South Asia

The carefully structured notions of India's caste hierarchy have remained unchallenged for thousands of years but a power shift is dawning, says Sreerekha Pillai.

Mobile phone mania is sweeping Pakistan with a rapid increase in national subscribers due to low connection costs and cheap pre-paid packages and phone sets.

Every summer, like the water in this parched land, young men 'evaporate’ from the face of Bhilwara and other neighbouring districts in Rajasthan, West India, to look for work.

No expense was spared at year's European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) annual meeting in Uzbekistan.

She blows bubbles into her glass of water, her little forehead furrowed in concentration. Each time a bubble bursts, Misha's tiny voice reverberates and she laughs.

You can easily mistake Falun Gong followers for elegant ballet dancers. With their knees slightly bent and with the precision and poise of a ballerina, they move their arms gracefully around their body, as if weaving an enormous invisible net around themselves.

Indian health authorities are awaiting the results of 13 suspected SARS cases, which if positive, could triple the country's known number of carriers.

United Nations chemical weapons inspectors are to visit a fertiliser plant in the southern city of Karachi this week to certify Pakistan is not producing chemical or biological weapons.

The Pakistan government’s decision last week to block pornographic web sites is more a political stunt than an effort to purify society, experts say.

The Kerala Communist Party of India and other Marxist and left-oriented non-governmental organisations are urging citizens to boycott American and British goods in protest against coalition aggression against Iraq.