NWS Asia Desk
Articles by NWS
Prominent Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Pleads Guilty in Security Case, Faces Up to Life in Prison
The former teenage protest leader admitted conspiring to seek foreign sanctions against Beijing, in a case that highlights the deepening crackdown on Hong Kong’s opposition
India Rejects Hague Court's Indus Waters Ruling as Pakistan Claims Victory
The Permanent Court of Arbitration has no way to enforce its verdict – so the real test now shifts to a World Bank-appointed neutral expert due to rule by mid-2027.
Twenty-Five Pakistani Fishermen Freed From Indian Jails Under 2008 Consular Access Pact
Wagah-Attari repatriation highlights how the 2008 consular pact endures even as Sir Creek arrests and a wider India-Pakistan trade freeze persist.
China Mints Global Orders by Producing Cheap 3D-Printed Anti-Drone Missiles
China’s drone manufacturers are turning the battlefield demand for cheap counter-drone weapons into a fast-growing export business, with 3D-printed interceptors costing as little as $1,500.
As NATO Frays, Moscow, Beijing and Tehran Head to Bishkek to Court the Global South
As NATO’s internal quarrels grow louder and more frequent, a cluster of rival forums – the SCO, BRICS and now the Mecca Pact – is surfacing to catch the diplomatic overflow, each offering hedging states a seat at a table not chaired from Washington. Together, they are stitching together an increasingly crowded landscape of alternative power blocs, unlikely alliances that would have seemed improbable a decade ago now taking shape from Central Asia to the Gulf.
What Caused the Glacial Collapse in Tibet?
On August 26, a large section of the glacier sheared away and crashed down the mountain, sending an ice-and-rock avalanche into the Lhende river system and unleashing a powerful surge that wreaked havoc across Nepal.
China and India paper over Arunachal rift with eight-point border pact, clearing path for Xi’s Delhi visit
Doval and Wang Yi agree to open two new military hotlines and reopen border trade routes, even as Delhi and Beijing continue trading barricades over disputed frontier place names.
Hong Kong Court Rules PwC International Must Face $5.67 Billion Evergrande Audit Lawsuit
A Hong Kong court has ruled that PwC International must face a $8.6 billion claim over its role in auditing collapsed property giant Evergrande, alongside its Hong Kong and mainland China affiliates. The case could test whether global accounting firms can be held liable for audit work conducted by legally separate member firms, with wider implications for the structure and governance of the Big Four.
Asim Munir’s Tehran Visit Reinforces Role as US-Iran Broker, as Mecca Pact Lifts his Regional Stature
Munir’s latest diplomatic outreach comes as Pakistan seeks to deepen ties with both Washington and Tehran.
Xi's Likely Return to India for BRICS After Seven Years Signals a Fragile Thaw
A 400-strong delegation and a New Delhi summit will test whether the recent mapping row over Arunachal Pradesh can be kept from derailing Beijing and New Delhi’s tentative détente.
Cricket’s Greats Close Ranks for Imran Khan, as Jailed Ex-PM’s Health Crisis Rattles Pakistan
Twenty-one former captains – including Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Lloyd, Border and Gower – want an independent medical assessment and for weekly family visits to resume without delay.
The Ten-Minute Takeover: How Global Capital Is Rewiring India’s Grocery Run
Walmart, Amazon, Tencent and a roster of American pension and venture funds are all racing to bankroll India’s quick-commerce boom, betting billions on owning the impatient grocery shopper in India.
Syria and Israel Edge Towards the Negotiating Table After Jordan Talks
Mossad chief meets Syrian foreign minister as Damascus says the “door is open” for diplomacy, weeks after an Israeli strike on a Syrian airbase pushed the two countries to the brink of confrontation.
India Launches Rescue Mission After Panama-Flagged Cargo Ship Sinks Off Odisha Coast
Two crew pulled from liferafts by a diverted oil tanker as coastguard and navy search for 22 missing sailors, including 20 Chinese nationals.
Türkiye Could Confront Israel Soon, and It Will Be A Litmus Test For Mecca Pact's Mutual-Defence Clause
Türkiye's push for Netanyahu's arrest and rising Israeli-Turkish tensions over Syria could become the first real test of the 'Islamic NATO'. But its members are more likely to opt for quiet defence and intelligence cooperation rather than going for all-out war against Israel.
Once Asia’s Richest Man Hui Ka Yan Gets Life Sentence in China’s Evergrande Fraud Case
The property tycoon’s spectacular rise and collapse culminated in a sweeping criminal case involving financial misconduct, bribery and the misuse of corporate assets.
Lebanon Becomes the First Country in West Asia to End Death penalty
Lebanon becomes the first country in the West Asia to abolish the death penalty, even as executions rise globally. India, meanwhile, continues to uphold capital punishment. The Supreme Court recently dismissed a petition challenging hanging as the method of execution.
