Category Archives: South and Central Asia

India, US and Saudi Arabia in talks on rail and ports deal linking Gulf and south Asia

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Talks include Europe and UAE as Joe Biden flies to Delhi with aim of rivalling China’s Belt and Road

The US, Saudi Arabia, India and other nations are discussing a possible infrastructure deal that could reconfigure trade between the Gulf and south Asia, linking Middle Eastern countries by railways and connecting to India by port, according to US officials aware of the conversations.

The talks, which have also included the United Arab Emirates and Europe, may or may not yield a concrete result in time for an announcement on the sidelines of this week’s G20 leaders’ meeting, the officials said.

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‘Powerless’ son says Aung San Suu Kyi’s life may be at risk due to serious health problems

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Myanmar’s deposed leader has gum disease and struggles to eat but son says requests for help made by prison officers have been denied

Aung San Suu Kyi’s life may be at risk, because she has such serious gum disease she is struggling to eat after more than two years in jail, her son has warned, saying he feels powerless to help her.

Myanmar’s ousted leader, now 78, has not been allowed see a doctor even though she was unable to walk at one point, is suffering from vomiting and dizziness and may have problems with her wisdom teeth, Kim Aris said.

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G20: battle for influence as US seeks to rival China in the global south

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There will be pressure on rich countries to fulfil a commitment to provide climate finance to poorer nations

The run-up to this weekend’s G20 summit in Delhi has largely been dominated by two issues: the host’s efforts to project India as a superpower; and the intriguing decision of Xi Jinping not to attend. The substance of what world leaders will discuss during their two days together has struggled to surface.

Yet this year’s G20 – the 24th since the format was inaugurated in 1999 – is potentially a make or break moment for the organisation that includes the world’s 19 wealthiest nations plus the European Union as a bloc. With one part of the world increasingly gathering in the now expanded Brics format where China has a leading role, and the west comfortable with its annual G7 summitry, the G20 is the best remaining hope of keeping the principle of multilateralism alive. The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, spoke on Thursday of a real risk of fragmentation of the world order, while his own organisation is paralysed by the war in Ukraine.

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Myanmar journalist jailed for 20 years for cyclone coverage

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Sentencing of Sai Zaw Thaike at one-day trial for treason and defamation shows press freedom has been ‘completely quashed’ under junta, editor says

A Myanmar court has sentenced a photojournalist to 20 years in prison with hard labour over his coverage of the aftermath of a deadly cyclone, according to Myanmar Now, the media organisation he worked for.

The sentence given to Sai Zaw Thaike, a photographer for the independent online news service, appeared to be the most severe for any journalist detained since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

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Parents in Pakistan could be jailed for polio vaccine refusal

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New law in Sindh introduces ‘extraordinary measures’ to ensure vaccination of children against range of infectious diseases

Parents in Pakistan who refuse to get their children vaccinated against infectious diseases could be jailed or fined under a new law introduced in Sindh province.

The introduction of the legislation is an attempt to eradicate polio, which is endemic in Pakistan, but will cover vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), measles, mumps and rubella.

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Bharat G20 invitation fuels rumours India may change name

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World leaders attending summit in New Delhi at weekend asked to dinner with ‘president of Bharat’

India was buzzing with speculation over rumoured plans to scrap official use of the country’s English name, after a state-issued invitation to the G20 summit referred to it as Bharat.

The government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been working to remove lingering symbols of British rule from India’s urban landscape, political institutions and history books, but this could be the biggest move yet.

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Ex-Pakistan PM warns of deepening crisis as fears of new election delay grow

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Shahid Khaqan Abbasi says parliament has lost its credibility as military continues to wield political power

A former Pakistani prime minister has said the country is in a “deepening political and economic crisis” as fears grow elections due to be held by November may be delayed further.

His comments came after a tumultuous period in which the prime minister, Imran Khan, was removed from office and arrested as an opposition coalition took power, the controversial 2018-23 parliament, which witnessed rights violations, a crackdown on political opponents and increasing curbs on dissent, was dissolved and the power and influence of the military grew.

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Pakistan in uproar as protests over soaring energy prices turn violent

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Traders close shops, electricity bills are set alight and utility firm staff are attacked as anger rises over living costs and political strife

Protests against rising electricity and petrol prices have rocked Pakistan over the past week, with thousands taking to city streets and setting their electricity bills alight.

The cost of electricity has doubled in the last three months to about 50 rupees (12p) a kilowatt. Petrol prices have shot up from 262 rupees a litre in June to 305 rupees this month.

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A UK trade deal with India was promised by last October. Why is it still not ready?

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Successive prime ministers have failed to achieve what they see as one of the great dividends offered by Brexit

Liz Truss bowled into Downing Street last summer with a promise to rip up much of what her predecessor Boris Johnson had done. However, one goal remained: she insisted, as Johnson had done, she could deliver a free trade deal with India by Diwali in October.

Whitehall officials were dismayed, therefore, when they received the latest set of demands from Indian negotiators. It was not that New Delhi was asking too much, rather they were not saying what they were asking at all.

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Rishi Sunak rules out quick-fix trade deal with India

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Exclusive: Sources believe deal will not be struck before meeting with Narendra Modi at G20 summit

Rishi Sunak has ruled out a quick-fix trade deal with India, making it impossible to get an agreement over the line in time for this week’s G20 summit in Delhi – and possibly even by next year’s elections.

