Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers were shunned by foreign governments after seizing power in 2021 but have recently notched up some big wins in their diplomatic efforts to forge international ties. This week, Indian special envoy Anand Prakash was in Kabul for talks with senior Taliban leaders on boosting political and trade …

The Russia–Ukraine war has shaped regional political, economic and security dynamics. The three South Caucasus nations—Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia—are geographically located in Russia’s backyard and strongly connected to Russia. They have maintained a relationship with Russia while strengthening ties with the US and the European Union (EU). Other regional powers …

Russia’s population has declined for the last seven years as the fertility rate, the number of women of reproductive age, and the immigration rate continue to decrease. According to Russian demographer Aleksey Raksha, Russian women gave birth to fewer than 294,000 babies during the first three months of 2025, the …