This is not the first time the cow has become mixed up with politics. Conflicts over cow slaughter sparked religious riots in India.

Margaret Atwood and Stephen Fry are among the authors who will be attending the Jaipur Literature Festival.

An ascendant Hindu nationalist group wants minority Muslims and Christians to accept that India is a nation of Hindus, and is pushing some of them to convert.

Two parties agree to share PM and President posts, allotting VP, Speaker and deputy Speaker berths to other parties

North Korea is to hold what is expected to be one of its biggest celebrations, marking the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party.

Lawmakers from India's ruling Hindu nationalist party in Kashmir kicked and punched an independent member of the state assembly on Thursday for hosting a party where he served beef.

The Indian Shiv Sena is at it again. This time, the party has forced the organisers to cancel the Mumbai concert of renowned Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali.

Negotiators from Nepal's government and the main group protesting the country's new constitution discussed the main issue of the size of proposed states yesterday, but said little progress was made in their second day of talks.

Environmentalists called yesterday for a pollution tax in the Indian capital after a top court ordered the city and national governments to quickly come up with a plan to clean New Delhi's notoriously filthy air.

The main group of protesters opposing Nepal's new constitution said its negotiations with the government failed to reach a resolution yesterday even as a punishing border blockade continued to squeeze the country.

Calling India and Pakistan's recent spat at the United Nations a “tit for tat,” former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said both sides would inevitably return to talks.

Suspected rebels killed four soldiers during firing overnight near the heavily militarised border dividing Kashmir between India and

Malaysian authorities yesterday ordered most of the country's schools shut for two days because of possible health risks posed by the thick haze from

A Delhi Police constable has started a 'platform pathshala' at Delhi's Nizamuddin Railway Station after striking an unique 'deal' with children from the slums: "Study for an hour and you can sell your papads".

India's belated bid for a role in Nepal's constitution-making process has united the landlocked nation's top mainstream parties as never before.

A United Nations panel has ruled that the jailing of former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed was illegal and called for his immediate release, the government of the atoll nation said yesterday as it rejected the ruling.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has proposed a new peace initiative with India centred around the demilitarisation of the disputed territory of Kashmir, where a surge in cross-border shelling has killed dozens of civilians since last year.

A 50-year-old man in northern India has been killed in a mob lynching allegedly over rumours that his family had been storing and consuming beef at home.

An Indian court sentenced five men to death yesterday for a series of bomb blasts that ripped through packed trains in Mumbai in 2006, killing nearly 200 people and injuring many more.

The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) is considering flying in fuel to the landlocked nation as it continues to face a crippling shortage of petroleum products.