Category Archives: South and Central Asia

India orders phone makers to preload devices with state-owned cyber safety app

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Critics voice concern as government says its Sanchar Saathi app combats cybersecurity threats for 1.2bn telecom users

India’s telecoms ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates.

In tackling a recent surge of cybercrime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking the use of stolen phones for fraud or promoting state-backed government service apps.

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Bangladesh court sentences UK MP Tulip Siddiq to two years in prison in absentia

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MP for Hampstead and Highgate in London denies allegations and condemns ‘flawed and farcical’ trial

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced the British MP Tulip Siddiq to two years in jail after a judge ruled she was complicit in corrupt land deals with her aunt, the country’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

In a ruling on Monday, a judge found Siddiq, the Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate, guilty of misusing her “special influence” as a British politician to coerce Hasina into giving valuable pieces of land to her mother, brother and sister.

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Death toll passes 900 in Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka floods

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Officials in Indonesia say more than 442 people have died, while Sri Lanka suffers worst natural disaster since 2004 tsunami

Authorities in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand are racing to clear debris and find hundreds of missing people after more than 900 died in devastating floods and landslides across the south of Asia.

In the latest example of the impact of the climate crisis on storm patterns and extreme weather, heavy monsoon rains, exacerbated by a tropical storm, have overwhelmed parts of south-east Asia in recent days, leaving thousands of people stranded without shelter or critical supplies.

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Sri Lanka’s capital hit by floods as cyclone death toll nears 200

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Hundreds of people still missing after heavy rain and mudslides in country’s deadliest natural disaster for years

Entire areas of Sri Lanka’s capital are flooded after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing.

Officials said the extent of the damage in the country’s worst-affected central region was slowly becoming clear on Sunday as relief workers cleared roads blocked by fallen trees and mudslides.

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Sri Lanka death toll from floods and landslides reaches 153

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Another 191 missing after heavy rains from Cyclone Ditwah while almost 78,000 evacuated to temporary shelters amid rescue operations

Torrential rains and floods triggered by Cyclone Ditwah have killed 153 people across Sri Lanka so far, with another 191 still missing, the country’s Disaster Management Centre (DCM) said on Saturday.

The DMC director general, Sampath Kotuwegoda, said relief operations were under way with 78,000 people moved to nearly 800 state-run welfare centres after their homes were destroyed by the week-long heavy rains.

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Junta hails end to US protected status for Myanmar nationals

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Human rights monitors say it is not safe to return, citing reports of ‘serious crimes in the run-up to elections’

Myanmar’s junta applauded the Trump administration on Wednesday for halting a scheme that protected its citizens from deportation from the US back to their war-racked homeland.

About 4,000 Myanmar citizens are living in the US with temporary protected status (TPS), which shields foreign nationals from deportation to disaster zones and allows them the right to work.

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Taliban accuses Pakistan of killing 10 – including nine children – in strikes on Afghanistan

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The strikes come a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Pakistan’s Peshawar city

Pakistan strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan have killed 10 people – among them nine children – a Taliban government spokesperson has said, a day after a suicide attack on a security compound in Pakistan’s Peshawar city.

“The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident ... As a result, nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman were martyred” in Khost province, Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.

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Dharmendra, Bollywood’s ‘He Man’ and one of its most enduring stars, dies at 89

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India’s prime minister among those paying tribute to celebrated actor whose career spanned six decades

Dharmendra, one of the most enduring stars of India’s Bollywood cinema, has died at the age of 89.

Born Dharam Singh Deol, but later known as Dharmendra, he rose to fame in the 1960s and became one of the most celebrated and popular stars of Indian cinema in a career that spanned six decades.

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Bhutan PM on leading the first carbon-negative nation: ‘The wellbeing of our people is at the centre of our agenda’

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Exclusive: Tshering Tobgay says his country is doing ‘a lot more than our fair share’ on climate and west must cut emissions ‘for the happiness of your people’

The wealthy western countries most responsible for the climate crisis would improve the health and happiness of their citizens by prioritising environmental conservation and sustainable economic growth, according to the prime minister of Bhutan, the world’s first carbon-negative nation.

Bhutan, a Buddhist democratic monarchy and biodiversity hotspot situated high in the eastern Himalayas, is among the world’s most ambitious climate leaders thanks to its people’s connection with nature and a strong political focus on improving gross national happiness rather than just GDP, Tshering Tobgay told the Guardian.

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Ousted Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death for crimes against humanity

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Hasina sentenced in absentia by court in Dhaka over deadly crackdown on student-led uprising last year

Bangladesh’s deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Dhaka for crimes against humanity over a deadly crackdown on a student-led uprising last year.

A three-judge bench of the country’s international crimes tribunal convicted Hasina of crimes including incitement, orders to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities as she oversaw a crackdown on anti-government protesters last year.

