Category Archives: South and Central Asia

Pakistan polio fears as Covid-19 causes millions of children to miss vaccinations

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Officials voice concern as coronavirus halts annual programme in country already struggling against resurgence in cases

In April, almost 40 million children missed their polio drops in Pakistan after the cancellation of the nationwide vaccination campaign. 

Alongside Afghanistan, Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic. It was very close to becoming  polio free, with only 12 cases in 2018, but last year the number of cases rose to 147. In the same year, Pakistan was  accused of covering up the resurgence of the P2 strain of the virus, which was thought to have been eradicated in 2014. 

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Lockdown in Dhaka: where social distancing is an illusion

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The Bangladeshi capital has had coronavirus restrictions since 26 March. Photographer Noor Alam, who lives in the city, has been documenting life in neighbourhoods where people can’t afford to stay at home

A deceptive calm has fallen over Dhaka. In this densely populated city of 21 million, the main roads are empty, the sounds of horns have disappeared and the polluted sky has cleared. But social distancing within our neighbourhoods is an illusion. We are all packed into the same bazaars and homes.

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Coronavirus news live: no new Covid-19 deaths in Spain for first time since March

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Pakistanis urged to ‘live with the virus’; employee in Israeli prime minister’s office tests positive for Covid-19; Czech Republic will welcome foreign travellers from 15 June

UK ministers have been accused of not taking seriously the threat posed to black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) Britons by Covid-19, after it was reported that the release of an official review of the issue had been delayed over fears of potential civil unrest.

According to Sky News, officials are concerned about the effect the publication could have amid global anger over the death of George Floyd, an African American man who pleaded for air as a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck.

Related: Ministers accused of not taking Covid-19 threat to BAME Britons seriously

Get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

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India expels Pakistan officials, accusing them of spying

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Pakistan calls the allegations ‘baseless’ after two officials at high commission given 24 hours to leave

Two officials at Pakistan’s high commission have been expelled for “espionage activities”, India’s foreign ministry said late on Sunday, allegations its nuclear-armed rival called “baseless”.

The ministry said in a statement: “The government has declared both these officials persona non grata for indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission.”

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Monkeys steal Covid-19 test samples from health worker in India

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Blood samples later recovered undamaged after fears incident could have helped spread virus

Monkeys mobbed an Indian health worker and made off with blood samples from coronavirus tests, prompting fears they could have spread the virus in the local area.

After making off with the three samples this week in Meerut, near Delhi, the monkeys scampered up nearby trees and one then tried to chew its plunder.

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Patients share beds as coronavirus cases overwhelm Mumbai’s hospitals

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As India’s pandemic continues, in some areas the healthcare system is close to collapse

In Mumbai’s Sion hospital emergency ward there are two people to a bed. Patients, many with coronavirus symptoms and strapped two to a single oxygen tank, were captured lying almost on top of each other, top-to-toe on shared stretchers or just lying on the floor, in footage shared on social media in India this week.

Mumbai, a city of more than 20 million people, is weeks into the pandemic, but with new cases showing no sign of slowing down the city’s already weak healthcare system appears to be on the brink of collapse. State hospitals such as Sion, overcrowded in normal times, are overrun. With frontline doctors and nurses falling sick with the virus in their droves, it is also leading to a shortage of medical staff.

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‘Make noise and don’t panic’: India tries to ward off locust invasion

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Delhi braces for swarm while farmers in badly-hit north play loud music and honk car horns to try to prevent decimation of fields

Residents of Delhi are bracing themselves for a possible invasion of locusts, which have been ravaging areas in the north of the country.

A change in wind direction could save the city, but Dr K L Gurjar, deputy director of the Locust Warning Organisation, has warned residents to be prepared to “make a lot of loud noise so that instead of settling, they keep flying and fly past the city. And don’t panic”.

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China and India move troops as border tensions escalate

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Thousands of Chinese troops reportedly move into sensitive areas along Himalayan frontier

Tensions between China and India over their Himalayan border have escalated, with China accused of moving thousands of troops into disputed territory and expanding a military airbase in the region.

Thousands of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops are reported to have moved into sensitive areas along the eastern Ladakh border, setting up tents and stationing vehicles and heavy machinery in what India considers to be its territory.

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Fast fashion: Pakistan garment workers fight for rights amid Covid-19 crisis

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Protesters demand wages at factory supplying global fashion brands, as coronavirus leads to layoffs in textile industry


Police in Karachi last week allegedly shot at hundreds of unarmed garment workers protesting outside a factory supplying denim for global fashion brands.

Garment workers such as Abdul Basit, 35, claimed to have been charged by police with batons outside a factory which is reported to have fired more than 15,000 workers since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Nasir Mansoor from the National Trade Union Federation. He said some workers had been terminated without written notice.

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Myanmar army accused of new atrocities in attack on Rakhine village

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Less than three years since a crackdown against Rohingya, troops are again accused of war crimes – this time against Rakhine Buddhists


Kyaw Thu* waited until night fell before taking his family to the bank of a river not far from their village. While millions across the world were told to remain at home to stay safe from the coronavirus pandemic, he and his neighbours were forced to flee.

