South Asia

Pakistani authorities have arrested 14 people in connection with the alleged trafficking of several migrants who drowned last week after their overloaded boat capsized in the sea off Greece, police said.

Hundreds of people, including from Pakistan, are thought to have died when the vessel capsized and sank in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years.

In an official visit, Turkey's defense minister on Aug. 10 met with Pakistan's army chief to discuss a slew of issues, including the fragile Afghanistan peace process.

Increasingly limited access to health and social services due to the pandemic is likely the cause of about 239,000 deaths among children and mothers in South Asia, according to a UNICEF report.

There is interest in many countries in accessing vaccines from India. In line with the PM's announcement that India sees international cooperation in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic as its duty, India has played the role of the first responder in their neighbourhood as well as undertaken supplies to countries beyond.

Significant development projects are in pipeline in Bangladesh's main port city Chittagong that "may attract investment from Turkey," an official statement said on Jan. 13.

A powerful cyclone that slammed into coastal India and Bangladesh has left damage difficult to assess on May 21 and about 20 deaths.

Illegal border crossings from India to Bangladesh have risen in recent months amid ongoing citizenship crisis in India, official data from Dhaka showed on Jan. 3.

A weeklong food festival spotlighting local Sri Lankan Sinhalese cuisine began on Feb. 4 in Turkey's capital Ankara.

Turkey's president on Jan. 20 sent congratulations to Bangladesh's prime minister on winning a third term in office, state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha reported.

Police in Thessaloniki have arrested 2 Romanian citizens, a 34-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, for migrant trafficking.