India Overtakes Indonesia as Asia's Least-Favoured Market
A US$50-billion foreign exodus and an AI blind spot are testing investors’ faith in a decade-long growth story.
Three Words From the US Envoy in New Delhi Just Reopened the Kashmir Question
The remark lands as Washington and Islamabad have been growing closer on other fronts, complicating a friendship that Pakistan didn’t see coming apart. On the other hand, New Delhi isn’t complaining.
India Takes US Quartz Tariffs to the WTO: What It Means for Trade Ties
For exporters counting on the US market, the case is less about a quick fix than about buying time and leverage.
Iran Strikes Kurdish PM’s Office, Puts Bounty on US Troops as Ceasefire Deal Expires
Tehran’s hardliners push the region toward open conflict even as its own diplomats warn the war is becoming impossible to sustain.
US-Iran War: Hormuz Standoff Deepens as Trump Rejects Deal Extension, Threatens to ‘Bomb’ Oman
As Oman edges toward a shipping deal with Iran, Trump’s threats are testing the limits of the alliance.
Kushner Meets Hamas in Cairo as Trump's Gaza Peace Plan Hangs by a Thread
With Netanyahu already having rejected the roadmap, the meeting sets up a make-or-break test of Washington's leverage over both sides.
How North Korea Has Turned Support for Russia Into a Multibillion-Dollar Windfall
Weapons technology, missile know-how and hard currency are flowing from Moscow to Pyongyang in exchange for shells, missiles and soldiers.
India’s Foreign Funding Bill Sparks Global Backlash Over NGO Crackdown and Minority Rights
As New Delhi pushes ahead with sweeping new powers over foreign-funded charities, US lawmakers, UN experts and rights groups warn that the bill could deepen a decade-long squeeze on civil society and religious minorities.
US and Japan Bet on 6,000-Metre Seabed Mine to Break China’s Rare-Earth Grip
Trump and Takaichi are backing an untested, billion-dollar gamble off a remote Pacific island – one that could reshape who controls the minerals powering the next century of technology.
UN Report Exposes Escalating War Crimes by Myanmar Junta Amid ASEAN Outreach
As Min Aung Hlaing courts Southeast Asian legitimacy, new UN findings reveal torture, sexual violence and intensifying air attacks on civilians – with Aung San Suu Kyi’s fate testing the junta’s claims of diplomatic sincerity.
China Rejects India’s Naming of 27 Arunachal Pradesh Sites, Reviving Border Dispute
Beijing’s latest protest targets an Indian state that it has long claimed as its own – reigniting a frontier dispute rooted in the 1914 McMahon Line.
Netanyahu Rejects Trump’s 15-point Gaza plan, Putting Post-War Settlement at Risk
Israel says its forces will not withdraw until Hamas gives up its weapons, threatening to stall Trump’s push for a post-war political and security order in Gaza.
Typhoon Dolphin Unleashes Record Rain on Shanghai as Heatwave Grips Hong Kong
One storm, four countries, and a set of extremes rarely seen together – a 150-year rainfall record in one city and an all-time heat record in another, hundreds of kilometres apart.
US Senate Passes Russia Sanctions Bill: What It Means for India, China
A 180-day countdown, a 15 per cent carve-out, and a Strait already squeezing supply — the mechanics behind the threat, and why New Delhi’s options narrow either way.
Why the New Defence Deal Between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan Could Worry India
Under the new Mecca pact, an attack on Pakistan will now be seen as an attack on Saudi Arabia or Turkiye too – giving Islamabad access to NATO-grade military muscle and Gulf financial heft, even as New Delhi tries to deepen its own ties with Riyadh.
Ousted Bangladesh PM Hasina’s India Press Conference Rekindles Bangladesh Row
Speaking only by audio from exile, the fugitive former leader vowed to return home by December – even as Dhaka renews its extradition demand and questions whether New Delhi’s hospitality is straining a fragile diplomatic reset.
North Korea Warns Japan over Military Build-Up as Indo-Pacific Divide Sharpens
Japan’s military transformation has become the latest flashpoint in an Indo-Pacific increasingly split between rival US and China-led security alignments.
Pakistan Swaps WhatsApp for WeChat as Military Ties With China Deepen
The move deepens Pakistan’s reliance on Beijing, a shift mirrored by Nepal and Bangladesh even as India goes the other way – banning Chinese apps and strengthening tech ties with the US, Japan and Europe instead.
Indian-linked Diamond Smuggling Probe Rocks Vietnam’s Jewellery Industry
With more than 28,000 stones and US$57 million in disputed diamonds now under investigation, authorities are racing to determine how deep the fraud runs into the country’s certification system.
