Asia News

At the India Economic Summit which opened today, government, industry and policy wonks will debate a report — the World Economic Forum's assessment of global competitiveness — that makes many interesting observations and one utterly predictable one.

Participation of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) in the peace process in Nepal is just a "tactic" and another round of armed clash to capture state power is not far away, Baburam Bhattarai, key ideologue of the movement, said.

Anticipating that an imminent Indo-Nepal extradition treaty will have negative consequences on its nationals alleged to be involved in anti-India activities in Nepal, Pakistan has surprised India by proposing its own extradition treaty to Nepal which bars Kathmandu from extraditing Pakistani nationals.

The Nation The Best Wall of Defence Since policy makers in Washington D.C. decided to provide financial support to Pakistan to aid in its battle with extremists, the country's urban middle-class has grown increasingly wary of the partnership.

Nepal's government will deploy the army if the Maoist movement, beginning on November 1, turns violent or cripples the functioning of the state, Defence Minister Bidhya Bhandari said on Friday.

Giving a new twist to the debate regarding India-Nepal Maoist links, Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala on Wednesday claimed that she had evidence of arms flow from Nepal Maoists to their Indian counterparts.

Taking a common call on the issue of international terrorism, the ninth trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) agreed on stronger measures to counter terrorism in the region, apart from agreeing to share responsibility for stability in Afghanistan.

Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) planned to use a US national to carry out a major terrorist attack in India, US investigating authorities said on Tuesday.

After a tough fight, Indian forces manage to capture Abu Abida, the dreaded warlord who, with the covert support of a neighbouring state, had been pushing in heavily armed insurgents to subvert the country.

Keeping aside their intense battle of nerves on cross-border issues, India and China on Saturday vowed not to allow mutual differences to jeopardise "functional cooperation" in bilateral ties, while observing that a robust partnership between the two Asian giants was in the interest of the region and the world.

For the beauty and cosmetics industry, it seems but a short leap from Hippocrates' ancient dictum 'Let thy food be thy medicine' to the new-age fad of facelifts through foods and beverages laced with substances like collagen.

A suicide bomber riding a bicycle today struck a security checkpoint near a strategic military complex reportedly linked to Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme at Kamra near Islamabad, killing eight, injuring 15, and raising fresh concerns over the security of the country's nukes.

The planet is warming, but the mood among climate negotiators seems as chilly as ever. On October 9th the penultimate round of talks before December's climate-change summit in Copenhagen ended in Bangkok. Only one session remains, in Barcelona in November. Leaders are now busy lowering expectations, saying that this summit will be a prelude to a "Copenhagen II" in 2010.

Maoist chief Prachanda on Monday said China has advised his party to continue in the political mainstream and not wage another war against the government.

"I desperately want to visit Jammu and Kashmir, the land of my ancestors. My family belongs to Anantnag and my wife's, to Pulwama," says a work-weary and jetlagged Mian Nawaz Sharif who landed in Pakistan on October 14 from London where he was away for his wife's orthopaedic treatment for nearly a month.

Legend has it that Mussolini offered to pay £1 million for the manuscript of The Divine Comedy by Dante at the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

Newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala on Wednesday lost her cool and walked angrily towards her critics in the Central Committee of the Nepali Congress, the party she belongs to.

In what is being seen here as a disturbing indication of Indian diplomacy falling short of expectations in the Middle-East, one of Saudi Arabia's most powerful and influential royal family members Turki al-Faisal has openly urged US President Barack Obama to push India and Pakistan to "fix" the Kashmir issue for his AfPak policy to make any progress.

He is counsel for Hafiz Saeed, and in Monday's triumph in court, he has added to India's frustrations.

In an apparent bid to o consolidate his grip over the 22-party alliance government, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Monday appointed Sujata Koirala, daughter of Nepali Congress president G P Koirala, as Deputy Prime Minister.