Multiple sources close to the negotiations told the Guardian the prime minister has rejected the idea of an “early harvest” deal, which could have lowered tariffs on goods such as whisky but would not have dealt with trickier subjects such as professional services.

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India launches space mission to the sun a week after moon landing

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Aditya-L1 is to observe sun’s outermost layers and will be first vessel by any Asian nation to be placed in orbit around sun

The latest mission in India’s ambitious space program has blasted off on a voyage towards the centre of the solar system, a week after the country’s successful unmanned moon landing.

Aditya-L1 launched shortly before midday, with a live broadcast showing hundreds of spectators cheering wildly against the deafening noise of the rocket’s ascent.

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Himalayan avalanches are increasing risk for climbers in warming climate

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Experts warn that global heating is exacerbating inherent dangers of high altitude mountaineering

Avalanches in the Himalayas are causing an increasing number of deaths and threatening the safety of climbers, research suggests.

While high-altitude mountaineering comes with an inherent avalanche risk, global heating is exacerbating the danger during the climbing season in the Himalayan mountain range, experts warn.

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Cutouts of menacing langurs employed to deter rhesus monkeys ahead of G20 in Delhi

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New Delhi municipal council has also deployed ‘30 to 40 people’ to make monkey sounds to create the impression that the animals are alive

Lifesize cutouts of langurs have sprung up in several parts of New Delhi over the last few days as officials look to prevent the smaller rhesus monkeys from disrupting the G20 summit that will take place next week.

Rhesus monkeys are a menace in many areas in India’s national capital, running across busy roads without warning – putting both themselves and motorists at risk – and often attacking unsuspecting pedestrians or residents.

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Rahul Gandhi demands Modi investigation into Adani Group

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Indian opposition leader brandishes Guardian article on alleged financial violations by Adani family

Rahul Gandhi has said India’s “global reputation is on the line” and demanded that the prime minister, Narendra Modi, opens a parliamentary investigation after the Guardian revealed years of alleged financial violations by the politically connected Adani family.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the most prominent figure in India’s opposition Congress party held aloft a copy of the Guardian article detailing how Adani family associates had appeared to use opaque offshore funds to secretly invest hundreds of millions of dollars into shares of their own Adani Group companies, one of the most powerful conglomerates in India.

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Seven new ‘walking leaf’ insect species discovered

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Researchers used genetic analysis to identify species that cannot be distinguished by appearance alone

Seven new leaf insect species, known as “walking leaves”, have been discovered.

The insects exhibit a sophisticated “twigs and leaf-like” camouflage allowing them to blend into their surroundings without detection, posing a challenge to both predators and researchers.

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Modi-linked Adani family secretly invested in own shares, documents suggest

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Offshore records suggest associates of wealthy Indian family spent years acquiring stock during rise of founder to be worth $120bn

A billionaire Indian family with close ties to the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, secretly invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the Indian stock market, buying its own shares, newly disclosed documents suggest.

According to offshore financial records seen by the Guardian, associates of the Adani family may have spent years discreetly acquiring stock in the Adani Group’s own companies during its meteoric rise to become one of India’s largest and most powerful businesses.

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Gangs forcing hundreds of thousands of people into cybercrime in south-east Asia, says UN

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Organised criminals use threats, torture and sexual violence to coerce victims to work in international scamming operations

Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked and forced to work for online scamming operations in south-east Asia run by criminal gangs, according to a UN report.

Billions of dollars are being generated each year by gangs who coerce victims into cybercrime, where they are subject to threats, torture and sometimes sexual violence, said the report, published by the UN human rights office on Tuesday.

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FBI agents reportedly search for Uzbeks helped into US by smuggler with IS ties

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Episode reported by CNN required emergency memo to senior officials and suggests agency does not know migrants’ location

Federal agents are reportedly trailing a group of more than a dozen Uzbek nationals who entered the US as asylum seekers aided by a smuggler with ties to Isis.

The extraordinary episode, which multiple US officials confirmed to CNN on Tuesday, was considered so serious that it required an emergency intelligence report to senior Biden administration figures.

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Pakistan high court has suspended Imran Khan conviction, says lawyer

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Uncertainty over whether ex-PM will be released from jail due to other court orders allowing for his arrest

A Pakistani court has suspended the former prime minister Imran Khan’s recent conviction on corruption charges, his lawyer has said, though it is unclear whether this will lead to his release from jail.

The 70-year-old former cricketer has been at the centre of political turmoil in the crisis-ridden state since his ouster in a parliamentary vote of confidence in April 2022, and his relations with Pakistan’s powerful generals have deteriorated over the past year.

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‘Despair is settling in’: female suicides on rise in Taliban’s Afghanistan

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Unofficial figures point to a mental health crisis amid severe restrictions on Afghan women’s lives

First, her dreams of becoming a doctor were dashed by the Taliban’s ban on education. Then her family set up a forced marriage to her cousin, a heroin addict. Latifa* felt her future had been snatched away.

“I had two options: to marry an addict and live a life of misery or take my own life,” said the 18-year-old in a phone interview from her home in central Ghor province. “I chose the latter.”

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