India
Bangladesh adds prison sentence for corruption to Hasina's death penalty
A special court in Bangladesh handed former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and family members a combined 21 year prison term across three corruption cases involving plots of land in a state backed housing programme.
India approves domestic rare earth magnet scheme
India has authorised final approval for a programme to establish an integrated manufacturing base for sintered rare earth permanent magnets.
COMMENT: China’s choreographed fury at Japan is backfiring
Beijing, with every threat pushes Japan further out of China’s orbit and deeper into a security posture Beijing will one day wish it had not provoked.
China's latest anti-India move focuses on transit travellers
China’s refusal to acknowledge the validity of an Indian passport held by a UK-based Arunachal Pradesh born traveller illustrates a widening pattern in which Beijing links territorial claims to the movement of ordinary Indian citizens.
ADB follows World Bank in revising policy on support for nuclear power financing
The Asian Development Bank has revised its energy policy to allow direct support for nuclear power, signalling a notable shift in how multilateral lenders approach baseload generation in emerging Asian economies.
COP30 didn’t go far enough to address the Climes Crisis – Carbon Brief
The UN climate summit in Belém concluded with delegates agreeing to a series of measures aimed at accelerating climate action, but the outcomes fell short of what many scientists and vulnerable countries had hoped for.
COMMENT: Xi’s call to Trump smacks of a leader whose bark is worse than his bite
That Japan’s Takaichi – a known fan of Britain’s Iron Lady of the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s, Margaret Thatcher – has refused to bend, break or back down under a barrage of Chinese abuse speaks volumes.
COP30 another failure
The UN climate summit, COP30 in Brazil, ended in the same sort of failure to take the decisive action needed to avoid a planetary eco-crisis, hijacked once again by energy lobbyists and marred by the total absence of the US.
Boom in India’s credit card spending
India’s credit card spending soared to a record in September 2025, marking a 23% year-on-year rise and a 13% sequential increase.
India shifts defence posture with US weapons
India's defence realignment has advanced after the US cleared two precision weapons packages worth about $92.8mn. The approvals cover anti-tank missiles and guided artillery rounds.
India's smart meter rollout faces delay
India’s ambitious drive to modernise its power distribution network through the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is facing mounting pressures, with delays in installing smart meters and slow payment cycles threatening to erode returns
Asian utilities locked into coal as long-term contracts slow transition
Asia’s shift towards cleaner energy is being hampered by decades-long coal power agreements that continue to bind utilities to fossil-fuel generation, even at times when cheaper renewable supplies are readily available.
India confronts stricter US sanctions as Russian oil imports decline
India’s reliance on discounted Russian crude — a pillar of its energy strategy since 2022 — has come under renewed strain as Washington tightens sanctions and imposes fresh tariffs on Moscow’s energy sector.
COMMENT: Is this the end of the road for Hasina and the Awami League in Bangladesh?
Sheikh Hasina's dramatic ousting in August 2024 in the wake of violent protests, and her subsequent death sentence ruling has been seen by some as marking the end of the road for the former PM and her party.
LONG READ: How oil price discounts became a barometer of the sanction’s effectiveness
When Russian troops crossed into Ukraine in February 2022, the country’s main crude export blend, Urals, was still trading in line with its traditional discount to Brent of $2. A month later Russia discounted it by $30 to find buyers.
India reacts to Bangladesh sentencing former PM to death
According to the text of the MEA statement, India has studiously avoided direct commentary on the conviction itself. New Delhi's measured response prioritised reassurance about its commitment to peace and democratic governance,
Bangladesh tribunal sentences former PM Hasina to death
Bangladesh’s international crimes tribunal sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal to death after finding them guilty of crimes against humanity.
Adani Group emerges as key corporate pillar in India’s global strategy
India’s ascent as a major global actor over the past twenty years has been driven by a mix of statecraft, economic liberalisation, and corporate expansion. Among private enterprises, the Adani Group has become one of the most influential players.
Trump signals possible India visit amid evolving energy pivot
The US President, Donald Trump, has indicated that he may visit India next year, signalling a potential deepening of ties between Washington and New Delhi and raising questions over energy and geopolitical strategy.
Emerging Asia overtakes the UK per-capita benchmark
For the first time since the Industrial Revolution, the major emerging economies including China, India and Indonesia have seen GDP as a percentage of the UK’s GDP increase as the leading BRICS countries start to overtake the Developed Markets.