TOKYO -- While the recent Group of Seven summit meeting invited India as a member of the club of democracies to counter autocratic forces led by China and Russia, the behavior of the current Indian government at home belies international confidence.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was less than pleased last year with online criticism of its actions amid protests against farm law reforms. The BJP frequently attacks opponents on Twitter and other online platforms, accusing them of spreading "fake news." Modi's government

PHNOM PENH -- Vietnam's growing dominance as a furniture exporter is at risk as trade authorities in the U.S., its biggest market, probe the country's timber industry and its ties to illegal logging abroad.

The sector has boomed in recent years, thanks in part to former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China, which saw tariffs as high as 25% slapped on Chinese furniture exports.

Vietnam, in fact, overtook China last year in furniture exports to

BANGKOK -- Thailand's food delivery industry is facing mounting financial pressure as the government urges companies to cut fees while drivers demand better pay.

The third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has sharply pushed up demand for food deliveries in Thailand. The market is expected to grow by double digits every year, from 68.8 billion baht ($2.2 billion) in 2020 to more than 74 billion baht in 2021 and as much as 99 billion baht

DHAKA -- China has withdrawn funding for Belt and Road infrastructure projects in Bangladesh after the recipient country re-evaluated the programs and downwardly revised their costs.

At least two rail projects are now uncertain, with another also feared to be in limbo. They are three of many projects listed in a memorandum of understanding signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh's capital in 2016 that also face delays due to China's newfound reluctance.

After re-evaluation reports of several infrastructure projects

Welcome to Your Week in Asia.

This will be a week of Chinese milestones. Weeks of lead-up events have set the stage for the Chinese Communist Party to mark the 100th anniversary of its founding in 1921 in Shanghai on Thursday. For President Xi Jinping, this will be a key occasion to highlight the regime's achievements.

The same day, China will also mark the return of Hong Kong to its rule in 1997. The day before, the city will

MANILA -- Just months before the COVID pandemic drew the curtain over our 'normal' lives, I received an intriguing phone call.

It was from no less than former president Benigno Aquino III, affectionately known as "Noynoy." Aquino, who died from kidney disease last Thursday at the age of 61, was apparently intent on responding to a piece I had written for The Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Five myths of Dutertismo."

At first, the call seemed a tad strange. My column was a critique

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States said on Sunday it carried out another round of airstrikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, this time in response to drone attacks by the militia against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.

In a statement, the U.S. military said it targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq. It did not disclose whether it believed anyone was killed or injured but officials said assessments were ongoing.

The strikes

SRINAGAR, India (AP) -- Indian officials said Sunday they suspect explosives-laden drones were used to attack an air base in the disputed region of Kashmir, calling it the first such incident of its kind in India.

Dilbagh Singh, the region's police director-general, told the private news channel New Delhi Television that "drones with payload were used in both the blasts." Singh called the attack an act of terrorism.

Two soldiers were lightly wounded in the explosions, according to a military officer

TOKYO -- Dormant forces buried under Arctic ice for thousands of years are remerging, posing a multitude of threats to civilization from potential conflicts over newly unearthed resources to viruses long-thought lost to history.

As governments scurry to stop climate change in the 11th hour, temperatures are rising twice as fast in the Arctic as in the rest of the world. The global repercussions came to the forefront this year with an election in Greenland that stymied China's ambitions there .

The rapid melting of Greenland's ice