Iran’s national army began exercises on Friday near its border with Azerbaijan, state TV reported, putting on a display of military capabilities near a neighbor it is increasingly skeptical of for its ties to the West and Israel. Artillery, drones and helicopters will participate in the drills, the report said, …

The one clear advantage of the Taliban sweeping into power last month essentially unopposed was they seemed to spare Afghanistan more unnecessary bloodshed. But just as the Taliban ceased their own fighting, another brutal jihadi group began to unleash mayhem across the country. The Islamic State-Khorasan, the Islamic State’s Afghan …

KOSOVO-SERBIA NATO peacekeepers stepped up patrols along the Kosovo-Serbia border amid heightened tensions between the two countries. Belgrade, which does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, is angered at Pristina’s new requirement that Serbian drivers travelling into Kosovo buy temporary licence plates. Pristina calls the regulation “reciprocity”, as cars with Kosovo registrations …