Da Afghanistan Bank, the country’s central bank, confirmed Sunday that new banknotes would soon enter circulation and replace the old, crumbling AFN. DAB’s announcement came on the heels of US special envoy Thomas West’s comments on Friday that a decision had been made to replace the old banknotes with new notes. Afghanistan’s central bank said in a statement that the […]

The Contact Commission with the Afghan Personalities of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), said that at least 370 Afghan personalities have returned to Afghanistan in the past year. The commission’s spokesman Ahmadullah Wasiq told Bakhtar news agency that since the establishment of the commission, 370 people including ministers, deputies, and members of parliament, national security employees, journalists and prominent […]

The supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, chaired a meeting with officials from the defense ministry’s intelligence agencies Sunday and called for their cooperation in a number of areas. “Intelligence is an important organ for the success of a system,” Akhundzada said, adding that it was this that “breaks the back of the enemy […]

The United States’ alleged plan to produce weapons jointly with Taiwan to boost its deterrence capabilities against China was met with mixed views by observers and analysts in Taipei. Nikkei Asia was the first media outlet to report on Wednesday that the Biden administration is considering such a plan, quoting three unnamed people familiar with it. Senior U.S. officials have […]

Pakistan’s removal from an international grey list on terrorism financing on Friday came as a boon to Islamabad, currently facing a severe financial, economic and ecological crisis. But there is no guarantee that Islamabad will stop cross-border terrorism in India because of the delisting. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which listed and delisted Pakistan, is an independent international body. […]

On July 30, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who replaced Osama bin Laden in 2011, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan. U.S. President Joseph R. Biden announced his death on August 1 saying that, “Now justice has been delivered, and this terrorist leader is no more.” Originally an Egyptian surgeon, al-Zawahiri had a $25 million bounty on his […]

Kharge’s victory in the Congress Presidential poll will help the Congress face the challenge posed by the BJP In a landmark event this month, an 80-year-old party warhorse, Mallikarjun Kharge, won the Presidential election in India’s Congress party, beating 66-year-old diplomat-turned politician Shashi Tharoor securing 7,897 out of the 9,385 votes polled. Kharge, belonging to Karnataka in South India, is […]

Three Afghan women detained for protesting Taliban abuses described torture and other severe mistreatment in custody, Human Rights Watch said today. The women said they were wrongfully detained with their families, including small children. They experienced threats, beatings, dangerous conditions of confinement, denial of due process, abusive conditions of release, and other abuses. The authorities assaulted and administered electric shocks […]

INTRODUCTION Although diplomats from both Vietnam and the United States have given special prominence to the two countries’ growing comprehensive partnership, many challenges remain.[1] In particular, despite gradual concrete improvement in recent years, defense and security cooperation has not met expectations. Vietnamese policymakers’ indecisiveness and their exaggerated fear of potential retaliations from China have been cited by analysts as reasons […]

India has constructed the Chenab Railway Bridge, which at 359 meters high from the surface of the earth and 1,315 meters long, connects India with the disputed territory of Kashmir. It is a concrete arch bridge constructed between Bakkal and Kauri in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. Through this bridge, Srinagar will be linked to the rest of […]