On the banks of a mountain river outside Tajikistan’s capital, in a resort area teeming with hotels and dachas, stands a modern, two-story building flanked by towering trees and lattice fence panels. The state-owned sanatorium near Dushanbe is usually reserved for high-ranking Tajik officials who flock there on weekends or for short vacations.

At least 100 worshippers have been killed or injured after a suicide bomber targeted a Shia mosque, in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz, according to news reports, during Friday prayers. The UN chief condemned the “horrific” attack “in the strongest terms”, noting that it represents the third assault on a religious institution, in less than a week.

The Biden administration’s aim in withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan was to reset its global strategic priorities. So far, however, it has undermined Washington’s efforts to contain Beijing, as it alleviated pressure on China’s western front and handed over to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) a very important fulcrum in the heart of Asia. In the past, the U.S. forces […]