India Remains Non-Committal on Hasina Extradition as Parliament Pushes for Bangladesh Reset
Narendra Modi government has told Parliament that Hasina's extradition remains “under examination” with no timeline in sight. But its response also signals a readiness to rebuild ties with Dhaka, which has become closer to China and Pakistan since her fall.
Saudi Arabia Launches 43-Nation Red Sea Coalition as Hormuz Closure Deepens Global Oil Crisis
Riyadh is positioning itself as the Gulf’s new maritime security leader – though with only 14 nations signed on so far, and Oman and the UAE notably absent, the coalition’s reach remains a work in progress.
Fresh US-Saudi Strikes on Iraq Reveal a West Asia Fracturing Into Multiple Wars, Not One
The latest strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq came just as the US is preparing to withdraw all its troops, while Yemen’s Houthis blockade Saudi shipping, Hezbollah holds firm on disarmament, and Gulf rivals clash on Socotra – a snapshot of a region splintering into several distinct conflicts at once.
South Korea and Brazil’s Latest Meet Signals How Rare Earth Minerals Are Redrawing Alliances
Seoul and Brasília are deepening ties despite viewing Washington very differently – one a close US ally, the other at odds with it. It shows resource security is starting to reshape alliances once built primarily on military ties.
After Six Years, Nathu La Reopens – And With It, a Frozen Chapter of India-China Ties
The Himalayan pass barely dents a US$127 billion relationship, but its revival says plenty about how Delhi is hedging its bets as Washington turns unpredictable.
Indian Tourists Lured to Pattaya on ‘Cheap Tour Package’, Kidnapped and Tortured for Ransom
The rescue exposes a growing pattern: fake job offers and bargain travel deals funnelling Indians into scam and trafficking networks across Southeast Asia — with over US$88 billion lost to the region's fraud economy, as per the UN.
Vietnam Joins the Growing Global Push to Keep Children Off Social Media
Vietnam joins countries like Australia, France, Malaysia, and Indonesia in expanding state oversight to protect children in an increasingly harmful digital environment.
US-Saudi Nuclear Deal Opens Door to Uranium Enrichment as Iran Tensions Rise
The 90-day Congressional review window is now open on a deal that skips enhanced IAEA inspections, prompting swift pushback from lawmakers and Israel.
Cockroach Janata Party Protests: Global Press Digs for Causes, Indian Media Covers the Chaos
As youth protests swept Delhi, foreign outlets dug into the deeper causes — unemployment, institutional distrust, a generation's disillusionment. Indian media stayed on the surface, tracking marches day by day. Here's how two newsrooms covered the same movement, and what each missed.
Trump Threatens to Bomb Iran’s Hidden Nuclear Site as Houthi Attacks Rock the Red Sea
As Houthi rebels widen their Red Sea assault and Tehran quietly seeks backchannel talks via Pakistan, Trump vows to strike Iran's deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site — pushing the ten-day US-Iran conflict into a dangerous new phase.
Philippines Sailor Injured as China Clashes With Manila, Rattles Japan in Same Week
A violent South China Sea confrontation and unprecedented live-fire drills near Japan's waters expose the widening reach of Beijing's maritime assertiveness — and the mounting stakes for the Indo-Pacific.
North Korean Foreign Minister’s Unscheduled Moscow Visit Signals Deepening Russia-North Korea Axis
With no multilateral summit or anniversary to explain the timing, Choe Son Hui’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow – days after a top Chinese official visited Kim Jong Un – points to accelerating coordination among Moscow, Pyongyang and Beijing.
Lack of River Flood Data Access Heightens Flood Risk for Pakistan Under Suspended Indus Waters Treaty
Cut off from Indian gauge readings, Pakistan’s flood managers are racing to clear the Ravi riverbed and shore up flood defences before peak monsoon hits.
China Overtakes US in Global Favourability, Pew Survey Finds
25 of 36 countries now view China more favourably than the US. 22 of 36 have more confidence in Xi than in Trump.
Xi Jinping to attend World AI Conference for first time, give keynote speech
The conference comes at a time when China and the US are increasingly competing for tech dominance.
China protests after 14 nations reject its South China Sea claims
China has expressed an expansive claim over the South China Sea since 1947. That was when the Republic of China (ROC) Nationalist government officially drew and published a map featuring an ‘eleven-dash line’.
Global Investors Seek Backdoor Access to China's Booming Chip Sector
Over the past five years, Chinese companies have faced a barrage of export controls from the US across multiple fronts. Now Beijing appears to be paying back in the same currency
US Troop Withdrawal From Iraq Comes Amid Iran Conflict; Trump Warns on Hormuz Tolls
The discussions underscored growing regional tensions as the US recalibrates its military presence while seeking to safeguard a key global oil shipping route.
Thailand Restores Visa-Free Entry for Indians After Arrivals Fall Nearly 20%
Indians account for nearly 7.5 per cent of arrivals in Thailand's $45 billion tourism industry.