In India and Pakistan, maximum temperatures were consistently above 40 degrees Celsius for over a fortnight, exceeding the average for early April by up to 10C in some areas.
President Biden can change the course of history by amending his executive order so as to keep Afghanistan's assets untouched, faciliate infusion of cash into its economy and continue with the good policy of sending humanitarian aid to one of the wold's poorest counntries.
For now, farmers have been able to boost agricultural productivity by irrigating more land and applying heavier doses of fertilizer and pesticides. But the FAO report says these practices are not sustainable: They have eroded and degraded soil while polluting and depleting water supplies and shrinking the world’s forests.
The annual output of pine nuts in Afghanistan is around 20,000 tons, with an export volume of $800 million. It also creates jobs for more than 100,000 locals.
Russian action in Kazakhstan should serve as a sobering reminder to Western countries that Russia is willing to act decisively to protect its interests and retain its influence in the neighboring countries.
South Asia is not only the home of an amazing variety of different religions and cults, it is also the birthplace of religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism to name just the largest. Arriving from abroad, Islam, Zoroastrianism and Christianity have contributed an independent South Asian variety to the original belief system.
The wintering season has begun in Kashmir, when thousands of birds should be arriving from northerly breeding grounds. But looking at the grim water situation in Hokersar, many migratory birds are heading elsewhere, unable to find suitable habitat in the Hokersar Wetland.
Will the West sanction Afghanistan even if the Taliban and other stakeholders manage to cobble together a mutually inclusive and acceptable government comprising representatives of women and all ethnic groups from across Afghanistan?
Militant tensions continue existing between insurgents 50 years later in many Indian states and the central government that aims at ‘Indianizing’ them as well as amongst their indigenous people and migrants from other parts of India and illegal immigrants mainly of Bengalis origin.
