🇦🇫 Afghanistan

Taliban infighting at presidential palace

Supporters of two rival factions reportedly brawl at the presidential palace in the capital Kabul.

Muttaqi urges countries to engage

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi urges international community to resume aid as Afghanistan faces a looming economic crisis.

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

Schools reopen after 18-month shutdown

Schools reopen after 543 days of closure as the country’s COVID-19 situation eases and more are vaccinated.

Grocery delivery platform Chaldal raises USD10 Million

Chaldal, Bangladesh's largest grocery delivery platform, plans to expand into 15 new cities with the recently-closed USD 10 million Series C.

🇨🇳 China

China court dismisses landmark harassment case

Beijing court throws out a landmark sexual harassment case brought against one of the country's most famous TV hosts Zhu Jun. It ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the case against Mr Zhu. The plaintiff had accused him of forcibly groping and kissing her while she was his intern in 2014.

Slowdown worsens as Covid exposes consumer weakness

Latest data stokes concern that the country’s economy is losing momentum.

EU proposes new infrastructure programme to rival China

The EU plans to step up its challenge through international spending on infrastructure and other projects as it seeks to rival the economic and political influence that Beijing has won through its Belt and Road Initiative. 

🇮🇳 India

India slams Pakistan

India, on Wednesday, slams Islamabad for what it called habitually misusing the platform provided by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to “propagate its false and malicious propaganda” against New Delhi.

USA defeats India to final in Chess Olympiad

The United States of America will face defending joint-winner Russia who beat China in the second semifinal.

Korean dramas and culture taking India by storm

Locals turned to Korean dramas during lockdown, leading to a jump in the sales of Korean food, makeup and music.

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Government seeks USD11 billion more in COVID fund

Malaysia’s government will seek parliamentary approval to increase funds for COVID-19 support measures and raise the country’s statutory debt ceiling, says Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz.

Holiday hotspot readies for reopening

 Businesses at Langkawi, Malaysia's prime holiday destination, are gearing up to welcome the return of tourists with a tourism bubble in place, this week, as the country takes an early step towards recovery from a devastating coronavirus crisis.

🇳🇵 Nepal

Nepal and World Bank sign Additional Financing Agreements 

The Government of Nepal and the World Bank signed two separate additional financing agreements of USD50 million each today to support the implementation of the government’s flagship School Sector Development Program in the education sector and public management reforms in the health sector.

🇸🇬 Singapore

Singapore and India to link their payments systems

Singapore and India are working to link their digital payments systems to enable “instant, low-cost fund transfers,” in a major push to disrupt the cross-border transactions between the two nations that amounts to over USD1 billion each year.

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

Detainees tortured while in custody, rights group alleges

Political detainees in Sri Lanka are being tortured while in police and military custody, a human rights lawyer who wrote a report on alleged abuses said on Friday, days ahead of a United Nations human rights summit.