GUWAHATI: Assam AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam was suspended from the House by the speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami for three days on Monday, for live streaming his speech in the Assembly on a social medium on Friday. Islam, who live streamed his speech on Facebook, admitted breaking the rules ‘to take his speech to a wider audience,’ but insisted that rules… Read more »
Avalanches in Afghanistan triggered by heavy snowfall across the country have killed at least 119 people in recent days, officials said on Monday. Wais Ahmad Barmak, the state minister for disaster management and humanitarian affairs, said that at least 89 people have been injured and 190 homes destroyed by avalanches in multiple provinces. Those figures were expected to rise as… Read more »
India is currently the world’s fastest-growing major economy. And before long, it may leapfrog the US on a ranking of the largest. In a new report titled “The World in 2050,” consulting firm PwC projects that India’s GDP would exceed US GDP in purchasing power parity terms by 2040 (purchasing power parity accounts for the different prices levels across countries)…. Read more »
For the past 27 years, Pakistan has observed Feb. 5 as national Kashmir Solidarity Day. Government-sponsored rallies have featured chants and speeches denouncing Indian oppression in the disputed territory. Posters on trucks and lampposts have depicted bloody street clashes, mutilated corpses and wailing women in Kashmiri dress. This year, the rallies and posters and slogans were still there, but the… Read more »
President Trump could come under new pressure to lift the curtain on secret elements of the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, especially as the Islamic Republic continues its war of words with his administration. Only days after the Iran nuclear deal was announced in July of 2015, news began to leak out about secret side agreements made between… Read more »
The US and Iran has had a rocky relationship from around 1953 – when the CIA orchestrated a coup to overthrow Iran’s prime minister – till now and most likely will continue. Recently, Iran conducted missile tests. This, obviously, sparked outrage and weariness among surrounding states and most importantly the United States. My guess is that it was a test. Donald… Read more »
Chinese companies are in talks to snap up more businesses and land in Pakistan after sealing two major deals in recent months, a sign of deepening ties after Beijing vowed to plough $57 billion into a new trade route across the South Asian nation. A dozen executives from some of Pakistan’s biggest firms told Reuters that Chinese companies were looking… Read more »
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved to clean up political funding with limits on cash donations and new “election bonds”, but some politicians and election officials said the measures would have limited impact. With several state polls about to begin that will help determine his chances of re-election in 2019, Modi’s administration sought to tackle widespread perceptions of vote buying… Read more »
Bangladesh is determined to relocate Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar to a Bay of Bengal island that critics say is unliveable, a Bangladeshi minister said, adding that the move is temporary and Myanmar will ultimately have to take them back. Around 69,000 people have fled the Muslim-majority northern part of Rakhine State to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military launched… Read more »
China signed a deal with Sri Lanka late last year to further develop the strategic port of Hambantota and build a huge industrial zone nearby, a key part of Beijing’s ambitions to create a modern-day “Silk Road” across Asia. The agreement was welcome relief for the island nation of 20 million people. As they try to reduce the country’s debts,… Read more »