the backbone of an economy increasingly reliant on labour from some of India’s poorest states. The dependence has endured despite decades of insurgency and a series of militant attacks that have... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367414/high-pay-high-peril-indian-kashmir-still-attracts-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367414/high-pay-high-peril-indian-kashmir-still-attracts-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 06:41:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse For 10 days, Nepali hydropower worker Sanjay Sah survived in darkness inside a flooded tunnel, drinking muddy water and losing all sense of time as he desperately prayed for rescue. When a disaster response team finally pulled him to safety on September 4, Sah’s first question showed how deeply the ordeal had disoriented him. “When I was rescued I first asked, how many days has it been?” Sah, aged 30, said in an interview, while on his way back home in Saptari district on Sunday. “He said that... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367346/nepal-flood-survivor-says-rescue-efforts-must-continue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367346/nepal-flood-survivor-says-rescue-efforts-must-continue?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:56:30 +0000 Junaid Kathju Junaid Kathju Bangladesh’s tilt towards China has added a new dimension to security and trade in South Asia, signalling what observers see as Dhaka’s desire to be a strategic actor in the region and ease its overreliance on India. The hedging policy comes after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in 2024 amid a student-led uprising. Under an interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and then the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) after it came to power in February, the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367248/bangladesh-draws-closer-china-political-chessboard-balance-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367248/bangladesh-draws-closer-china-political-chessboard-balance-india-ties?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 08:00:13 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow For 65 years, even as India and Pakistan fought wars, severed diplomatic ties and traded nuclear threats, one agreement held: the Indus Waters Treaty, which governs the river system sustaining roughly 300 million people across the subcontinent. That was until April last year, when New Delhi suspended the pact in the aftermath of a deadly militant attack on tourists in Kashmir that it blamed on Islamabad. Now, an international tribunal has ruled that it should have done no such thing – handing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367223/india-pakistan-water-row-deepens-after-hague-court-ruling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3367223/india-pakistan-water-row-deepens-after-hague-court-ruling?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Sep 2026 05:00:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Farmer Pema Dema had never even heard of hazelnuts when she was first recruited to begin growing them on her land in Bhutan’s Thimphu region. “I wondered what sort of a nut it was,” the 58-year-old said with a laugh, looking out over the deep valley and terraced rice fields that unfold below her farm. Now she has more than 140 hazelnut trees on the steep slope overlooking her home, and incorporates them into Bhutan’s traditional salted suja tea when guests visit. Pema is one of thousands of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367277/bhutan-banks-high-altitude-hazelnuts-remake-mountain-farming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367277/bhutan-banks-high-altitude-hazelnuts-remake-mountain-farming?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2026 04:16:47 +0000 Reuters Reuters India’s proposal to put ⁠health warning labels on some food products has sparked a nationwide debate over how the country came to rely on cheap packaged food while companies sold more nutritious versions of the same brands in other markets. With an income per household well below the global average, Indians are keen consumers of cheap food products such as Nestlé-owned Maggi instant noodles and Coca-Cola Co’s Thums Up – giving big food manufacturers a huge market with little pressure to apply... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367142/snack-crazy-india-global-brands-find-looming-warning-labels-unappetising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3367142/snack-crazy-india-global-brands-find-looming-warning-labels-unappetising?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 04:02:14 +0000 Rizwan Basir Rizwan Basir Every climate summit now runs on the same illusion: the next pledge will be the one that finally saves us. It will not. The money the rich world has promised the poor world is not coming at anything like the scale advertised, and pretending otherwise has become the main business of climate diplomacy. Barely nine weeks before the UN climate summit Cop31 opens in Antalya, Turkey, the honest task is not a bigger pledge. It is to make the finance that already exists reach the people drowning in the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3366917/cop31-forget-climate-pledges-countries-nepal-need-actual-cash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3366917/cop31-forget-climate-pledges-countries-nepal-need-actual-cash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Sep 2026 08:30:06 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The death toll from measles in Bangladesh topped 1,000 children since March, health officials said on Wednesday, admitting that failures in a vaccination drive could have fuelled the outbreak. The South Asian nation of 170 million has recorded 1,002 deaths and 187,484 infections among children, making this year’s outbreak the country’s deadliest in decades, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Measles is highly contagious, spreading through coughs and sneezes, and has... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366954/more-1000-children-dead-bangladesh-measles-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366954/more-1000-children-dead-bangladesh-measles-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:35:29 +0000 Neeta Lal Neeta Lal When leaders of the Brics group of emerging economies meet in New Delhi on September 12-13, India will confront an awkward paradox: the grouping has never been bigger or harder to make coherent. What informally began as a four-member bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2006 has expanded into a grouping spanning Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Its members include major energy exporters, manufacturing powers, emerging economies and countries with sharply different... