Indian Sub-continent

KABUL, Jan 2 (NNN-ANA) – Afghanistan’s exports in 2023 reached nearly two billion U.S. dollars, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, said.

“The volume of Afghanistan’s exports in the past year reached 1.9 billion U.S. dollars, and the figure shows a two percent increase, which is equal to 41 million U.S. dollars, against the export volume in 2022,” the private television channel, Tolonews, quoted Jawad as saying today.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 01 (APP): Pakistan and India on Monday exchanged the lists of their nuclear installations and facilities as part of an annual practice of the new year.

The list of Pakistan’s nuclear installations was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Simultaneously, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also handed over the list of its nuclear installations and facilities to a representative of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

ISLAMABAD, Jan 1 (NNN-APP) – Pakistan earned 892.972 million U.S. dollars through IT exports in Jul-Nov, the first five months of the ongoing fiscal year 2023-24, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said, yesterday.

On a year-on-year basis, the sector saw a 4.45 percent growth, as compared to 854.918 million U.S. dollars recorded during the corresponding months of fiscal year 2022-23, the bureau said.

DHAKA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - A court in Bangladesh on Monday sentenced Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to six months in prison for labour law violations, prosecutors said, for what he said was a crime he did not commit.

Yunus, 83, and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 peace prize for their work to lift millions out of poverty by granting tiny loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh, pioneering a global movement now known as microcredit.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s independent human rights commission said Monday there is little chance of free and fair parliamentary elections in the country next month because of “pre-poll rigging.” It also expressed concern about authorities rejecting the candidacies of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and most other members of his party.

At a news conference in Islamabad, the co-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Munizae Jahangir, said other political parties have been subjected to similar tactics to varying degrees.

COLOMBO, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan police have arrested 217 suspects with narcotics within 500 meters of selected schools in a special operation, police said in a press release on Saturday.

Police said that between Dec. 18 and Dec. 25, they educated workers and owners of business establishments where students congregate about the importance of creating a drug-free environment for children.

The establishments were located in 45 police divisions where drug use is prevalent, with 30,000 workers and owners having been educated, police said.

NEW DELHI, Dec 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Extreme cold and dense fog have caused travel chaos in India’s capital Delhi and other parts of northern India.

More than 100 flights and 25 trains in the city have been delayed due to poor visibility.

The city witnessed one of the foggiest days of the season so far, with visibility dropping to below 50 metres on Wednesday.

A thick blanket of mist in the morning brought traffic to a crawl and also led to accidents in some parts.

Accidents have been reported from other parts of north India as well.

AHMEDABAD, India, Dec 27 (Reuters) - India has launched an investigation into how 303 Indians ended up on a chartered flight that was grounded in France last week because of suspected human trafficking, authorities in the western Indian state of Gujarat said on Wednesday.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will seek a fourth term in office, his party said Wednesday, noting he would be its consensus candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections and the office of the prime minister.

Sharif, who has served as prime minister three times, returned to Pakistan in October after four years of self-exile in London to avoid serving prison sentences on corruption charges.

NEW DELHI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - An explosion near the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on Tuesday did not kill or wound any staff members, authorities said, adding that investigations into its cause were ongoing.

Officials were still inspecting the area but it had been reopened to the general public. There was no information suggesting anyone on the street had been hurt.