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Anuj Pant

Assistant Editor, Asia

Anuj Pant is Assistant Editor, Asia for The Independent. He has worked as a television producer for three TV shows, including the Indian adaptations for ‘Big Brother’ and popular game show ‘Deal or no Deal’ prior to transitioning to journalism and working for both, a leading national news network and a niche environment magazine. He has also edited books as a freelancer and his interests lie in politics, the environment, science and science fiction, apart from being an ardent cinephile and book hoarder most of the time.

<p>This file photo taken on 15 March 2022 shows a US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft landing during a joint exercise with Japanese Self Defense Forces members at the Higashifuji training area in Gotemba</p>
Japan

US military aircraft with 6 on board crashes into sea off Japan

<p>Representational image showing pygmy elephant ‘Joe’ inside a temporary holding cage at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Malaysia in 2013</p>
Southeast Asia

Angry elephant herd crushes car of Malaysian family after it hits calf

Africa

Morocco quake that killed over 2,000 was north Africa’s most powerful

<p>Meenakshi Lekhi (centre) seen here running away from a reporter asking her about India’s top wrestlers protesting sexual harassment </p>
News

Minister runs from reporter to evade questions over wrestlers’ protest

<p>Guaifenesin is said to have ‘unacceptable amounts’ of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, chemicals that can prove fatal</p>
India

WHO flags India-made cough syrup with ‘unacceptable’ toxic chemicals

<p>This combination of photos provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test of underwater strategic weapon system held during April 4 to 7, 2023, in the waters off South Hamgyong Province in North Korea</p>
East Asia

North Korea tests nuclear-capable underwater attack drone

<p>In this file photo taken on 10 July 2008, a bulldozer makes its way along the Nathu La Pass </p>
India

Seven tourists dead and many feared trapped by huge avalanche in India

<p>The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina on 4 February</p>
Americas

China’s balloons floated above Hawaii and Florida under Trump: report

<p>Vehicles are stranded by flood water in Auckland on 28 January a day after record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand’s largest city, causing widespread disruption</p>
News

Auckland ‘clobbered’ with record-breaking downpour and massive floods

<p>Afghan people stand in queues to receive food aid from a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Kabul on 25 December</p>
South Asia

NGOs pull out of Afghanistan after Taliban orders firing women staff

<p>A demonstrator holds a banner with an image of Chinese president Xi Jinping, during a protest in front of the Chinese embassy in Berlin in solidarity with protesters in China</p>
World

Xi Jinping ‘unwilling to take better vaccine from the west,’ US says

<p>A local stands near houses damaged after an earthquake in Cianjur</p>
Southeast Asia

More than 160 dead and hundreds injured after Indonesia earthquake

<p>This screengrab taken from a video provided to AFPTV by an anonymous source on 16 September 2022 shows thick smoke billowing from a skyscraper in Changsha, Hunan </p>
China

Major fire breaks out at skyscraper in China

China

Major fire breaks out at skyscraper in China

<p>This screengrab taken from a video provided to AFPTV by an anonymous source on 16 September 2022 shows thick smoke billowing from a skyscraper in Changsha, Hunan </p>
Crime

Girl, 9, shot dead in home as police launch manhunt for killer

<p>Onlookers gather around the wreckage of a passenger vehicle that plunged into a deep ravine in Qila Saifullah district of Balochistan province on 8 June 2022</p>
South Asia

Pakistan bus crashes into ravine in country’s southwest, killing 22

<p>File photo: In May last year, about seven people drowned after a tourist boat had capsized off the Boyolali regency in central Java</p>
Southeast Asia

At least 26 missing after boat with 43 onboard capsizes in Indonesia

<p>An elderly man receives a Covid vaccination at a makeshift centre in a government school in New Delhi, India on 28 January 2022</p>
India

India allows all adults to get Covid booster jabs at private centres

<p>An elderly man receives a Covid vaccination at a makeshift centre in a government school in New Delhi, India on 28 January 2022</p>
India