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Blast from confiscated explosives at police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir kills nine

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The accidental explosion comes days after a deadly car blast in New Delhi which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort

At least nine people were killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police have announced.

The blast occurred in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, the region’s main city, late on Friday while a team of forensic experts and police were examining the explosive material, said Nalin Prabhat, the region’s police director general. He ruled out any foul play, saying it was an accident.

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Kashmir is focus of arrests after Delhi car blast linked to ‘terror module’

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Investigators believe an explosion that killed 13 people may be linked to group operating in the disputed region

Police have carried out raids and made several arrests across the Indian region of Kashmir in the aftermath of a car explosion in Delhi that left 13 people dead.

On Wednesday, the Indian government confirmed it was treating the blast as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”. The explosion took place outside one of India’s most significant monuments during rush hour on Monday evening.

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India confirms deadly Delhi car blast being treated as terror incident

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Cabinet says explosion near Red Fort that killed 12 is suspected to have been perpetrated by ‘anti-national forces’

India has confirmed it is treating the explosion that killed 12 people outside Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday as a “terror incident” perpetrated by “anti-national forces”.

The statement by the cabinet, led by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, confirmed mounting speculation that a terrorist attack was behind the blast that took place during peak time in one of the capital’s busiest areas and outside one of India’s major landmarks.

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Pakistani parliament votes to give army chief new powers and legal immunity

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Critics say constitutional amendment, which will also limit supreme court’s independence, is ‘funeral for democracy’

Pakistan’s parliament has passed a controversial amendment to its constitution that will expand the powers of the army chief and grant him lifelong legal immunity while limiting the independence of the supreme court, in a move critics described as a “funeral for democracy”.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s powerful army chief who is widely seen as a de facto ruler of the country, was the main benefactor from the 27th constitutional amendment, which was passed by the parliamentary lower house on Wednesday.

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Pakistan opens investigation into Islamabad terror attack

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Pakistani ministers attribute deadly suicide attack to Indian state terrorism but India denies claim

Pakistan has opened an investigation into the suicide attack that killed 12 people outside district court buildings in Islamabad, after the prime minister made unsubstantiated claims that “Indian state terrorism” was behind the blast.

The attack took place in the middle of the day on Tuesday as the area was thrumming with people. The bomber made several attempts to get inside the buildings before detonating a device next to a police car, killing 12 people and injuring 27.

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Indian police investigating fatal Delhi car blast under anti-terror law

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Statements from government ministers suggest they do not see explosion that killed eight people as an accident

Indian police are investigating a car explosion that killed eight people outside Delhi’s historic Red Fort under an anti-terror law, as they focus on the final movements of the vehicle involved.

The explosion on Monday occurred at about 7pm, a peak time when Delhi’s old city is usually packed with people and traffic.

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Pakistan Taliban claim responsibility for deadly terror attack in Islamabad

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Defence minister says country is in ‘state of war’ after suicide blast kills 12 and injures 27 outside court buildings

At least 12 people have been killed in a suicide blast in Islamabad carried out by the Pakistan Taliban, as the country’s defence minister said a deadly surge in terror attacks had put the country in a “state of war”.

The explosion, which was confirmed as a suicide attack by several government ministers, took place outside district court buildings in the capital on Tuesday at about 12.30pm. The area is usually heavily crowded with lawyers and litigants attending trials.

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‘I can’t breathe in this city’: inaction over Delhi’s suffocating pollution sparks rare protest

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The failure by state governments to do anything about pollution means it has often been met with apathy. But at a rare protest anger and frustration were rife

As a familiar smoky evening haze gathered over Delhi, the crowd began to assemble in their hundreds. Mothers and children, students, retirees and environmentalists were all united by a basic but desperate demand: the right to breathe safely in India’s capital.

“Delhi is not a liveable city any more, it’s a death trap,” said Radhika Aggarwal, 33, an engineer who joined the protest on Sunday.

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Eight people die and several injured after car explosion in Delhi, police say

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Several fire engines rushed to the scene after blast reported near the historic Red Fort, fire services said

A car explosion outside the historic Red Fort monument in Delhi has killed at least eight people and started a fire in the surrounding area, according to police.

The cause of the explosion, which took place just before 7pm local time (1330 GMT) on Monday night, is being investigated. The registered owner of the car has reportedly been detained for questioning.

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British Asian families urged to share stories of ‘greatest generation’ who fought for Britain

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Half of UK public unaware of contribution made by 2.5m British Asian members of armed forces who served in second world war

British Asian families are being urged to record the experiences of relatives who fought for Britain for “future generations” as data reveals half the British public don’t know that Indian members of the armed forces served in the second world war.

The My Family Legacy project, backed by the Royal British Legion, is building an online archive of Asian veterans’ experiences to raise awareness of the shared histories and sacrifices of Britain’s diverse communities.

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