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3366532/delhis-test-make-brics-work-without-making-it-work-against-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3366532/delhis-test-make-brics-work-without-making-it-work-against-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2026 12:30:09 +0000 Winston Mok Winston Mok Although President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a brief exchange last week at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the real action will unfold later this week at the Brics summit when Xi arrives in New Delhi with an expected delegation of 400 officials. China is one of India’s top trading partners, yet it remains unclear whether Chinese companies are welcome as investors in India. The two countries’ trade and investment relationship... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3366626/match-chinas-economy-india-must-accept-its-investment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3366626/match-chinas-economy-india-must-accept-its-investment?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:30:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Dozens of young people congregated at Nepal’s burnt-out parliament building on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of deadly anti-corruption protests that toppled the former government. The gathering in memory of those who died in the demonstrations came as the Himalayan nation continues to mourn the vast loss of life from devastating floods two weeks ago. The rallies on September 8-9, 2025, were initially sparked by anger over a brief government ban on social media but were driven by deeper... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366755/year-nepal-remembers-76-lives-lost-protests-ousted-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366755/year-nepal-remembers-76-lives-lost-protests-ousted-government?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:05:04 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Taradevi Tamang’s village exists on official maps, but on the ground, it looks as though it was never there at all. Two weeks ago, raging floodwaters ripped through her village in central Nepal’s Nuwakot district, sweeping away Tamang’s tin-roofed home alongside the modest savings and gold jewellery she had accumulated over the years. The Trishuli River also washed away her family’s main source of income: 265 piglets and 34 wild boars. Tamang, 50, is among roughly 3,500 people currently... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366720/nepal-flood-survivors-face-economic-ruin-migration-beckons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366720/nepal-flood-survivors-face-economic-ruin-migration-beckons?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2026 04:36:38 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Nepal is seeking financial aid following the catastrophic flood that killed hundreds of people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, tapping a global financial mechanism established to address the impacts of climate change in developing countries. Kathmandu has formally requested the UN-backed Fund for responding to Loss and Damage to “respond rapidly, directly and effectively” amid the country’s worst natural disaster in decades. In a letter signed by Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366581/nepals-us25-billion-flood-bill-puts-un-climate-fund-its-biggest-test-yet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366581/nepals-us25-billion-flood-bill-puts-un-climate-fund-its-biggest-test-yet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:00:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A building collapse in the Indian capital New Delhi killed at least three people on Sunday, local media reports said, as authorities worked to rescue those trapped in the rubble. The building, housing mostly students, came crashing down about midday in the southwestern Satya Niketan area of the city, with police and disaster response personnel cautiously lifting the rubble using heavy machinery. Three people died in the accident, according to The Hindu newspaper and other local media reports,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366558/new-delhi-building-collapse-kills-1-traps-others?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366558/new-delhi-building-collapse-kills-1-traps-others?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:03:35 +0000 Dennis Lee Dennis Lee The Labour Department recently upgraded its Heat Stress at Work Warning system, making it easier for higher-tier alerts to be sent out, so that employers and workers, especially those who have to work outdoors, can react quickly during very hot weather. Unfortunately, the most we seem to be able to do is issue warnings and recommend passive mitigation measures such as relaxing the work schedule, resting in the shade and staying hydrated. We are sitting ducks as temperatures peak year after... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3365989/era-extreme-summers-its-time-look-beyond-air-conditioning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3365989/era-extreme-summers-its-time-look-beyond-air-conditioning?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2026 01:30:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Rescuers pulled out a 64-year-old Nepali woman alive on Saturday from her home, buried under thick mud and debris when the region was struck by massive flooding 10 days ago, killing over 1,300 people and leaving at least 5,500 missing. Emergency personnel said earlier they had rescued a Chinese man, named only as Luhaitao, found alive inside a 225-metre tunnel of the Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower Project in Nepal’s Rasuwa district. Footage ‌shared by the Nepali army showed him being given... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366486/chinese-man-nepali-woman-found-alive-10-days-after-flood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366486/chinese-man-nepali-woman-found-alive-10-days-after-flood?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 11:10:16 +0000 CNA CNA Police are investigating “shameful” racist and xenophobic online comments about the China-Nepal disaster and Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) investment in Air India, Senior Minister K Shanmugam said on Saturday. Mr Shanmugam told reporters that the Ministry of Digital Development and Information will also ask social media platforms to remove comments that breach guidelines. “The media tells me that they had to remove several comments because they were so nasty. I don’t know if all the comments are all... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3366484/singapore-investigates-racism-related-nepal-tibet-disaster-air-india-investment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3366484/singapore-investigates-racism-related-nepal-tibet-disaster-air-india-investment?