Asia

India and France plan small modular nuclear reactors4 days agoNikita YadavBBC News, DelhiIndia and France plan to work together on developing small modular nuclear reactors, India’s foreign ministry said after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country.
Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron emphasised the importance of nuclear energy for “strengthening energy security” and transitioning towards a “low-carbon economy”.
It comes days after Delhi announced plans to change its strict nuclear liability law, which holds operators accountable for accidents or incidents and has been blamed for delays to previous nuclear projects.
Modi is also expected to discuss potential nuclear investments by US firms during his visit to Washington on Thursday.
India’s foreign ministry said the Delhi and Paris would develop small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors for civil use.
Such reactors can be built in factories and transported to locations where they can be assembled and inst..

Why India fails to protect its domestic workers despite decades of abuse4 days agoCherylann MollanBBC News, MumbaiSmitha (not her real name), a domestic helper in Delhi for 28 years, can’t forget the day she was beaten in public by one of her employers.
The woman had accused Smitha – a Dalit woman from the most discriminated against caste in Hinduism’s entrenched social hierarchy – of stealing her daughter’s earrings and then refused to pay her.
“After many requests, I confronted her in public. That’s when she started abusing and hitting me. I held her hands to stop the abuse but the guards came and dragged me out of the housing society and locked the gate,” Smitha says.
She was eventually paid – a measly 1,000 rupees [$11; £9] for a month of sweeping, mopping and washing dishes – after a more sympathetic family intervened on her behalf. But she was banned from entering the housing community and did not bother going to the police as she believed they would not take ac..

‘DeepSeek moved me to tears’: How young Chinese find therapy in AI5 days agoKelly NgBBC NewsBefore she goes to bed each night, Holly Wang logs on to DeepSeek for “therapy sessions”.
Ever since January, when the breakout Chinese AI app launched, the 28-year-old has brought her dilemmas and sorrows, including the recent death of her grandmother, to the chatbot. Its responses have resonated so deeply they have at times brought her to tears.
“DeepSeek has been such an amazing counsellor. It has helped me look at things from different perspectives and does a better job than the paid counselling services I have tried,” says Holly, who asked for her real name to be withheld to protect her privacy.
From writing reports and Excel formulas to planning trips, workouts and learning new skills, AI apps have found their way into many people’s lives across the world.
In China, though, young people like Holly have been looking to AI for something not typically expected of computing and algorithms – em..

Ed Sheeran stopped from busking in Bengaluru by Indian police4 days agoNikhil Inamdar, BBC News, Delhi@Nik_inamdarBritish pop star Ed Sheeran was stopped from busking in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru on Sunday, with police saying he didn’t have the necessary permissions.
A video showing a local police officer unplugging Sheeran’s microphone on Bengaluru’s Church Street – a crowded shopping and entertainment area – has since gone viral.
Officials told the ANI news agency a request from Mr Sheeran’s team to busk on the road was rejected to avoid congestion in the area.
But Sheeran insisted on Instagram that “we had permission to busk, by the way. Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out before. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See you at the show tonight.”
The incident took place ahead of his scheduled Mathematics Tour concert at NICE Grounds in Bengaluru.
Fans criticised the police intervention online, with one saying: “We live in an uncleocrac..

China’s tit-for-tat tariffs on US take effect4 days agoPeter HoskinsBusiness reporterChina’s tit-for-tat import taxes on some American goods came into effect on Monday, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies escalates and US President Donald Trump threatens to hit more countries with tariffs.
Beijing announced the plan on 4 February, minutes after new US levies of 10% on all Chinese products came into effect.
On Sunday, Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, with a full announcement to come on Monday.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to the Super Bowl, he also said he was planning reciprocal tariffs on other nations – but did not specify which ones would be targeted.
China’s latest tariffs on US goods include a 15% border tax on imports of US coal and liquefied natural gas products. There is also a 10% tariff on American crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.
Last week, Chinese aut..

