Pakistan has sent a delegation to Afghanistan to facilitate trade between the two countries, but diplomatic relations remain strained, according to analyst Riccardo Valle, co-founder of the Khorasan Diary, a platform for journalists, researchers, and academics. Attacks by the Pakistani Taliban continue to be a thorn for Islamabad. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is grappling with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State.
The UNODC reports record production in 2023 with an 18 per cent increase in land under poppy cultivation. Civil war has led to crop replacement at the expense of rice or maize. Opium is refined locally, with heroin smuggled to neighbouring countries before reaching the global market.
Today's news: Bangkok court convicts Chinese businessman and three accomplices for running a surrogate mother circuit; Agreement between IMF and Islamabad to allocate a first tranche of .1 billion; Aramco will increase gas production by 60%; Two Vietnamese pro-minority activists sentenced to prison for 'abuse of democratic freedoms'.
Today's news: only 51.7% of South Koreans want to get married, 28.3% intend to have children 'with certainty'; Hanoi reports annual crop losses of three billion dollars, Mekong Delta in crisis; Elections in India scheduled between 19 April and early June; The Israeli government instituted the annual national day of remembrance of the 'catastrophe' on 7 October; Russian President Putin re-elected with 87.17% of the vote.
Today's news: consumer prices in China rise for the first time in six months, driven by the New Year; Punjab, blasphemy: 22-year-old student sentenced to death for Whatsapp messages, a 17-year-old to life imprisonment; UN enquiry: Iran responsible for 'physical violence' that killed Mahsa Amini; Settlement and settler attacks in the West Bank reacheshttps://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/china-economy-consumer-prices-february-chinese-new-year-4183161 record levels.
Today's news: Beijing strengths law on state secrets to include those related to 'work'. Mayors of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv confirmed in local elections in Israel. The fourth spill of treated Fukushima water into the ocean is expected today. Hanoi ready to ratify UN convention on trade union freedom by the end of the year.
