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By Atul Aneja, The Hindu Dated: April 28, 2019 South Asia is covered by three major undertakings—the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC), the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network, including Nepal-China cross-border railway, as well as the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). India’s decision to skip the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) may have led to the exclusion of the Bangladesh- China- India- Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor from the list of projects covered by the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella. In an annex tagged with the Joint Communiqué of the Leaders' Roundtable of the BRF, which concluded in Beijing on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry website has not listed the BCIM as a project covered by the BRI—the giant connectivity initiative speared by China to revive the ancient Silk Road across Eurasia and Africa. Instead, South Asia is covered by three major undertakings—the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor

 Scroll.in, April 28, 2019 The United States has unnerved the world oil market by ramping up the pressure in its long-running dispute with Iran. It has announced that, after May 1, it will not renew the exemptions given to eight countries that enable them to buy Iranian oil. Those affected, including China, India, Japan, Italy and South Korea, will face sanctions from Washington if they do not comply. The move will likely squeeze global oil supply at a time when it is already struggling from disruptions in Venezuela, Libya and Nigeria. Indeed, the Brent crude price has already risen on the back of the announcement to $74 per barrel, the highest since last November. President Donald Trump has said he is confident that a supply crunch can be avoided thanks to extra output from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but traders and Asian petrochemical firms are sceptical that these countries will fully comply. In recent months, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organiz

By Suhasini Haider The Hindu, April 27, 2019 With the government withdrawing a Kashmir-specific confidence building measure, are the chances for peace better or worse? The story so far: On April 18, the government announced suspension of trade from midnight at two designated points along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, citing concerns about “misuse” by elements from across the border to smuggle weapons, narcotics and fake currency. The Ministry of Home Affairs has said that cross-LoC trade will only be resumed after it puts in place stricter measures and systems. What does the suspension of trade mean for the two countries? When did trade across LoC begin? Trade across the LoC began in October 2008, as part of the Kashmir-specific confidence building measures (CBMs) that had been initiated by former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr. Manmohan Singh and former Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. The zero-duty trade of goods at the Uri

By Salahuddin Shoaib Chaudhary www.weeklyblitz.net Dated: January 11, 2019 According to a Sri Lankan newspaper Ceylon Today, startling new information has been released about a huge narcotics seizure. There are indications the war on drugs has intensified in Sri Lanka over 2018, ending the year with this massive narcotics seizure. On December 31, 2018, the Sri Lankan Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) conducted a raid on a large, upscale house in Dehiwala, south of Colombo, where the house was being occupied by two men from Bangladesh, ages 35 and 38. During the raid, police seized over 272kg of heroin and 5kg of cocaine, with a combined street value of US$20 million. A police spokesman states this narcotics seizure from Islamic gangs is the largest haul of heroin ever recorded in Sri Lanka. In December 2018, over 500kg of heroin was seized in Sri Lanka, while police say 736kg of heroin was seized over the year of 2018. According to the report, A 23-year-old Bangladeshi woman wa