BANGKOK: Parched Cape Town, in South Africa, has managed to push back its “Day Zero” – an estimate of when taps in the city could run dry – to 2019 after successful water-saving efforts. But in India, “Day Zero” has come and gone for residents in many parts of the country, where taps failed long…

BEIJING – China failed to get India’s support for its ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure project at the end of a foreign ministers’ meeting of a major security bloc on Tuesday, ahead of an ice-breaking trip to China this week by India’s prime minister. The Belt and Road is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s landmark scheme…

India and Pakistan will clash on June 16 during the ICC World Cup 2019, according to a BCCI official.  Indian newspapers quoted a BCCI official who spoke on condition of anonymity to say that India will play their opening game of the tournament against South Africa on June 4. The blue shirts will next play…

BEIJING: China on Monday reassured Pakistan that relations between the two countries were as firm as ever and would “never rust”, ahead of a meeting this week between President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that could unnerve Islamabad. China and Pakistan like to call each other “all weather friends” and their traditional…

MUMBAI: India’s cabinet on Saturday approved the death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years amid outrage in the country after a string of horrific cases of sexual violence. In the emergency meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the cabinet passed an executive order, or ordinance, to amend…

IMPHAL: An Indian man missing for 40 years has had an emotional reunion with his family after a YouTube video of him singing a popular Bollywood song went viral. Khomdram Gambhir Singh embraced and hugged his family in Imphal, in the remote northeastern state of Manipur, which he left in 1978 after separating from his…

The Muslim nomads who lead their goats, cows and horses up and down the Kashmir hills have never felt at ease in modern India and the gruesome rape and murder of a girl from the impoverished community has heightened their fears, reported AFP. Many of the Bakarwals speeded up their annual migration out of the…

The Indian police registered a case against a journalist for drawing an anti-rape cartoon, reported Hindustan Times. Swathi Vadlamudi’s cartoon shows a conversation between Hindu deity Ram and his wife, Sita, to criticise the Indian right wing’s support for the accused. In her cartoon, Sita tells Ram she is “glad” she “was kidnapped by Ravan”…

London: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday set to sign £1 billion ($1.42 billion, 1.14 billion euros) of investment deals with Britain during a visit to London, where he was met by hundreds of religious protesters. Modi, in Britain for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, was also expected to confirm the new India-UK…

US newspaper The New York Times has severely criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his ‘silence’ on the attacks on women in the country. In its editorial, the Times said ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India tweets frequently and considers himself a talented orator. Yet he loses his voice when it comes to speaking…

New Delhi: Virat Kohli says he is keen to play county cricket to get used to conditions on English soil ahead of India’s tour of the country later this year. The Indian skipper — the second-ranked Test batsman in the world and the best in one-day internationals — had an uncharacteristically ordinary spell during the…

A Baloch activist said that he had heckled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his 2015 speech in Washington at the behest of Indian spy agency. He said the Indian spies had asked him to embarrass Nawaz Sharif by bringing up the issue of Balochistan during his appearance at United States Institute for Peace. Ahmer…

NEW DELHI: An Indian court on Wednesday ordered 12 media companies to pay $15,000 each to a compensation fund for victims of sexual violence after they published the name of an eight-year-old girl who was gang raped and murdered. Indian law prohibits the naming of rape victims, even after they have died, because of the…

DUBAI: Every Friday evening in Dubai’s bustling Deira district, a sandy lot is transformed into the ring of champions. It is kushti wrestling night and Kala Pehlwan is ready to fight. As the sun sinks below towering palm trees, dozens of men — many in tunics, others in T-shirts — begin to form a perfect…

ISLAMABAD, April 15, 2017 – South Asia is the fastest growing region in the world–according to the latest report by the World Bank.  This is largely driven by India’s growth rebound and is not consistent among countries. Despite accelerating global growth and trade, exports remain weak. Progress on fiscal consolidation is slow, and deficits are…

GOLD COAST: Indian wrestler Sumit Malik won Commonwealth Games gold in the men’s 125kg freestyle class on Saturday but caused a stew by biting an opponent. Bushy-bearded Canadian Korey Jarvis accused Sumit of biting him during their round-robin bout on the Gold Coast. The Indian made no attempt to deny it, cheekily passing judgement on how his rival…

NEW DELHI: Activists called protests across India over the weekend, demanding justice for an eight-year-old Muslim girl who was gang-raped and murdered in Indian-held Kashmir, and another rape case involving a ruling party lawmaker. Police said they were interviewing the BJP lawmaker on Friday in connection with the rape of a teenager, raising the political…

GOLD COAST: Two Indian athletes were kicked out of the Commonwealth Games on Friday after syringes were found in their accommodation, a breach of tournament rules. Triple jumper Rakesh Babu and race-walker Irfan Kolothum Thodi were stripped of their accreditation and ordered to take the first available flight home, Games president Louise Martin said. A…

RAWALPINDI: Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said that India had embarked upon perilous destabilization of regional peace through escalation of ceasefire violations at the Line of Control (LOC). In a press statement on Thursday, Dastgir condemned the firing by Indian border forces in Khuiratta sector that caused injuries to five civilians, including three women. “Pakistan army…

LAHORE: The International Cricket Council has created a dispute resolution panel to hear Pakistan’s compensation claim against arch-rival India for refusing to play a bilateral series. Sporting ties between the cricket-mad South Asian neighbours have suffered in recent years amid rising political tensions, and Pakistani cricket authorities say their Indian counterparts have violated a 2014…

Dressed in symbolic white saris and kurtas, over 500 low-caste Hindus renounced their faith as a form of protest and embraced Buddhism instead. “I shall hereafter lead my life according to the principles and teachings of the Buddha,” they said at their gathering in a Maharashtra village. Instantly, there were 500 new Buddhists in India,…