Afghanistan
Biden pokes Putin, defends Afghanistan withdrawal in State Dept. address (USA Today)
Afghanistan Gold Star families tear into Biden for being ‘proud’ of deadly exit: ‘He is Satan to me’ (Daily Mail)
Wife of American held hostage in Afghanistan reveals ‘incredibly crushing’ call with Biden after two-year wait (FOX News)
Wife of detained American in Afghanistan meets with Trump’s national security adviser (FOX News)
Family optimistic about husband held by Taliban after Trump adviser meeting (Washington Examiner)
Families of Americans held by Taliban upset by lack of deal for their release (Scripps News)
Pakistan
Pakistani security forces kill 27 insurgents during raid in Balochistan (AP)
Pakistan claims killing 27 Baloch insurgents (VOA)
Pakistan poised to tap China capital markets, finance minister says (Nikkei Asia)
Pakistan to issue China’s panda bonds to transform economy, finance chief says (South China Morning Post)
Pakistan watches with caution as old ally Taliban gets closer to India (Al Jazeera)
Growing Taliban-India Closeness: Should Pakistan be Worried? (The Diplomat)
Pakistani security forces kill 8 militants in raids in northwest (AP)
Pakistan’s missiles will never be a threat to the U.S. (Nikkei Asia – opinion)
India
India army chief says China border ‘sensitive but stable’ (Bloomberg)
Naked, ash-smeared Hindu ascetics take holy dips at the Maha Kumbh festival (AP)
India’s Maha Kumbh marks first ‘royal bath’ with dreadlocked ascetics’ holy dip (Reuters)
India halts trade with US-sanctioned Russian companies and tankers, government source says (Reuters)
India Reimposes Restrictions on Foreign Nationals Visiting Three Northeastern States (The Diplomat)
India-Europe corridor push resumes, delayed by Middle East war (Nikkei Asia)
NSB
Party of Bangladesh’s former PM Khaleda urges elections by Aug (Reuters)
Tulip Siddiq faces fresh corruption investigation in Bangladesh (The Telegraph)
UK’s Starmer Urged To Fire Minister Hit By Bangladesh Graft Probe (Agence France-Presse)
Central Asia
Japan joins US and EU in sanctioning Kazakh entity (EurasiaNet)
Kazakhstan says part of Aral Sea has nearly doubled in volume (Agence France-Presse)
Kyrgyzstan’s Social Democrats Under Pressure (The Diplomat)
Uzbekistan launching effort to ban electronic cigarettes (EurasiaNet)
Indo-Pacific
The Quad needs a functional two-ocean strategy in the Indo-Pacific (Nikkei Asia – opinion)
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