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 10:30:42 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Bangladesh’s deadliest measles outbreak in decades is nearing the grim milestone of 1,000 child deaths, as a devastating epidemic sweeps through the country and crowded hospital wards fill with struggling babies. Cries of sick children and the hiss of oxygen machines fill the air at Dhaka’s Shishu Hospital, where Rima Akter keeps a vigil beside her nine-month-old son. “Just an hour ago, a child died, and they wheeled him out in front of us,” 30-year-old Akter said on Thursday. “We saw two... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366453/bangladesh-measles-outbreak-nears-1000-child-deaths-hospital-wards-overflow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366453/bangladesh-measles-outbreak-nears-1000-child-deaths-hospital-wards-overflow?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2026 03:45:07 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India is betting big on domestic manufacturing of semiconductors – the microscopic brains that power everything electronic from cars to AI processing – in an ambitious bid to slash imports and boost its local industry. But observers say the country should set its sights even higher upstream on the value chain by mobilising its “secret weapon” – a talent pool that could realise its dream to turn “Make in India” into “Engineer in India”. New Delhi earlier this week launched the second phase of its... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3366395/indias-push-secure-place-global-chip-supply-has-secret-weapon-its-people?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3366395/indias-push-secure-place-global-chip-supply-has-secret-weapon-its-people?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:09:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Two hydropower workers were pulled from a tunnel buried by debris in Nepal on Friday, a rare ray of hope on the 10th day of rescue efforts after catastrophic Himalayan flooding. Rescuers cheered as one man was pulled from a muddy opening, video released by the energy ministry showed. He was helped to his feet by rescuers, and later carried on the backs of the emergency workers, raising his hand as they took him towards a helicopter. A photograph showed the second man caked in mud, his hands... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366319/2-trapped-workers-rescued-alive-nepal-tunnel-9-days-after-floods?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3366319/2-trapped-workers-rescued-alive-nepal-tunnel-9-days-after-floods?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 04:51:25 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India is touting its locally manufactured AK-203 Sher assault rifle – an advanced version of Russia’s powerful Kalashnikov – as an important milestone for the “Make in India” initiative to reduce reliance on foreign-made weapon systems. The Sher, or Tiger, will replace the older, heavily criticised Indian National Small Arms System (INSAS) service rifles used by the Indian Army. Complaints about the INSAS emerged just a year after it was adopted by the army. Indian soldiers fighting the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3366228/india-targets-weapons-self-reliance-fully-local-assault-rifle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3366228/india-targets-weapons-self-reliance-fully-local-assault-rifle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:00:08 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Rajendra Lama’s phone has barely stopped buzzing. In between coordinating rescue operations for flood survivors with the Nepal Mountaineering Association and running his travel company, he spends his days communicating with anxious tour groups, trying to persuade them not to cancel their trips. “We have a crisis in one part of the country, but we’re open elsewhere and are not affected by the floods,” said Lama, a tourism entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience. “I’m just trying to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366231/nepal-not-closed-tour-operators-battle-flood-fallout-urge-visitors-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3366231/nepal-not-closed-tour-operators-battle-flood-fallout-urge-visitors-return?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:00:10 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow Bangladesh’s potential entry into a defence pact with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan could give Dhaka fresh leverage in its dealings with India, but observers warn the move risks fracturing its long-standing strategic neutrality and alarming a hawkish New Delhi. Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told parliament on August 27 that Bangladesh was considering joining the Mecca pact, a security framework signed last month. Earlier reports citing unnamed sources said the invitation originated from... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3366241/india-bangladeshs-talk-joining-islamic-nato-raises-red-flags?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3366241/india-bangladeshs-talk-joining-islamic-nato-raises-red-flags?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:27:42 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit have put the spotlight on New Delhi’s ability to mediate major conflicts. Positioned between Russia and the West, and with working ties across rival camps in the Middle East, India is seen by some analysts as a potential bridge in conflicts where few countries can still speak to all sides, though they note access... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3366134/has-indias-modi-found-new-mediator-clout-after-talks-putin-iran?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3366134/has-indias-modi-found-new-mediator-clout-after-talks-putin-iran?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 11:35:56 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji India’s stronger-than-expected first quarter growth has bolstered analysts’ confidence that it can sustain its momentum through the rest of the financial year and remain the world’s fastest-growing major economy – even as it remains exposed to high oil prices caused by the US-Iran war. The Indian economy grew 7.8 per cent in the April-June quarter, comfortably beating the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast of 7 per cent growth, despite the disruption that the Middle East conflict has caused to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3366115/india-defies-iran-war-oil-shock-keep-8-growth-track?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3366115/india-defies-iran-war-oil-shock-keep-8-growth-track?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2026 09:34:27 +0000