India, Asia | featured news

The latest heir apparent to India’s oldest and most powerful political dynasty was elevated Saturday to the ruling Congress party’s second-highest post, a move that the party hopes will revive its fortunes ahead of national elections expected later this year.

Police in the northern Indian state of Punjab said Sunday that they have arrested seven men in the gang rape of a 29-year-old woman who was traveling alone on a bus, less than four weeks after the brutal rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus created a national outcry about the safety of women in public places.

It's no surprise the Indian street wants faster, harsher justice for sexual crimes after a horrific gang rape that rocked the nation, but some activists worry the government will trample fundamental rights in its rush to be in tune with popular rage.

Vodafone said Indian officials sent another notice that it owes more than $2 billion in taxes on the 2007 purchase of a stake in an Indian telecommunications company.

Companion of Indian woman who died from gang-rape says passersby ignored them.

Several of India's car makers reported a drop or a modest increase in sales for December, despite year-end discounts and the recent introduction of new models.

An Indian student who was left critically ill after being gang-raped on a Delhi bus has died, say doctors who were treating her in Singapore. "The patient passed away peacefully at 4:45am on 29 Dec 2012," a statement from the hospital said. The patient's family had been by her side, it added.

...The rape has highlighted the extensive harassment that Indian women face daily in cities and towns, ranging from unwanted hands being placed on them to being blamed for causing the sexual violence. Even rape victims rarely come forward to complain because of the social stigma. Many women say they have structured their entire lives around protecting themselves and their children, and restricting their movements to avoid being molested.

India's rising rape cases -- one every 22 minutes, according to the National Crime Records Bureau -- betray what is wrong with society. Millions of Indians continue to believe that women invite trouble on themselves by being careless. Mothers often chide daughters for wearing provocative clothing, in most cases a sleeveless garment or a pair of hip-hugging jeans

The dozens of vehicles that roared into northeast India this week on a rally from Indonesia symbolize deeper ties between the South Asian giant and Southeast Asia, but the dreadful roads along several parts of the 8,000 km (5,000 mile) journey also show how much remains to be done.