Author: EchoAsiaNews

NEW DELHI: A controversy involving India’s Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has triggered widespread student anger and intensified political criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, with calls growing for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The backlash follows irregularities linked to this year’s school-leaving examinations, which were evaluated using a new On-Screen Marking system that digitises scanned answer sheets for online grading. Students and educators have reported technical failures, including blurred scans, system glitches and server outages, raising concerns over the reliability of results that determine university admissions for more than 1.7 million candidates. Several students have…

KARACHI: An exhibition titled “The Geography of Memory” at Canvas Gallery brings together four Pakistani artists based abroad, offering a reflective exploration of memory, identity and displacement through diverse contemporary art practices. The featured artists, Noormah Jamal, Mustafa Mohsin, Usaydh Agha and Ruby Chishti, engage with memory as a fluid and embodied experience, shaping a layered narrative that connects personal recollection with collective histories. The exhibition presents memory as shifting and fragmented, expressed through distinct visual languages that together form a broader meditation on lived experience. Jamal’s oil pastel works initially appear playful and childlike, characterised by simplified forms, vivid…

Australia: Dry weather across major agricultural regions in Asia is disrupting crop planting and raising concerns over global food supplies, with an expected strong El Niño event projected to intensify climate stress across the world’s most populous region. From India’s grain-producing northwestern plains to Australia’s wheat belt, and from Thailand’s rice fields to Indonesia’s palm oil plantations, prolonged heat and below-normal rainfall are reducing soil moisture and forcing farmers to delay or scale back planting, according to farmers, traders and analysts. The developing El Niño pattern is expected to worsen already strained conditions, compounding the impact of high input costs…

GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that unsafe food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or harmful chemicals kills an estimated 1.5 million people globally each year, with children under five facing the highest risk. In a study covering 194 countries between 2000 and 2021, the UN health agency found that around 886 million people fall ill annually due to foodborne diseases, with young children nearly three times more likely to be affected than other age groups. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said food safety is a universal issue affecting daily life, stressing that it impacts every family and…

United States: FIFA has banned spectators from bringing refillable water bottles into stadiums during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, reversing an earlier policy that permitted fans to carry empty reusable bottles into venues. The decision, announced through an updated stadium code of conduct, comes just months before the tournament begins across the United States, Canada and Mexico. FIFA said the measure was introduced for safety reasons and will be applied uniformly across all World Cup venues. Under the revised guidelines, reusable water bottles are now prohibited inside stadiums. Previously, fans had been allowed to bring transparent, empty refillable plastic bottles…

United States: Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire aimed at ending months of cross-border hostilities, the United States announced on Wednesday, raising hopes for a wider diplomatic breakthrough that could help end the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran. According to a joint statement released by the US State Department following talks in Washington, the ceasefire is contingent upon a complete halt to attacks by Hezbollah and the withdrawal of all its operatives from the South Litani sector. The agreement also calls for the Lebanese Armed Forces to assume exclusive control of designated areas, excluding all non-state armed…

United States: Global oil prices fell on Thursday after Israel and Lebanon agreed to implement a ceasefire, raising hopes that a broader diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran could help ease tensions in the Middle East and eventually restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude futures dropped 0.89% to $96.92 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.81% to $95.24, reversing part of the gains recorded earlier in the week. Both benchmarks had risen about 2% on Wednesday amid renewed hostilities, including reported Iranian attacks on Kuwait and US military strikes near the…

United States: US President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are progressing positively and could produce a breakthrough as early as this weekend, expressing optimism about ongoing diplomatic efforts to end tensions in the Middle East. Speaking at the White House on Wednesday, Trump said he had received encouraging reports on the talks and voiced support for keeping discussions on Iran separate from negotiations involving Lebanon and Hezbollah. “I’d like to have a separate thing, because it is separate,” he told reporters. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said discussions remain focused on Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and…

United Kingdom: The United Kingdom is seeking to recalibrate its diplomatic and economic relationship with China as Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper undertakes a three-day visit to Beijing, marking a continued thaw in ties after years of strained engagement. The visit follows Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trip to China earlier this year and comes amid broader Western efforts to re-engage with Beijing despite unresolved disputes over security, human rights, and China’s position on the war in Ukraine. During meetings with senior Chinese officials, including Vice President Han Zheng, Cooper emphasised the importance of maintaining dialogue and cooperation on global challenges, including…

Pakistan: Pakistani actor and producer Fahad Mustafa has called on the Punjab government to reconsider its current policy on early closing timings for malls and cinemas, stating that the restrictions are negatively impacting the film industry and limiting audience access. In a letter addressed to Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, shared via Instagram, Mustafa noted that most cinemas operate within shopping malls and are directly affected by the government’s austerity-driven early closure policy. He argued that the reduced operating hours are hurting recently released films by restricting box office performance during a critical release window. According to him, a modest…