India allows all adults to get Covid booster jabs at private centres

<p>Imran Khan has called for fresh elections in a shocking twist </p>
South Asia

Pakistan PM Imran Khan calls for fresh elections

<p>White House press secretary Jen Psaki looks on during a briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on 1 April 2022</p>
US politics

Trump calls Jen Psaki ‘the woman with the really beautiful red hair’

<p>File: Smoke rise after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol, Ukraine</p>
Europe

Civilians from Ukraine’s Mariupol to be evacuated in second attempt

<p>File: A Russian armored personnel carrier burns amid damaged and abandoned light utility vehicles after fighting in Kharkiv, Ukraine on 27 February</p>
Europe

Russia announces temporary ceasefire in two Ukrainian cities

<p>File: Harbor cranes are seen at the trade port in Mariupol, Ukraine on 23 February 2022</p>
Europe

Mariupol mayor says looking for ways to get city ‘out of blockade’

<p>A young girl fleeing the war in Ukraine looks out of the window as her train arrives in Przemysl, Poland</p>
Europe

More than 1.5 million flee Ukraine in fastest-growing refugee crisis

<p>Marjorie Taylor Greene delivers an ‘America First response’ to US president Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech from a hotel room in Washington on 1 March 2022</p>
US politics

Marjorie Taylor Greene wildly claims Biden being blackmailed by Russia

<p>A picture shows the almost deserted center of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on 25 February 2022</p>
Europe

Taliban calls for calm in Ukraine

<p>A young girl fleeing the war in Ukraine looks out of the window as her train arrives in Przemysl, Poland</p>
Europe

More than 1.5 million flee Ukraine in fastest-growing refugee crisis

<p>Marjorie Taylor Greene delivers an ‘America First response’ to US president Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech from a hotel room in Washington on 1 March 2022</p>
US politics

Marjorie Taylor Greene wildly claims Biden being blackmailed by Russia

<p>A picture shows the almost deserted center of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on 25 February 2022</p>
Europe

Taliban calls for calm in Ukraine

<p>A volunteer stands next to the aerials course during preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjakou</p>
China

US denies Chinese media claims of trying to ‘disrupt’ Winter Olympics

China

US denies Chinese media claims of trying to ‘disrupt’ Winter Olympics

<p>A volunteer stands next to the aerials course during preparations for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjakou</p>
<p>New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern will be isolating till Tuesday after an ‘exposure event’ that occurred on 22 January during a flight from Kerikeri to Auckland</p>
Australasia

Jacinda Ardern self-isolates after coming in contact with Covid case

<p>Luis ‘Chavit’ Singson posted a video of himself 'shooting' money at his constituents, courting controversy</p>
Southeast Asia

Philippine mayor uses gold toy gun to ‘shoot’ money at constituents

<p>Deputy assignment editor Ronson Chan of the online media outlet Stand News speaks to members of the press outside the media outlet office after taken for questioning by the police in Hong Kong, on 29 December 2021</p>
China

Stand News: Hong Kong police charge two with sedition

<p>A burnt passenger ferry is seen anchored on the bank of Sugandha river, after a fire that killed at least 38 in Jhalalathi, Bangladesh on Friday </p>
South Asia

At least 38 dead after packed ferry catches fire in Bangladesh

<p>A burnt passenger ferry is seen anchored on the bank of Sugandha river, after a fire that killed at least 38 in Jhalalathi, Bangladesh on Friday </p>
South Asia

At least 38 dead after packed ferry catches fire in Bangladesh

<p>A woman wearing a face mask stands in front of the logo of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics before the Olympics flame exhibition tour at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, in Beijing, China on 9 December 2021</p>
East Asia

China says UK and US will ‘pay the price’ over boycott of Winter Games

<p>File: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not had kind words for social media platforms in the past as well</p>
Australasia

