Rescue efforts are being stepped up to help those affected by the magnitude-7.5 earthquake which hit remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday. More than 360 people are known to have died, most of them in Pakistan, and at least 2,000 were injured.

U.S. President Barack Obama urges Pakistan to avoid developments in its nuclear weapons programme that could increase risks and instability.

While the old Cold War enemies have called a truce, the historical animosities in our patch of the world seem unlikely to let India and Pakistan to come in from the cold.

People around the world watch the skies to observe a rare celestial event, as a lunar eclipse coincides with a so-called "supermoon".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed the hope that the Teesta River water-sharing agreement would be signed with Bangladesh.

Japan has handed over 30 mobile desalination units to Bangladesh that can turn river water safe for drinking during times of emergency.

The U.S.-led coalition military strategy in Afghanistan and the adjacent border areas of Pakistan has drawn huge criticisms for its over-reliance on the use of coercive force and utter negligence of peace, reconciliation, and reconstruction efforts.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggests a joint exercise by the disaster management forces of South Asian countries for a joint response to natural calamities as he held talks with visiting Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina.

In only two decades, China has become Southeast Asian countries' leading economic partner, boosting its influence throughout the region.

People in seven South Asian countries including Bangladesh have a higher risk of heart disease at an early age than any other ethnic group.

Potential benefits of motor vehicle agreement signed among the four South Asian nations can be maximised through developing a national multimodal comprehensive connectivity strategy, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) says

Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal ink deal to allow seamless movement of people, cargo and personal vehicles across their borders.

Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader expresses hopes that works for the Motor Vehicle Agreement among the four South Asian countries – Bangladesh, India, Bhutan and Nepal – will begin next January.

IN the early 1960s, John F Kennedy said, "Anyone who can solve the problems of water, will be worthy of two Nobel prizes: one for peace and one for sciences" (cited in Likhotal 2013: 86). This statement of Kennedy implies the significance as well as challenges of resolving water problems. In South Asia, water has been constructed as a scarce resource and hence, is considered a source of conflict rather than cooperation.