Asia

Ahead of Bangladesh elections, Foreign Affairs Advisor spoke

Ahead of upcoming elections Hossain said, "We have not been able to cast our votes for a long time. Particularly, is a figure of 40 million voters who never voted in general. The elections are extremely important. Equally important is the process through which the election goes. That is very peaceful, that people are really at the opportunity to go to... and cast their votes without fear and without any disturbance. Again, it is also true that no elections have been held completely peacefully. This morning I was reading about the elections in 1991, when all the parties had worked together to bring down the nation... But even in the elections, there were 87 or so cases of violence on the election day. Now let us not wish away on possibilities. It is possible that some violence will take place. But the important thing is that by and large it must be peaceful,"

2026-02-01T08:01:00.996286+00:00 IST

Members of the Tibetan exile community vote to elect 'Sikyong'

The voting process, described as unique, is being conducted across 27 countries, with approximately 91,000 registered voters and 309 polling zones set up globally. The final phase of the election is scheduled to be held in April.

2026-02-01T06:36:41.996324+00:00 IST

UN, China warn Pakistan over terror gush from Afghanistan

The Chinese envoy suggested that Pakistan should cooperate with Afghanistan to resolve this issue. "We need to strengthen engagement and cooperation with Afghanistan to prevent it from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorist organisations, and to jointly prevent and address the return of foreign terrorist fighters," he said.

2026-02-01T06:28:18.816107+00:00 IST

Sri Lanka HC Mahishini Colonné on exposition of Devnimori Relics

These relics are significant as they showcase Buddhist artefacts and sculptures from the Western Satraps period. They're now on display in Sri Lanka at the country's first-ever international exposition, underscoring their cultural significance.

2026-02-01T05:22:19.700592+00:00 IST

China conducts “combat readiness” patrols in South China Sea

"The move is aimed at resolutely safeguarding China's sovereignty and security, and upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea region," the PLA command was cited as saying by Xinhua.

2026-02-01T05:05:33.107414+00:00 IST

Japan and UK leaders agree to expand defence cooperation

The discussions, which marked Starmer's first official visit to Japan since taking office in July 2024, focused on strengthening bilateral ties at a moment of rising geopolitical uncertainty. Starmer described the partnership as vital against a backdrop of "geopolitical, economic and technological shocks" affecting global stability.

2026-02-01T04:13:31.726086+00:00 IST

Jairam Ramesh questions Trump claims on Indian oil policy

In an official X post, the Congress leader said, "He told us Op Sindoor had been halted. He told us India had stopped buying Russian oil. And now this, " Ramesh said, referring to Trump's statements.

2026-02-01T04:05:31.592783+00:00 IST

Earthquake of magnitude 3.0 strikes Bangladesh

As per the statement, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 20 km.

2026-02-01T02:55:50.137403+00:00 IST

Pakistan repatriates seven Indian prisoners

Protocol officer at Attari Border, Arun Mahal said, "The order for the release of 7 prisoners from the Pakistani side had reached both India and Pakistan today. Pakistani Rangers handed over the 7 prisoners to the BSF. From there, they were brought to the Customs and Immigration office to complete the formalities. Of the 7 citizens, 4 are from Ferozepur district, one from Jalandhar, one from Ludhiana, and one from Uttar Pradesh. All of them had been swept into Pakistan while trying to save their animals during the 2023 floods."

2026-02-01T02:39:56.364149+00:00 IST

Taiwan detects one sortie of Chinese PLA aircraft, six PLAN vesse

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Sunday said that it detected one sortie by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and six People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels operating around its territory up to 6 am (UTC+8).

2026-02-01T01:33:11.300219+00:00 IST

Iran says groundwork for talks with US advancing

Amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and a growing US military presence in the region, a senior Iranian official on Saturday (local time) said that preparations for negotiations with the US are moving forward, dismissing what he described as media-driven hype.

2026-02-01T01:25:50.728650+00:00 IST

US Embassy in India limits social media ops amid part govt shut

The US Embassy in India on Saturday announced a temporary reduction in its social media activity due to the ongoing partial government shutdown in the United States, stating that its official X account "will not be updated regularly" until full operations resume.

2026-01-31T23:26:56.887928+00:00 IST

Pak: 92 militants killed, 15 security personnel dead in Balochist

Pakistan's security forces on Saturday claimed that they have killed 92 militants during operations in response to a series of coordinated attacks across multiple locations in Balochistan, while 15 security personnel were killed in the ensuing clashes, according to the country's military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), The Express Tribune reported.

2026-01-31T21:50:27.644037+00:00 IST

Pak: National Dialogue Committee raises concern over Imran Khan

A National Dialogue Committee (NDC) in Pakistan expressed concern about the health of jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, calling for immediate access to his personal physician, Dawn reported on Saturday.

2026-01-31T21:30:19.623598+00:00 IST

India, Arab States review progress at 4th SOM

India and Arab States held the 4th Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) of the Arab-India Cooperation Forum, where senior officials from both sides reviewed progress across multiple sectors of cooperation and identified new areas of engagement that were placed before the Second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in the national capital.

2026-01-31T21:08:32.750651+00:00 IST

India, Arab States aim to double trade to USD 500 billion by 2030

India and the Member States of the League of Arab States (LAS) have agreed to significantly deepen their strategic partnership under the Executive Program of the India-Arab Cooperation Forum, 2026-2028, with an ambitious target of doubling bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030, up from the current level of USD 240 billion.

2026-01-31T19:37:41.219128+00:00 IST

India, Arab League adopt 'New Delhi Declaration'

In a significant move to bolster strategic ties, India and the League of Arab States (LAS) on Saturday adopted the 'New Delhi Declaration' following the second India-Arab Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The high-level summit, held on January 31, 2026, saw both sides reaffirming a "zero tolerance" approach toward terrorism and calling for an urgent overhaul of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to reflect contemporary global realities.

2026-01-31T18:37:42.945009+00:00 IST

Bangladesh elections: 330 international observers confirmed; Indi

Invited countries yet to confirm their delegates include India. India has also been invited to join the international observer mission for Bangladesh's general election, but has yet to confirm its participation, the statement said.

2026-01-31T18:35:07.579342+00:00 IST

Allusions in email deserve to be dismissed with contempt: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday strongly dismissed with contempt the references made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel in 2017 in an email that is purportedly part of the recently released Epstein Files.

2026-01-31T16:10:49.682526+00:00 IST

Exile Tibetan community gears up for ‘Unique Elections’

The Tibetan community living in exile is preparing for the first phase of elections to choose the Sikyong (President) and members of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, scheduled to be held on February 1. Termed a "unique election" by the Tibetan Election Commission, the voting process will take place simultaneously in 27 countries across the world, involving more than 91,000 registered Tibetan voters.

2026-01-31T15:41:18.411591+00:00 IST

Operation Herof: 48 locations attacked across Balochistan

The Baloch Liberation Army said in a statement on Saturday that under the second phase of Operation Herof, it carried out coordinated attacks at 48 different locations across 14 cities in Balochistan, where strong control by BLA fighters has remained in place for the past ten hours.

2026-01-31T14:45:46.498792+00:00 IST