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What the Epstein Files Say About India, and Why the Opposition Wants Answers
What the Epstein Files Say About India, and Why the Opposition Wants Answers

The U.S. government recently released files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy American financier who cultivated relationships with heads of government, senior politicians, intelligence linked figures and influential academics across countries. The data includes a 2017 email that claims India’s Prime Minister followed Epstein’s advice in visiting Israel to strengthen ties with the United States.

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Bangladesh Elections 2026 | Issues, Fears and Islamic Radicalisation
What GDP, Rankings & Statistics Don’t Tell You About Real Life
Rights Are Recognised, Not Granted

Newsreel Asia is an independent news media committed to rigorous journalism and narrative storytelling across governance, democracy, economy and society, focused currently on India. Founded on World Press Freedom Day 2021, we work to cut through the noise and bring clear, truthful reporting to the forefront. Our perspective is humanitarian — we look at how issues shape the lives of ordinary citizens, not through the lens of political ideologies.

Articles
What the Epstein Files Say About India, and Why the Opposition Wants Answers

The U.S. government recently released files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy American financier who cultivated relationships with heads of government, senior politicians, intelligence linked figures and influential academics across countries. The data includes a 2017 email that claims India’s Prime Minister followed Epstein’s advice in visiting Israel to strengthen ties with the United States.

Supreme Court Affirms Menstrual Health as Part of Right to Life

Adolescent girls in many parts of India miss several days of school each month during their periods due to lack of sanitary products, inadequate toilets and fear of public embarrassment. In response to this widespread exclusion, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that access to menstrual health is part of the fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The ruling affirms that denying girls the means to manage their periods in school violates their right to live with dignity, safety and equal opportunity.

Economic Survey: Despite Growth, Most Indians Live With Job Insecurity

The Economic Survey 2025-26, released on January 29, presents an economy that appears strong in headline numbers, yet several of its findings raise concern for everyday life, with direct effects on households through jobs, incomes, prices, security and access to public support.

Why India’s Charter Aviation Rules Need Urgent Institutional Reform

A fatal plane crash near Baramati on January 28 killed Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others during a chartered flight operated by a private aviation company. The incident demands an examination of whether India’s aviation system contains the structural safeguards found in more developed regulatory environments.

Government’s Low Healthcare Spending Leads to Structural Injustice, Study Shows

A new study, which analysed healthcare spending in India from 1991 to 2023, has shown that when the government spends less on healthcare, families are forced to cover more of their medical costs on their own, often pushing them into debt or leading them to delay or skip treatment. This means every funding decision by the government directly affects whether healthcare becomes more accessible or turns into a financial burden for the majority of the citizens.

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Articles
Dignity of Labour in India Must Mean Justice
Dignity of Labour in India Must Mean Justice

In India, the idea of dignity of labour is missing in large part due to the caste system. While some discussion has begun, much of it centres on showing respect to workers or speaking favourably about their occupations. This limited framing can mask deeper issues of discrimination, exclusion and injustice. It does little to uphold the dignity of either the worker or the work.

Bhutan’s Journalists Face Growing Information Blockades
Bhutan’s Journalists Face Growing Information Blockades

Officials in Bhutan appear to have cultivated a habit of avoiding the media and withholding information, leaving journalists with few avenues for access. The resulting silence is straining an already fragile media landscape, pushing it closer to collapse.

News Commentaries

Videos
Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka
Stunted Futures: Malnutrition in Rural Karnataka

Kavitha, a mother in Raichur district, doesn’t follow the nutrition charts or growth tracking numbers. What she understands is hunger. The rice from the public distribution shop lasts less than a week. On some nights, there’s nothing but water and silence. For families like hers, malnutrition isn’t just a report—it’s dinner time.

Video Features

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Inside Assam’s Bulldozer Politics Against Bengali-Speaking Muslims
Inside Assam’s Bulldozer Politics Against Bengali-Speaking Muslims

Suleman Ali lived his entire life in Hasila Beel, a village in Assam’s Goalpara district. He built his home brick by brick over years of labor, married off his daughters there, and believed his documents proved he belonged. But one morning in June 2025, bulldozers reduced it all to rubble.

Videos
The Hidden Threat To India's Workforce
The Hidden Threat To India's Workforce

To investigate if your 9-5 corporate job has labour laws for your safety and well-being, Newsreel Asia producer Jyoti Jangra travels to India’s Silicon Valley—Bengaluru—to find out a quiet crisis unfolding inside corporate cubicles: the crumbling mental health and legal protections of India’s white-collar workforce.

