International Issues

Earlier this month, the Taliban met with a group of Afghan politicians in Moscow. While the government was not included in the talks, prominent Afghan leaders like ex-President Hamid Karzai, former National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar, Deputy-Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq, and Opposition leader Atta Mohammad Noor were among those present. …

King had expressed displeasure at his sister’s bid to contest general election Thai Princess Ubolratana’s unprecedented attempt to become the country’s next Prime Minister was abruptly nixed on Saturday after her party agreed to comply with a command from the King opposing the plan. The party’s announcement, effectively blocking Ubolratana’s …

Varadkar says U.K.’s future ties with EU could be discussed Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday that he was open to discussing how to save Britain’s exit deal with the EU ahead of talks with Theresa May, but repeated that the text itself could not be reopened. He …

Ireland will seek hundreds of millions of euros in aid from Brussels if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal, the Agriculture Minister was quoted on Thursday as saying.“You’re looking at hundreds of millions here,” Michael Creed told The Irish Independent .The emergency aid would aim to buttress …

North Korea’s top diplomat in Italy has sought asylum and gone into hiding, Seoul lawmakers told reporters after a closed-door meeting with South Korean intelligence officials on Thursday.It would mark the latest high-profile defection by a senior North Korean envoy since the Deputy Ambassador in London abandoned his post in …

One of the leaders of the “yellow vest” anti-government demonstrations was detained by police in Paris late on Wednesday for organising an unauthorised protest, signalling a harder line by the authorities against the movement.Eric Drouet — who already faces a trial for carrying a weapon at a previous protest — …

Incoming Senator Mitt Romney has written a scathing op-ed targeting U.S. President Donald Trump, saying he “has not risen to the mantle of the office”. The barbed remarks from the 2012 Republican presidential candidate came as he and other lawmakers prepare to take up their seats in the new Congress. …

Taiwan’s unification with the mainland is “inevitable”, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday, warning against any efforts to promote the island’s independence and saying China would not renounce the option of using military force to bring it into the fold. Mr. Xi’s comments provoked a swift rebuke from Taipei, where …

Analysts say an Opposition-less Parliament is not conducive for democracy Eta ektu barabari hoye gesse [this is a bit too much] — this is how Awami League supporters reacted a day after the party swept 97% of seats in the national Parliament in Sunday’s general election. Perhaps the Opposition should …

Pakistan on Tuesday shared with India a list of its nuclear installations and facilities as per the provisions of a bilateral agreement.052 “The list was handed over to a representative of the Indian High Commission at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today [Tuesday], ” the Foreign Office said. The Ministry …

Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena named a 30-member Cabinet on Thursday to end a crippling seven-week power struggle with his Prime Minister, but only after a final tussle over who should control the police. Mr. Sirisena reinstated Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister on Sunday after the Supreme Court threw out …

When U.S. President Donald Trump started the new year by suspending billions of dollars of security aid to Pakistan, one theory was that it would scare the Pakistani military into cooperating better with its U.S. allies. The reality was that Pakistan already had a replacement sponsor lined up. Just two …

Following a crisis marked by two competing claims to the office of the Prime Minister, R. Sampanthan — Leader of Opposition since 2015 — on Wednesday challenged the Speaker on his naming of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the position. Referring to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya’s announcement on Tuesday, following a …

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform Bill, that would roll back what are seen as excessively punitive criminal justice policies that have been in place since the crackdown on crime in the 1980s. The Bill, which had wide bipartisan support (only …

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was on Tuesday named the Leader of Opposition in the Sri Lankan Parliament, but rival lawmakers contested his eligibility to hold the position. The Speaker has said that he would consider the objections and give a ruling on Friday. Number of MPs Days after he stepped …

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to vacate the office of Prime Minister — which he controversially held for seven weeks — paving the way for the return of ousted leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. The move signals an end to the political crisis. Mr. Wickremesinghe will be sworn in …

It faced a series of natural calamities Japan on Wednesday selected the Chinese character for ‘disaster’ as its ‘defining symbol’ for 2018, a year that saw the country hit by deadly floods, earthquakes and storms. Japanese TV stations broadcast the annual announcement live, with Seihan Mori, master of the ancient …

14 Opposition TNA members back it A majority of Sri Lankan parliamentarians — including 14 from the opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) — on Wednesday voted for ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as their preferred candidate to serve in the post. The motion moved by Sajith Premadasa, deputy leader of …

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said U.S. sanctions were “economic terrorism”, as he sought to foster a united front from visiting regional officials on Saturday. Addressing Parliament speakers from Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey, Mr. Rouhani said they had all suffered economic pressure from the U.S. “America’s unjust and illegal …

Over half of world population online Some 3.9 billion people are now using the Internet, meaning that for the first time more than half of the global population is online, the United Nations said on Friday. The UN agency for information and communication technologies, ITU, said that by the end …