India and Russia could be thinking big after Doval-Patrushev talks on Afghanistan 
The SCO and Afghanistan: View from Uzbekistan 
Taliban name new Afghan government amid protests in Kabul 
An elegy for Pranab Mukherjee from Bangladesh 
Digital Transformation – Change Makers Reimagining Education Problem of plenty: Nepal has more Covid-19 vaccines than it can administer
Now the worry for Nepal health officials is that its vaccines are accumulating faster than it is able to utilise them.
Blog
Did “Boycott China” work? India’s exports to China increase in 2020
Trade deficit with China has declined 19.39 per cent from USD 56.95 billion in 2019 to USD 45.91 billion in 2020 as the country’s imports from the neighbouring country contracted 10.87 per cent to USD 66.78 billion from USD 74.92 billion in 2019, the data showed.
Asian human rights defenders call for immediate end to targetting killings in Afghanistan
According to a new UN report, 11 human rights defenders including media professionals were killed in targeted attacks since September 2020.
Balochistan: In the Crosshairs of History (Book Review)
South Asia is standing at the cusp of major geo-political shifts and the issue of Balochistan will acquire greater salience. Given the paucity of literature on Balochistan this volume becomes a timely intervention
Exclusive: India to clear 45 investments from China, likely to include Great Wall, SAIC – sources
The change in the Indian government’s stance follows an improvement in the border situation. Troops who were in eyeball to eyeball confrontation in territory claimed by both sides have been withdrawn, the two countries announced on Sunday.
China calls for reset in Sino-US relations
Wang Yi, a Chinese state councillor and foreign minister, said Beijing stood ready to reopen constructive dialogue with Washington after relations between the two countries sank to their lowest in decades under former president Donald Trump.
Russia reports world’s first case of human infection with H5N8 bird flu
Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain have been reported in Russia, Europe, China, the Middle East and North Africa in recent months but so far only in poultry. Other strains – H5N1, H7N9 and H9N2 – have been known here) to spread to humans
Israel says it’s developing new ballistic missile shield with US amid Iran tensions
“Arrow-4 will be an advanced, innovative interceptor missile with enhanced capabilities.”
Why India is buying more crude oil from Africa & North America and not Middle East
India’s shift to exporters like US and Nigeria comes amid an increased demand for gasoline, as the pandemic pushes people to private cars instead of public transport.
India, China reach disengagement pact in Pangong lake areas in Ladakh: Rajnath; Army tanks begin pullback
A video shared by the Indian Army showed the pulling back of three tanks of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and one by the Indian side from south of Pangong Tso besides brief shots of a meeting between troops of the two sides.