South East Asia

What’s new? The rise of a local Islamic State franchise and the growing influence of a hard-line and violent protest movement known as “Labaik” that draws support mostly from Pakistan’s Barelvi majority, open a new chapter in the country’s sectarian violence, which until recently was driven largely by Deobandi groups.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov late Monday after an explosion outside the Russian Embassy in Kabul killed two embassy staff members earlier in the day.

China published a white paper titled “The Taiwan Question and China’s Reunification in the New Era” on August 10,2022 reiterating its claims over the self-ruled island. This is the third white paper, the two earlier were published in August 1993 and in February 2000. Chinese state media said the white paper demonstrates the country’s resolve to national reunification. The white paper said the Chinese community party (CCP) is committed to the historic mission of resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification.The reiterated Chinese stand of this third white paper:

How the International Community Turned Its Back

Life under the Taliban is the worst women’s rights crisis on the planet. When the Taliban returned to power last August, they imposed immediate and brutal restrictions, the harshest of which were reserved for women. They quickly imposed a ban on girls’ secondary education, which remains in place despite domestic and international demands to lift it. They also placed restrictions on women’s movement, requiring women to be accompanied by a male family member while traveling, and women’s dress, ordering women to cover their faces in public. Girls and women are also no longer allowed to play sports.

How a Burst Real-Estate Bubble Threatens China’s Economy

The Chinese real estate sector is teetering. The largest private Chinese developer has defaulted on its external bonds. Most developers are struggling to refinance their domestic bonds. Home prices have gone down for the last 11 months. New construction is down 45 percent. The most acute stress can be traced back to developers who raised large sums by preselling yet-to-be built apartments. Some, however, failed to set aside reserves to guarantee the completion of these units, and households that took out mortgages to buy these homes have threatened to stop paying.

One year after the transition of power in Afghanistan, the country faces a cascading humanitarian crisis. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has expanded its medical programs in Afghanistan to meet the growing needs.

At first light Sunday morning, shivering soldiers at a Northern Alliance checkpoint outside the Taliban- controlled village of Jalreez say it is too dangerous to go any farther.