Eurasia

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) forces “smashed a team of terrorists” in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, killing three. Iran’s Tasnim news reported the IRGC Ground Force’s Quds Base said in a statement that the team had plans to carry out further anti-terrorist operations in the region. …

The US is expected to hand over three military bases and one airport to the Afghan forces in the next two weeks as part of the US plan for the full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11, sources said. According to a security source, the bases concerned are the …

Chinese envoy in Kabul Wang Yu on Sunday said that cooperation between Afghanistan and China in the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative will benefit the people of the two countries. He said that Chinese companies will be encouraged to take part in Afghanistan’s reconstruction. Wang vowed his country’s …

Ahmad Fawad Amiri, a government employee at the Presidential Palace, was killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Kabul on Saturday evening, a source said. The incident happened in Khawja Musafir area in Paghman district of Kabul when the government employee was on the way to a mosque on …

Gen. Austin Scott Miller, the US and NATO forces commander in Afghanistan, on Sunday said that the US and coalition forces have started the withdrawal process and they will continue to support their Afghan counterparts. “All of our forces are now preparing to retrograde,” Miller told reporters in Kabul. “The …

Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek says the number of people that will be allowed by Prague and Moscow at their respective embassies will be 32, as tensions between the two continue to simmer over Russia’s alleged role in a deadly 2014 explosion at a Czech arms depot. “[The Czech Republic’s …

The death of Chad’s President Idriss Deby could be a major setback for counterterrorism efforts in Africa’s restive Sahel region, according to Chadian activists, African politicians and security experts. The 68-year-old longtime leader died Monday from injuries sustained while visiting troops fighting a Libya-based rebel group known as the Front …

Claims that Russian troops are beginning to pull back from positions in Crimea and along the Russian border with Ukraine are being met with caution in the West, where officials are demanding that Moscow be more transparent and refrain from additional saber-rattling. Western officials said Friday that they were watching …

The departure of a UK government minister does little to promote a serious discussion about a painful episode. On 20 April Prime Minister Boris Johnson sacked Johnny Mercer from his position as Minister for Defence People and Veterans. Mercer had repeatedly criticised the decision not to extend protections to Northern …

Revelations that Russia’s intelligence agents were responsible for setting off deadly explosions at a Czech arms depot back in 2014 offer Prague an opportunity to hit back at Moscow’s egregious behaviour. But the Czechs would need to be supported in this endeavour. The coronavirus pandemic continues to throttle international travel. …