South and Central Asia
Myanmar: protesters allowed to leave apartments after being trapped by military | World news
Hundreds of peaceful anti-coup protesters have been allowed to leave an area of Yangon where they were cornered in apartment buildings by Myanmar security forces. The south-east Asian country has been in turmoil since a 1 February coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered mass protests against the new military junta. The …
Facebook apologises for Xi Jinping offensive name translation gaffe | Technology
Facebook said on Saturday it was working to find out how Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s name appeared as “Mr Shithole” in posts on its platform when translated into English from Burmese, apologising for any offence caused and saying the problem had been fixed. The error came to light on the second day of a visit …
Bangladesh flies in planeloads of onions amid national outcry over shortage | World news
Bangladesh has been forced to import planeloads of onions as the price of the cooking staple soared to record highs, an official said, with even the prime minister chopping the bulb from her menu. The price of onions – a sensitive subject in south Asia where shortages can trigger widespread discontent with political ramifications – …
‘The Terminator’: how Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruthless streak led him to power | World news
Even his own family nickname him “The Terminator”. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the 70-year-old retired lieutenant colonel who will be Sri Lanka’s next president, has built his reputation on being efficient and ruthless, whether that was in his role in crushing the Tamil separatist movement, which kept Sri Lanka in civil war for 25 years, or through …
Sri Lanka presidential election: Rajapaksa victorious as opponent concedes | World news
Sri Lanka’s former wartime defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be the country’s next president, after his opponent conceded defeat in a tightly contested election. The candidate for Sri Lanka’s ruling UNP party, Sajith Premadasa, on Sunday accepted defeat in the poll held on Saturday and congratulated his rival. “It is my privilege to honour the …
Sri Lanka presidential election: gunmen fire on buses carrying Muslim voters | World news
Gunmen have fired on buses carrying minority Muslim voters in northwest Sri Lanka, police said, as an election official admitted failures to protect vulnerable communities ahead of presidential polls. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the attack on Saturday, but a police official said the attackers had burnt tyres on the road and …
Man burying daughter finds newborn alive in Indian grave | World news
A man digging a grave in northern India found a newborn girl buried alive, police have said, in the latest case to shine a spotlight on female infanticide in the country. Hitesh Sirohi had gone to bury his own daughter, who died a few minutes after birth on Wednesday, when his spade hit an earthen …
Judge orders removal of #MeToo posts accusing Indian artist | World news
The high court in Delhi has ordered Google and Facebook to remove all anonymous social media posts accusing the artist Subodh Gupta of sexual harassment and ordered Facebook, which owns Instagram, to reveal the identity of the person behind the account that first made the allegations. Last year, many well-known Indian men, mostly in the …
India: scores dead as late monsoon rains inundate northern states | World news
More than 100 people have died in flooding in the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where vast areas have been inundated by delayed monsoon rains. Videos shared on social media show submerged roads and heavy flooding at one of the major hospitals in Patna, state capital of Bihar, where patients lay on beds …
Imran Khan warns of potential nuclear war in Kashmir | World news
Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, has said he has been trying to raise the alarm at the United Nations this week about the danger of a nuclear war breaking out over Kashmir. India and Pakistan came close to a conflict in February when India bombed Pakistani territory for the first time in a half century …