How a North Korean went from begging to K-pop3 days agoYuna KuBBC KoreanReporting fromSeoulYu Hyuk was just nine years old when he started begging on the streets of North Hamgyong, one of the poorest provinces in North Korea, nestled along the northern border with China and Russia.
Besides begging, he ran errands for soldiers and sold foraged mushrooms. Sometimes he stole food out of sheer hunger: once he snatched a lunchbox that sat unattended at an underground station. Inside was a scoop of spoiled rice.
This was just “part of everyday life” for many North Koreans, he says, adding that his own life was so consumed with survival that it left little room for dreams.
But dream he did. Later on this year, the 25-year-old will debut in the US as a member of a K-pop boy band.
1Verse (pronounced “universe”) is made up of five members: Hyuk, Seok who is also from North Korea, Aito from Japan, and Asian Americans Kenny and Nathan – all prefer to go by their first names. They are set to make..

Trump’s citizenship order leaves expecting Indian immigrant parents in limbo6 days agoSavita PatelWriterReporting fromSan FranciscoNeha Satpute and Akshay Pise felt ready to welcome their first child.
Having worked in the US for more than a decade, the Indian couple who are engineers on H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, expected their son – due on 26 February – to be born an American citizen.
Employed at a large tech firm with a supportive parental leave policy, they had carefully built their life in San Jose, California.
But President Donald Trump recently threw a wrench in their American dream by announcing a rule that would deny automatic US citizenship to children born to temporary foreign workers. Until now, birthright citizenship had been a given regardless of parents’ immigration status.
Two federal judges have blocked the order, which means the ruling cannot take effect until the cases are resolved in court, although there remains a possibility of a higher court overturn..

Chinese film stirs national pride, rakes in $1bn in days3 days agoKoh EweBBC NewsAn animated film about a boy who battles demons with his magical powers has become China’s highest-grossing film ever and a source of national pride.
Ne Zha 2, based on a Chinese mythological character, has raked in more than 8 billion yuan ($1.1bn; £910m) during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, according to ticket sales tracker Maoyan.
It broke the record set by 2021’s The Battle of Lake Changjin, a propaganda film about the 1950s Korean War, which earned about $900m.
Ne Zha 2 is being hailed as a symbol of progress in Chinese film, which has long trailed Hollywood despite a massive domestic market.
Hot off its domestic success, Ne Zha 2 will be shown overseas next week, including in the US, Canada and Australia.
To Chinese viewers, Ne Zha 2 shows how locally-made films are becoming competitive globally.
“It not only showcases the strong power of Chinese animation after its rise, but also demon..

‘Grease and rags’ sewer fatberg halts Bryan Adams concert3 days agoHannah RitchieBBC News, SydneyA “large” sewer blockage caused by “fat, grease and rags” has forced the cancellation of a Bryan Adams concert in Australia on public health grounds.
The Grammy Award winning artist was due to perform at the RAC Arena in Perth on Sunday, but the city’s water corporation said a blocked main risked backing up the venue’s toilets.
Adams apologised to fans on social media – many of whom had lined up for hours only to be turned away – and thanked them for their “patience and support” before promising to try to reschedule the show.
The concert promoter said the cancellation was “bitterly disappointing” and would provide ticketholders with a full refund.
“While every effort was made for the show to proceed, this matter was outside of the control of Bryan Adams, Frontier Touring and RAC Arena,” it wrote in a statement.
Perth’s water corporation said the fatberg responsible for the disruption had ..

New Zealand and Cook Islands fall out over China deal3 days agoKathryn ArmstrongBBC NewsNew Zealand has accused the Cook Islands government of a lack of transparency over its plans to strike a partnership deal with China.
The tiny Pacific Island nation’s leader, Mark Brown, is this week making his country’s first ever state visit to Beijing in order to sign the agreement.
However, New Zealand says it was not properly consulted over the plans, leading to what Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described as a “dispute”.
The Cook Islands is hugely reliant on New Zealand under a longstanding “free association” agreement that provides it with defence and financial support. China’s growing influence in the Pacific has challenged the US and its allies, who have held sway for years.
“We value our partnership with New Zealand and we expect the same respect,” Brown said at a press conference last week. He was due to travel to China on Monday.
“Disagreements, although difficult, are an inevi..