Aug. 31 – When Pakistan was born from the independence of India in 1947, it was said magical things happened on either side of midnight. Children born within five minutes of midnight possessed powers beyond that of humans, a tale expanded on in Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” – the only book to win the “Booker of Bookers” Prize – in effect, providing it with the title of the best novel written, anywhere, for the past 40 years.

But while magic gave way to strife and distrust, three wars and the slide into chaos and anarchy of a once proud young country, a sense of surrealism still surrounds the relationship between Pakistan and India. Witness then, courtesy of the BBC and narrated by Michael Palin, the daily closing of the border ritual between the two sides. » Read rest of the article

Aug. 31 – Representatives from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority arrived in Beijing on Monday evening for a five-day visit aimed at curbing the illegal tiger trade that is prevalent in China.

The upcoming meetings will mark the first ever round of talks between India and China regarding wildlife conservation and management, according to the Hindu. During discussions, the Indian delegation is expected to urge their Chinese counterparts to continue to enforce their current ban on any domestic trade in tiger parts. It has been reported that Beijing was considering caving in to pressure from “tiger farm” owners who want the Chinese government to permit the trading of tiger parts. » Read rest of the article

Aug. 24 – Road construction, traffic accidents and breakdowns have created 60 miles of bumper-to-bumper gridlock for the past 10 days along the National Expressway 110, also known as the Beijing-Tibet expressway.

Over the weekend, vehicles were lucky to be moving more than a half-mile a day and the situation likely won’t be resolved until highway construction is finished on September 17, according to Zhang Minghai, director of Zhangjiakou’s Traffic Management Bureau. » Read rest of the article

Aug. 23 – As part of a pilot program aimed at curbing India’s runaway population growth, some regional governments have begun offering monetary incentives to newlyweds willing to delay having children for a few years.

Nurses have been going door to door in Maharashtra this summer peddling the so-called “honeymoon package” which pays new couples as much as Rs. 5,000 (US$107) if they wait two years before getting pregnant, according to The New York Times. » Read rest of the article

Aug. 20 – Strong economic growth across emerging Asia over the last few decades, and the subsequent rise of the region’s middle class, is beginning to transform the area from its long-held position as the factory of the world into a massive consumer-driven market.

“Developing Asia’s middle class has increased rapidly in size and purchasing power as strong economic growth in the past two decades has helped reduce poverty significantly and lift previously poor households into the middle class,” says a new study released by the Asian Development Bank on Thursday. » Read rest of the article

Aug. 16 – Vietnam, India, and China helped Asia overtake Europe last year as the world’s largest beer producing region, according to a report released last week by the research division of Kirin Holdings.

The achievement marks the first time Asia has out-produced Europe to claim the top spot since the Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle began gathering regional beer production data in 1974. » Read rest of the article

Aug. 11 – Thailand’s health authorities are urging its population to stop wearing black leggings, a recent trend among the country’s youth, due to the clothing’s tendency to attract mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus.

“I’m worried about how people dress, especially teenagers,” Deputy Public Health Minister Phansiri Kulanartsiri said in a statement released on Sunday. “The mosquitoes can bite through the leggings’ thin fabric, so those who wear them are at greater risk of being infected with dengue.” » Read rest of the article

Aug. 10 – The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) recently released the first ever independent study on global cosmetic surgery trends covering the industry’s 25 most popular countries and regions.

The ISAPS Biennial Global Survey confirmed that the United States and Brazil are in fact the top markets for plastic surgery, but the report also showed a remarkable rise in cosmetic operations among citizens of emerging economies – particularly China and India. » Read rest of the article

Op/Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Aug. 10 – One of the great things about living in Asia is the sheer diversity of culture and, especially for someone who writes a lot about etymology, an abundance of words. Words that are now Anglicized used to belong to different, often ancient, Asian cultures and their meanings or origins have often been lost or changed over time. The title of this article alone, apparently so cheeky and sexy, has little to do with its original intentions. » Read rest of the article

Liverpool's Fernado Torres and Steven Gerrard

Aug. 2 – Kenny Huang, the chief executive of Chinese sports investment company QSL, is in negotiations to buy Liverpool Football Club in a takeover bid that would place the club under Chinese ownership.

The bid, which has been lodged with the backing of mainland investors to the Royal Bank of Scotland, Liverpool FC’s main creditors, would leave the current owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, without profit on their original investment. » Read rest of the article