China freed 10 Indian soldiers seized in a deadly high-altitude border clash in the Himalayas ahead of fresh talks Friday to ease tensions between the world's two most populous nations, officials said.Two majors were among the troops held prisoner after a battle with nail studded batons, rocks and fists on Monday that left 20 Indians dead as well as an unknown number of Chinese casualties.It was the most serious incident in more than four decades on the bitterly disputed unofficial borde

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “not in a good mood,” United States (US) President Donald Trump recently declared, as he offered to mediate India’s resurgent border conflict with China. After years of bending over backward to appease China, Modi has received yet another Chinese encroachment on Indian territory.

Malaysia's mammoth palm oil sector faces a new threat after Indian traders were asked to halt purchases amid a diplomatic row over Kashmir, piling further pressure on the industry as Europe also plans cutbacks.The Southeast Asian nation is the second-biggest producer after Indonesia of the oil, used in everything from food to cosmetics, in a sector long vilified by environmentalists who blame it for fuelling deforestation.With Western companies reducing use of the commodity as green grou

At the time of his first bid to become India’s prime minister five years ago, Narendra Modi was seen by many in Mumbai as a reformer rising to slay crony capitalism, corruption and policy paralysis. It was the bureaucracy in New Delhi that had misgivings about the then chief minister of Gujarat state, known for his highly centralised style of working.By now, the political capital has accepted Modi as the boss man.

Roughly 900 million registered voters will begin heading to the polls this week as India begins a marathon, six-week general election that will determine the course of the world’s second-most populous country.Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election under more favourable conditions than just a few months ago, when rising concerns about a lack of jobs had put his government on the back foot, and polls showed slumping support for his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).But in late Fe

Tensions between India and Pakistan are at their highest level in decades, and many fear the nuclear-armed neighbours are on the brink of yet another war over the disputed Kashmir region. But the latest eruption is different from its predecessors.The two countries’ struggle over Kashmir began in 1947.