South Asia

Coup for Delhi in Sino-Indian space race

India's Mars orbiter arrives at the red planet just days after NASA's latest probe. These missions are less about "science" than geopolitics on Earth—the New Cold War with China.

Southern Cone

BRICS nations plan new development bank

Five large non-Western economies are planning a new development bank, but activists say the bank's impact will depend on the ability of the countries' populations to mobilize.

South Asia

India: tribal people expel mining company

In a vote ordered by India's courts, the Dongria Kondh tribe overwhelmingly rejected plans by British mining giant Vedanta Resources for an open-pit bauxite mine on their lands.

South Asia

India: ethnic strife spreads across northeast

Ethnic Naga and Kuki militants in Manipur state are blocking roads to press demands for local autonomy, while Adivasi tribal peoples raised barricades in Assam and Nagaland states.

South Asia

India: Gorkha separatists block tea exports

A general strike called by Gorkha separatists in West Bengal has brought production of the world-famous Darjeeling tea to a halt to demand creation of “Gorkhaland.”

Afghanistan

ISI behind Taliban attack on Indian consulate?

Delhi had apparently warned its ambassador in Kabul of an impending attack plotted in Pakistan—immediately before the assault on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad.

South Asia

Protests rock Jammu and Kashmir

Srinagar and other towns in India-administrated Jammu and Kashmir are under curfew following unrest over the killing of four protesters by the Border Security Forces.