Videos
Why Sikkim Has the Highest Suicide Rate
Why Sikkim Has the Highest Suicide Rate

Narsisus was addicted for 27 years and survived multiple suicide attempts. Today, he runs a modest community rehab centre. With no frills, only a few beds, basic meals and peer support, it offers a fragile but vital lifeline for those who walk through its doors. His journey, from the darkest moments to helping others avoid the same brink, unfolds in a state battling one of India’s deadliest mental health crises: Sikkim.

MAPPING INDIA

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What 9 Communities Taught Me Over Dinner
What 9 Communities Taught Me Over Dinner


What do India’s persecuted communities go through behind closed doors? What happens when you sit across a dinner table and truly listen? Over the course of 9 powerful episodes, The Dinner Table, a docu-series by Newsreel Asia, brings together stories from communities who have long been silenced, sidelined, or targeted — simply for their identity, faith, or beliefs.

DOCUSERIES

Videos
What These 10 Powerful Stories Teach about Resilience
What These 10 Powerful Stories Teach about Resilience

This video is a powerful summary of Stories of Resilience — featuring an acid attack survivor, a cancer fighter, a bipolar disorder survivor, a single father, a trans woman reclaiming dignity, a domestic abuse survivor, a woman freed from bonded labour, a mother who rebuilt life after loss, a widow raising her child alone, and Bengaluru’s first woman BMTC driver.

Ten lives. Ten journeys.
One message: resilience.

Watch to get inspired and find strength against all odds.

Videos
AI Enters Our Sexual and Emotional Realm | Who Will Ensure Protection?
AI Enters Our Sexual and Emotional Realm | Who Will Ensure Protection?

Online technology, despite its many advantages and advancements, now faces a formidable challenge. How do we safeguard our emotional and psychological wellbeing? This is the third in a series of stories and interviews by Newsreel Asia journalist Surabhi Singh, looking into how social media platforms and messaging apps have increasingly become hubs for the circulation of harmful and illegal sexual content. Now, joining these digital spaces are AI platforms, adding a new and deeply complex layer of concern.

Videos
Unequal Earnings in Salt Farming
Unequal Earnings in Salt Farming

Gujarat stands as India’s foremost salt-producing state, contributing 85% to the nation's total salt output. Within Gujarat, 31% of this production originates from the Agariya community living within the Little Rann of Kutch. Despite being the primary contributors to the salt industry, the Agariya people find themselves receiving the smallest share of profits. Furthermore, they grapple with the adverse effects of climate change, directly impacting their livelihoods. In this narrative, Bhopa and Gunand, two Agariya salt farmers, shed light on the disparity in earnings within the salt farming sector.

Videos
UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat
UNEQUAL LIVES | Everyday Struggles of Dalits in Gujarat

Bhupat Bhai Sekhaliya, a diligent and hardworking rickshaw driver from Gujarat, belongs to the Dalit community. Despite his unwavering dedication, the respect he deserves eludes him, particularly from individuals of "upper" castes in his vicinity. Many daily activities, deemed "normal" for any resident, remain inaccessible to him. Defiance can lead to physical assault. However, Bhupat's story is not an isolated incident. In Gujarat, the spectre of violence against Dalits looms large, with an average of four cases reported daily. The past seven years have seen a staggering total of over 9,000 documented instances of such violence.

Videos
BREATHLESS IN DELHI | The Human Cost of Air Pollution
BREATHLESS IN DELHI | The Human Cost of Air Pollution

If you are living in Delhi, you might lose 12 years of your life because of air pollution. Jyoti Lavakare Pande, an author and a journalist from Delhi, writes an open letter to highlight the intensity of pollution in Delhi. She reflects on her mother's vibrant and resilient life, filled with smiles and melodies. Her mother, Kamale Pande, a classical vocalist, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, struggling for every breath in Delhi's pollution. She pens down her mother’s journey to raise awareness about the invisible killer looming in Delhi’s air.

Videos
Challenges of Reporting Conflict From the Frontlines
Challenges of Reporting Conflict From the Frontlines

To mark four years since its founding on World Press Freedom Day, Newsreel Asia hosted an online discussion with frontline journalists who have reported from some of India’s most volatile conflict zones. The conversation took place just days before the latest escalation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, which saw the use of missiles, drones and artillery fire along the Line of Control.

‘Revisiting Childhood,’ with Screenwriter, Lyricist and Filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi
‘Revisiting Childhood,’ with Screenwriter, Lyricist and Filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi

This video is from the third episode of our online event series, “Newsreel Asia Conversations,” which gives you a chance to interact with filmmakers who explore social, economic and political themes in their works. It all came together from our team's interactions with these creative minds at the 2024 Dharamshala International Film Festival. In this episode, we featured screenwriter, lyricist and filmmaker Shashwat Dwivedi, and our conversation centred on “Revisiting Childhood,” based on his latest film “Bobby Beauty Parlour.”

EVENTS: Conversations