India’s benchmark stock index jumped 5.5 percent Friday, bolstered by a regional rally and expectations the government will soon take more steps to stimulate the economy.

Lower fuel prices have eased India’s inflation, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.

An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate “mother ship” Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said, yet more violence in the lawless seas where brigands are becoming bolder and more violent.

The Indian navy says its warship dedicated to fighting pirates has successfully fought off an attempted pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden.

India and China’s ability to resist the global economic slowdown will greatly influence whether the crisis drags the world into a depression, a top Pacific Rim trade community economist said Tuesday.

A 7-month-old wild tiger died Tuesday in a central Indian zoo, two days after veterinarians tried to save the cub with a rare blood transfusion, officials said.

Taliban militants attacked Pakistani tribal leaders near the Afghan border, triggering a gunbattle and an explosion that killed seven people, an official said Tuesday.

A Pakistani official says a clash between Taliban militants and pro-government tribal elders has left at least five people dead.

For two decades the Tibetan struggle against China has been defined by the Dalai Lama’s measured path of compromise. Now, it could be abandoned for the long-held but unlikely dream of independence.

Large crowds voted in some towns in Indian Kashmir on Monday while protesters clashed with police in others as state elections began amid boycott calls by Muslim separatists.