DHARAMSALA, India, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Tibet’s prime
minister-in-exile said on Thursday he was not encouraging
Tibetans to burn themselves to death in protest at Chinese
repression but it was his sacred duty to show support for the
men and women who have chosen such drastic steps.

A wave of self-immolations has seen at least 11 people,
mainly Buddhist monks and nuns, set themselves ablaze in
predominantly Tibetan areas of China since March, following a
crackdown at monasteries.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Back in the summer, mass anti-corruption protests modelled on Mahatma Gandhi’s methods had India’s government running scared. Now, the political class has a new spring in its step as splits and scandals tarnish activist Anna Hazare’s team.

These have been tough days for Hazare, the 74-year-old whose two-week hunger strike in August captivated the nation and forced a humiliated government to bow to his demands for a powerful new graft watchdog.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Back in the summer, mass anti-corruption protests modelled on Mahatma Gandhi’s methods had India’s government running scared. Now, the political class has a new spring in its step as splits and scandals tarnish the movement’s leaders.

These have been tough days for Anna Hazare, the 74-year-old activist whose two-week hunger strike in August captivated the nation and forced a humiliated government to bow to his demands for a powerful new graft watchdog.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Under pressure from Hindu hardliners, Delhi University has dropped a scholarly text on the Ramayana epic from its history syllabus, in the latest sign of conservatives’ deep influence over a globalising India’s cultural battles.

In October, Delhi University removed the essay by eminent academic A.K. Ramanujan from the reading list after Hindu nationalist students vandalized the history department and lodged a complaint that the text’s bawdy references offended beliefs about the life of hero-god Rama.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Pakistan released an Indian army helicopter just hours after it strayed across the tense border between the two countries on Sunday, an Indian defence ministry spokesman said.

The helicopter landed in Indian territory with its four-member crew, the spokesman said.

NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (Reuters) – The United Nations will play a
leading role in Libya in the aftermath of Muammar Gaddafi’s
death, but it was up to the
country’s new authorities to decide whether that includes
peace-keeping troops, the French foreign minister said on
Friday.

“It will be up to the command of the NTC (National
Transitional Council,)” Alain Juppe said, when asked whether the
U.N. role would include a peace-keeping force on the ground.

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Traditional dress for men in
Myanmar combines an Indian-influenced sarong with a
Chinese-style coat — fitting, perhaps, for a nation trying to
balance ties with two giant neighbours as it looks outwards and
relaxes decades of tightly buttoned rule.

Wedged between India to its west and China to its east,
Myanmar will need to work hard on that balancing act as its
military-backed government heads down the path of political
reform to end the nation’s pariah status and revive its economy.

NEW DELHI, Oct 14 (Reuters) – India promised Myanmar a $500
million credit line to improve infrastructure on Friday and
praised steps towards democracy by its reclusive neighbour,
which is tentatively opening up after half a century of harsh
military rule.

The money and warm words came as Myanmar campaigns to shed
its pariah status. It freed about 200 political prisoners this
week, the latest sign of reforms in the poor and tightly
controlled Southeast Asian country of 50 million people.