South East Asia

Afghanistan Pull-Out Allows Balkan Countries to Use Savings Elsewhere

The war-torn state was an important proving ground for Balkan militaries for almost 20 years – but it came at a considerable expense, and that money can now be usefully redirected. After the United States and NATO earlier this year finally ended the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, Balkan NATO …

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Afghanistan’s neighbors contend with Taliban at their borders

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is not yet complete, but Afghanistan’s neighbors are already contending with its fallout as they face the immediate spillover of the conflict into their respective territories. The insurgency has reached the borders of all of Afghanistan’s neighbors, who are choosing to both engage the Taliban …

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Ankara Says Turkish Troops Stationed in Afghanistan Will Not Engage in Combat Duty

The Turkish contingent in Afghanistan will not assume any combat duty other than self-defense, Defense Ministry spokeswoman Pinar Kara said on Thursday. “The Turkish armed forces have been stationed in Afghanistan for 20 years, and for the past six years, they have been protecting and running the international airport in …

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How China Can Win The Recognition Of The World – Analysis

As the geopolitical game between the United States and other Western countries against China continues, the United States, Britain, Europe, Canada, and other countries in the West are assaulting China over the Xinjiang human rights issue and have imposed unilateral sanctions on a number of Chinese officials and institutions. In …

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China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Approach Is Filtering Down to the General Public

Over the past few months, Beijing’s increasingly uncompromising posture toward policy disagreements with foreign powers has been reflected in the strident rhetoric used by Chinese officials. The latest round of U.S.-China high-level diplomacy was no exception. But several incidents this week demonstrated how this sharp, aggressive tone on the part …

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The Taliban explained

The armed group has emerged as a strong player as US-led foreign forces pull out of Afghanistan after 20 years. The Taliban have won a string of battlefield victories in recent weeks as the United States-led foreign forces are about to complete pull-out from Afghanistan after 20 years. The armed …

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Amid Afghan influx, Turkey’s refugee policy gets tested with fire

Turkey has done a rather good job meeting the immediate and mid-term needs of Syrian refugees, but it is now at a crossroads on whether to have a long-term integration policy, experts say. As the influx of Afghan refugees to Turkey spurs anti-refugee sentiment in the country, Ankara’s policy on …

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Operation Fox Hunt: How China Exports Repression Using a Network of Spies Hidden in Plain Sight

China sends covert teams abroad to bring back people accused — justifiably or not — of financial crimes. One New Jersey family was stalked as part of a global campaign that takes families hostage and pressures immigrants to serve as spies. On the hunt again, the cop from Wuhan rolled …

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Afghanistan FM Atmar Says Taliban Promoting Extremism, Paving Way For Islamic State

Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Atmar warned that the activities of the Taliban in his country would aggravate extremism and prepare the ground for notorious terrorist groups such as Daesh in the region. In a meeting with Iranian foreign minister’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian, held in …

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Operating in the Gray Zone: China’s Cyber Operations Call for a Unified Response

The Biden administration responded to China’s aggressive cyber operations by “naming and shaming” Beijing in an attempt to confront the growing threat posed by criminal hackers. For China, cyberattacks are an asymmetric means of confronting the West while attempting to maintain a thinly veiled veneer of plausible deniability.

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