New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) India, which holds the world’s fifth largest rare earth reserves and the required technology to produce these minerals, can play a crucial role in breaking China’s near-monopoly on these critical minerals required for making electric vehicles, wind turbines, hi-tech electronic goods and defence equipment, according to an article.The global race for rare earth elements (REEs) has shifted from the margins of industrial policy to the centre of geopolitics. China current…
Latest South Asia News & Updates
New Delhi/Dhaka, March 21 (IANS) While Bangladesh and India have engaged in extensive discussions on trade and connectivity extensively at the bilateral level, the emergency supply security – with clearly defined, structured, and contractually binding terms – is yet to be formalised despite its clear significance, a report said on Saturday. According to a report in the ‘Eurasia Times’, the surge in global container freight rates between 2020 and 2022, coupled with port backlogs that extended…
Washington, March 21 (IANS) Alarmed by China’s expanding financial footprint in South Asia, US lawmakers have pointed to mounting debt in countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka as they pushed to strengthen American tools to compete with Beijing’s global lending.During a congressional hearing this week on the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), influential American lawmakers from both parties warned that China’s state-backed financing is reshaping economic and strategic alignment…
New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) Economic fragility in Pakistan has reached a critical stage following the US–Israel war with Iran due to the drastic escalation in oil prices and the surge in the trade gap, a Pakistani media report said.In terms of per capita income, economic growth rate, dwindling exports and low foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan is in dire straits, according to an article in the Lahore-based Friday Times.Pakistan’s economic fragility is reflected in its GDP growth rate, which …
Colombo, March 19 (IANS) Sri Lanka cannot afford to overlook increasing threat of transnational terrorism with terrorist organisations in South Asia remaining ideologically aligned, sharing targets and enemies, a report has highlighted while emphasising that the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks indicated that terrorism is not a domestic but global challenge with local networks exploited by terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hamas. “Terrorist organisations in South Asia remain ideologicall…
Washington, March 19 (IANS) India’s water governance reforms, particularly in Maharashtra, could play a pivotal role in shaping how the world feeds 10 billion people sustainably, the World Bank said on Thursday, highlighting the state’s regulatory model as a global example. In a new report, the World Bank added that smarter management of water in agriculture is essential to meeting future food demand while generating millions of jobs, and that India’s policy innovations offer lessons for water-s…
New Delhi, March 19 (IANS) The upcoming English cricket season may face an unusual challenge due to a shortage of Dukes balls, which could affect preparations for both domestic and international matches. Delays in Gulf shipping routes, caused by the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran, have slowed the transportation of cricket balls from South Asia to the UK, posing logistical hurdles for the organisers.The English season is set to start on April 3, but officials report that stock levels of Duk…
Washington, March 19 (IANS) The ongoing US military operations involving Iran are straining India’s energy security and testing its diplomatic balance, according to Lisa Curtis, a former White House official for South Asia, who said New Delhi is navigating a complex and increasingly volatile situation. “Well, I think first of all, it’s impacting India’s oil supply. India really relies on oil coming from the Middle East, so I’m sure Indian officials are very concerned about rising oil prices and …
Washington, March 18 (IANS) Director of US National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday warned that Pakistan’s advancing missile programme could eventually put the United States within range, flagging it as part of a growing set of global threats to the American homeland. Presenting the intelligence community’s 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, Gabbard said China and Russia are developing advanced delivery systems capable of bypassing US missile defences, while North Korea already has inter…
Islamabad, March 18 (IANS) The ongoing confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a border dispute or counter-terrorism crisis but the manifestation of a deeper strategic paradox. The conflict between both neighbours is one of the most consequential security crisis in South Asia. Cros-border airstrikes, artillery exchanges and militant attack have transformed a tense but manageable relationship into a volatile confrontation, a report in Homeland Security Today mentioned. Pakistan…