Australia wants to out online ‘bots, bigots and trolls’ using new laws

<p>Lee Soon-ja, second from right, the wife of the late former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan, watches the coffin containing the body of her husband at a funeral hall in Seoul, South Korea on 27 November 2021 </p>
East Asia

Widow of S Korea’s last dictator apologises for husband’s brutal rule

<p>Two English ships were fined during checks off Le Havre, France </p>
UK Politics

France detains British trawler amid dispute over fishing rights

<p>Firefighters work to put out a fire at a gunpowder and chemicals plant in Ryazan Region on 22 October </p>
World

16 killed in blast at gunpowder plant in Russia

<p>Visitors look at the skeleton of a gigantic Triceratops over 66 million years old, named ‘Big John’, on display before its auction at Drouot auction house in Paris, France on 20 October 2021</p>
Science

World’s largest triceratops sells for $7.7mn at Paris auction house

<p>An illustration of Nasa’s Perseverance rover with its two microphones</p>
Space

Nasa releases incredible audio captured by Perseverance rover on Mars

<p>A reconstruction of the ‘Terropterus xiushanensis’ sea scorpion</p>
Science

Dog-sized sea scorpions in south China were ‘top predators’: study

<p>An artist’s interpretation of a rare radio signal from a mysterious object near the centre of the Milky Way. This radio signal is highly polarised and is thus extremely rare</p>
Space

Mysterious object at the centre of the galaxy emits rare radio signal

<p>File: A new iPhone 13 on display at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store during the launch of the phones on 24 September 2021 in New York City</p>
Tech

Apple to slash iPhone 13 production amid global chip shortage

<p>A magnified view of one of four charred seeds of the wild tobacco species Nicotiana Attenuata dating to 12,300 years ago that were found at the Wishbone site in Great Salt Lake Desert in northern Utah</p>
Science

Humans have been using tobacco for over 12,000 years - study shows

Science

Humans have been using tobacco for over 12,000 years - study shows

<p>A magnified view of one of four charred seeds of the wild tobacco species Nicotiana Attenuata dating to 12,300 years ago that were found at the Wishbone site in Great Salt Lake Desert in northern Utah</p>
<p>File: A health worker administers a Covid vaccine dose to a resident as he takes a selfie, during mass vaccination at the Ilha Grande island, one of the most famous tourist spots in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil</p>
Science

Entire Brazil town enlisted by Pfizer to study its Covid vaccine

<p>A health official administers a dose of the Pfizer vaccine to a student during the initiation of a Covid-19 vaccination drive for students at Pibool Uppatham school, in Bangkok, Thailand on 4 October 2021</p>
Science

Pfizer vaccine protection wanes months after second shot, show studies

<p>Major social media services including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were hit by a massive outage on 4 October 2021, tracking sites showed, impacting potentially tens of millions of users</p>
Tech

Single wrong command took down Facebook’s ‘backbone’, says company

<p>Steam billows out of the cooling towers at a coal-fired power station in Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu province. Global shoppers face possible shortages of smartphones and other goods ahead of Christmas</p>
China

China power crunch sees potentially millions of homes in the dark

<p>Steam billows out of the cooling towers at a coal-fired power station in Nanjing in east China's Jiangsu province. Global shoppers face possible shortages of smartphones and other goods ahead of Christmas</p>
China

China power crunch sees potentially millions of homes in the dark

<p>File: Healthcare workers take part in a ceremony kicking off a door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination campaign in El Alto, Bolivia on 16 September 2021</p>
World

Covid pandemic brings biggest cut to life expectancy since World War 2

<p>File: This 15 September 2021 photo provided by the North Korean government shows a test missile being launched from a train in an undisclosed location of North Korea</p>
East Asia

North Korea says Aukus deal could trigger ‘nuclear arms race’

<p>Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) police officers load a body bag onto a van in the aftermath of a prison fire at a hospital in Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia, 8 September 2021</p>
Southeast Asia