That night in March, he recalls, residents from Tin Ma village, in Rakhine state, clambered anxiously into boats, crossed the river, then trekked through foothills to seek refuge in the relative safety of a nearby town. No one switched on a torch or even lit a cigarette for fear of drawing the attention of Myanmar’s army.

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Fifteen-year-old in India cycles 745 miles home with disabled father on bike

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Jyoti Kumari said she opted for desperate ride from New Delhi to Bihar after rickshaw work ended amid Covid-19 crisis

From her village in east India, 15-year-old Jyoti Kumari reflected on her desperate 745-mile cycle home with her disabled father, a journey that has drawn international praise.

“I had no other option,” she said on Sunday. “We wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t cycled to my village.”

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Two survivors of deadly Karachi plane crash tell of unlikely escapes

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Investigation begins into cause of Pakistan International Airlines crash that killed 97

The last thing Muhammad Zubair can remember before the plane hit the ground is the acrid smell of jet fuel and the cries of fellow passengers as flames began to engulf the cabin.

As he struggled to unbuckle his seatbelt with fire blazing beneath his chair, Zubair said he “followed the light and got to this hole and I jumped out on to the wing, and then to the ground”.

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Pakistan plane crash survivor: ‘All I could see was smoke and fire’

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One of two survivors recalls how Airbus crashed during second attempt to land at Karachi airport, killing at least 97 people

One of the two survivors of the Pakistan plane crash has described his escape from the burning plane after it came down during a second attempt at a landing.

“All I could see around was smoke and fire,” engineer Muhammad Zubair told Geo News. “I could hear screams from all directions. Kids and adults. All I could see was fire. I couldn’t see any people – just hear their screams.”

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Dozens killed as passenger plane crashes near Karachi airport

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Pakistan International Airlines plane arriving from Lahore comes down in residential area

At least 66 people are confirmed to have died after a Pakistani passenger aircraft crashed into a residential area near Karachi’s airport.

The pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Airbus A320 jet travelling from Lahore called in to air traffic control describing a technical fault minutes before the crash, which happened at 2.45pm local time.

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Global report: India and Indonesia announce record daily infection figures

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China sets no growth target for first time in decades; Madrid and Barcelona lockdowns to ease

India has reported more than 6,000 new Covid-19 cases, its biggest one-day increase, while China has abandoned setting a GDP growth target because of the “great uncertainty” caused by the pandemic.

The sharp increase in new infections in India came after the government began easing lockdown restrictions and as airlines prepared to reopen selected domestic routes.

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‘Where are the women?’ Outcry over all-male government meeting in Afghanistan

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Tweet showed 12 male political leaders after Ghani promised women would be involved in high-level decision-making

People in Afghanistan protested on social media that no women were present at a high-level government meeting, despite assurances from the president that they would be involved in important decision-making roles.

The outcry followed a tweeted photo of a meeting of 12 political leaders at the presidential palace – all of them men.

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Cher sheds tears of joy as Pakistan’s loneliest elephant wins freedom

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Kaavan, a 33-year-old elephant living a sorry existence in Islamabad zoo, to be released after campaign by pop icon

The plight of an animal known as Pakistan’s loneliest elephant is set to come to an end after a court declared he should be freed from Islamabad zoo – to the delight of his longtime champion, pop icon Cher.

Kaavan, a 33-year-old Asian elephant from Sri Lanka, has been the focus of a four-year campaign by Cher to secure his release from Murghazar Zoo in Pakistan’s capital, after the singer saw pictures of the elephant living alone and held miserably in chains in a small enclosure, with only a small dirty pond to play in.

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Kolkata surveys damage after bearing brunt of Cyclone Amphan

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State chief minister says areas of city will have to be rebuilt from scratch after deadly storm

The Indian city of Kolkata has been left devastated by the worst cyclone it has seen in 100 years, which swept through India and Bangladesh on Wednesday and killed at least 84 people.

Kolkata, home to almost 15 million people, bore the brunt of Cyclone Amphan, which tore roofs off buildings, smashed windows, pulled down trees and pylons and overturned cars.

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Modi’s plan to rebuild India’s parliament draws fierce criticism

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Anish Kapoor among those pouring scorn on redevelopment of Lutyens’ central vista, branding it an act of ‘political fanaticism’

It was built by Sir Edwin Lutyens as the grand imperial heart of India, then reclaimed as the seat of power for an independent republic.

Now, government plans to redevelop Delhi’s emblematic central vista and build a new parliament have drawn fierce criticism.

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Super-cyclone Amphan kills up to 20 in India and Bangladesh

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Strong winds tore down electricity pylons, walls and buildings, with full scale of damage still being estimated

The most powerful cyclone to hit Bangladesh and eastern India in more than 20 years tore down homes, carried cars down flooded streets and claimed the lives of up to 20 people.

Authorities began surveying the damage Thursday after millions spent a sleepless night which saw 165km/h (102mph) winds carrying away trees, electricity pylons, walls and roofs, and transformer stations exploding.

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