Tehran has granted Iranian citizenship to 22 Afghan investors who successfully went through the legal process. The Afghan entrepreneurs received Iranian nationality at a ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday, Mehr News Agency reported. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Bikdeli, addressing the ceremony, referred to religious, cultural and historical commonalities between Iran and its neighbors. The Ministry of Interior in Tehran […]

The Russian foreign minister has hit out at the West for blocking the assets of Afghanistan’s central bank. The Western countries were not ready to allocate the frozen funds for the needs of the Afghans, Sergey Lavrov alleged. He slammed as a theft EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s suggestion to seize Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine. […]

On the morning of April 1, seven children were playing in the lush wheat fields of Afghanistan’s Marjah district, in the southern Helmand province, by tossing around a metal object. Moments later, it exploded. The blast claimed five of their lives, including the youngest in the group, a 5-year-old boy. “My daughter has not only lost her three sons, but […]

Terrorist groups within Afghanistan are still about a year away from being able to attack targets in western countries, but remain a significant concern for U.S. military planners, intelligence officials told lawmakers on Tuesday. Last fall, Defense Department officials said that groups like al-Qaida and Islamic State Khorasan Province (known as ISIS-K) could strike at the United States within six […]

Vessels from the First Training Squadron of the Indian Navy — INS Tir and INS Sujata along with Indian Coast Guard ship Sarathi — arrived on Thursday at Jeddah port for a training exchange. The exercise comes amid growing defense ties between India and Saudi Arabia. The ships were also joined by INS Tarangini, one of the few sail training […]

The renewed polarisation of the international system following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the intensification of the US–China strategic rivalry is increasing pressure on other countries to pick sides. But despite this return to a ‘with us or against us’ narrative, Japan and India, as aspiring global powers, are well-positioned to bring a much-needed non-western perspective to discussions on the […]

The political tangle has to be resolved urgently to solve the underlying economic problem Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday declared a State of Emergency in the island following an attempt to block entry into and exit from parliament and the continued blockade of the President’s Office and the Prime Minister’s official residence by the “Gota Go Home” agitators. […]

China’s economic growth targets and macroeconomic policies formulated at its annual parliamentary meetings the “Two Sessions” face the challenge of policy adjustment in just one month later. In this year’s government work report, the GDP growth target is set at about 5.5%. There will be more than 11 million new urban jobs expected to be created. The yearly surveyed urban […]

Clashes on Afghanistan’s border with both Pakistan and Iran signify an end to the relative wary regional calm that has prevailed since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul. Pakistan perceives that the Taliban de facto authorities of Afghanistan are sympathetic to Pakistani militants that threaten Pakistan’s stability. Any tensions with Afghanistan reduce Pakistan’s ability to use the Taliban and […]

Islamabad: The United States wants to continue working with Pakistan in areas of mutual interests including border security and counterterrorism. “We value our bilateral relationship,” Ned Price, the US Department of State spokesperson, said at a press briefing on Thursday. “We want to continue to work together in areas where we do have mutual interests with our Pakistani partners. That […]