Fire at overcrowded Indonesian prison kills at least 41 people

<p>The American Red Cross providing food, supplies and toiletries in August</p>
South Asia

Afghanistan: UN warns on collapse of basic services and food shortages

<p>File: Afghan resistance movement and anti-Taliban uprising forces take part in military training at the Abdullah Khil area of Dara district in Panjshir province on 24 August </p>
South Asia

Taliban says it has complete control of Panjshir province: report

<p>Lynn Mall staff comfort each other as they wait to leave with police after a violent extremist took out a terrorist attack stabbing six people before being shot by police on 3 September 2021 in Auckland, New Zealand</p>
Australasia

New Zealand supermarket stabbing a ‘terrorist’ attack, says PM

<p>File: Tech companies in China have been facing the heat from the country’s regulators</p>
China

China’s new privacy law is one of the toughest data protection schemes

<p>File: Joe Biden’s administration will not extend a $300 unemployment benefit boost to citizens again</p>
US politics

Biden won’t extend $300 unemployment benefit past September

<p>The Taliban’s claims of allowing more freedom to Afghanistan’s citizens, especially women, has rung hollow on the ground</p>
South Asia

German public broadcaster’s relative killed by Taliban

<p>A Pakistani security official stands guard during an Ashura Day procession, the climax of the holy month of Muharram, in Hyderabad, on 19 August 2021</p>
South Asia

Explosion hits Shia procession in Pakistan, killing 3 and injuring 50

<p>This image, courtesy of the US Air Force, shows the inside of a C-17 Globemaster III flown from Kabul to Qatar with 640 Afghans on board on 15 August 2021</p>
South Asia

T-shirts depicting Afghans falling from US aircraft being sold online

South Asia

T-shirts depicting Afghans falling from US aircraft being sold online

<p>This image, courtesy of the US Air Force, shows the inside of a C-17 Globemaster III flown from Kabul to Qatar with 640 Afghans on board on 15 August 2021</p>
<p>Benjamin Glynn was also sentenced to six weeks’ jail in Singapore for not wearing a mask and harassing police</p>
Southeast Asia

Briton to be deported from Singapore for refusing to wear mask

<p>Afghans gather outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport to flee the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, 19 August 2021</p>
US politics

11 governors ask to take 22,000 refugees from Afghanistan

<p>People wait to receive a dose of Covishield, a vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, at a cinema hall in India’s Mumbai city on 17 August 2021</p>
India

WHO identifies fake Covid jabs in India administered as ‘Covishield’

<p>People visit a Covid-19 testing station during a nationwide lockdown in Wellington on 18 August 2021</p>
Australasia

New Zealand locks down as number of Delta cases jumps to seven

<p>People visit a Covid-19 testing station during a nationwide lockdown in Wellington on 18 August 2021</p>
Australasia

New Zealand locks down as number of Delta cases jumps to seven

<p>File: Logan Barnhart, a bodybuilder from Michigan, was arrested by the FBI for allegedly dragging a police officer down a set of stairs during the Capitol riots</p>
US Crime News

US bodybuilder ‘seen dragging officer during Capitol riots’ arrested

<p>File: A woman holds a banner showing exiled Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani during a protest outside the Anti-Corruption Summit in London</p>
News

‘I’m pretty burned out’: Afghan president Ghani’s daughter in New York

News & Advice

Mother claims flight attendant told her to ‘glue’ mask to child’s face

<p>File: Former US president Donald Trump has called for current president Joe Biden’s resignation</p>
News

Trump wants Biden to ‘resign in disgrace’ in presidential blame game

<p>File: Allegations of rape by a woman employee of Alibaba Group has sent shockwaves in China’s tech industry</p>
China

Police investigating Alibaba manager for ‘forcible indecency’ not rape

<p>File: Malaysian prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin has resigned</p>
Southeast Asia

Malaysian PM resigns after failing to garner majority support

<p>File: Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in Kunduz city, northern Afghanistan, August 9 2021</p>
South Asia

US envoy urges Taliban to stop its offensive and return to talks

<p>File: Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, says the implementation of the Chinese anti-sanctions law should be done locally</p>
China

Carrie Lam backs retaliatory sanctions against US, western nations

<p>Members of the Congress women’s wing protest against the alleged rape, murder and forceful cremation of a nine-year-old girl in Delhi</p>
India

Anger in India after ‘gang rape’ and forced cremation of Dalit girl, 9

<p>File: The logo of Alibaba Group is seen at its office in Beijing, China January 5 2021</p>
China

Alibaba staff fired over rape claims showing work culture ‘problems’

<p>File: Sunscreens that contain chemicals damaging corals have been banned by the Thailand government from all of its marine parks</p>
News

Thailand bans coral-damaging sunscreens in marine parks

<p>File: Indonesia is home to the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, which has inhabited the country’s islands for millions of years</p>
Southeast Asia

Indonesia says ‘Jurassic Park’ project on track despite Unesco warning

<p>Reporter Jakob Emerson soon disappeared behind the camera to capture the sinking of the pickup truck at Lake Springfield in Illinois</p>
Americas

TV reporter interrupted as pickup truck sinks into lake behind him

<p>File: A health worker prepares a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Lahore, Pakistan</p>
South Asia

Pakistan reaches 1m Covid shots a day, after imposing strict penalties

<p>File: This photo taken on 19 January 2021 shows a general view of traffic stopped at a red light on a street in Wuhan, China</p>
China

China to test Wuhan’s 11 million residents amid new Covid outbreak

<p>File: Ajee Wilson of Team United States and Chunyu Wang of Team China compete during the Women's 800m heats at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games</p>
Olympic News

Chinese athletes crumble under nationalist pressure

<p>File: A health worker prepares a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Lahore, Pakistan</p>
South Asia

Pakistan reaches 1m Covid shots a day, after imposing strict penalties

<p>File: This photo taken on 19 January 2021 shows a general view of traffic stopped at a red light on a street in Wuhan, China</p>
China

China to test Wuhan’s 11 million residents amid new Covid outbreak

<p>File: Ajee Wilson of Team United States and Chunyu Wang of Team China compete during the Women's 800m heats at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games</p>
Olympic News

Chinese athletes crumble under nationalist pressure

<p>File: Michael Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medal winner, is regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time</p>
Olympic News

Michael Johnson hits back at Simone Biles critics

<p>File: Barack Obama plans to host a birthday bash even as concerns remain over the Covid pandemic</p>
US politics

Obama throwing ‘big’ 60th birthday party at Martha’s Vineyard mansion

<p>Screengrab: A Chinese firefighter is seen holding a rescued baby while wading through floodwater</p>
China

Baby rescued from China floods as deadly torrential rains continue

<p>A man wades past a submerged car along a flooded street following heavy rains in Zhengzhou on Tuesday</p>
News

At least 25 dead in China floods seen ‘once in a thousand years’

<p>A health worker (L) inoculates a man with a dose of the Covishield vaccine against the Covid-19 coronavirus during a vaccination drive for shopkeepers and their staff members in Ahmedabad </p>
Asia

Why India is yet to accept over 7.5 million free Covid vaccine doses

<p>A person rides a bicycle in front of the Olympic village in Tokyo</p>
Asia

WHO says Covid cases at Olympics ‘inevitable’

<p> Rudy Giuliani, speaks at a news conference in the parking lot of a landscaping company in Philadelphia in November 2020</p>
US politics

Giuliani was blocked from preparing Trump for debate says book

<p>File: In this 2014 image, Jamie Kermond of Australia competes at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Caen</p>
Olympics

Australian showjumper tests positive for cocaine on eve of Tokyo Games

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