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Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan five years ago as international military forces withdrew, the country's economy has sputtered, inflation has spiked, and international investment has all but dried up, leaving ordinary Afghans reliant on remittances from abroad to survive.
The scandal began in June, when investigators said they had concluded that officials accepted bribes of up to 800,000 baht (US$23,847) to electronically alter candidates' results to allow them to pass mandatory exams for government appointments or promotions.
This article first appeared on Pacific Forum and is republished with permission. Read the original here., at 12:01 pm on July 6, a People’s Liberation Army Navy strategic nuclear-powered submarine successfully launched a submarine-launched strategic missile carrying a “training simulation warhead” toward “relevant high-seas areas in the Pacific.” The missile repo.
In mid-June, Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa spent two days in Beijing and flew home with more than pleasantries. China’s finance ministry and the People’s Bank of China pledged to fast-track approval of Indonesia’s debut panda bond, a renminbi-denominated issue targeting around US$1 billion. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) added a commitment of The post As the.
The Taliban’s demotion of Haji Jumma Khan Fateh from deputy governor of Zabul province may have looked like a routine reshuffling. But it fits a disturbing pattern that runs through the movement’s entire governing structure: Non-Pashtun commanders are useful until their independence becomes a threat. Fateh, an influential Tajik commander with a durable network in The post Taliban’s ethnic chau.
Minister urges public to report cases of three or more sick or dead birds in a group after brown skua seabird tests positive for H5N1 on Wellington beachThe deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in New Zealand for the first time, sparking alarm that some of the country’s most beloved and vulnerable native birds could be wiped out if it spreads.
Bar owner in Thailand offers ‘deepest apologies for this tragic incident’ as police investigate whether exits were either blocked or hard to accessThe Bangkok pub that has become the scene of the city’s deadliest blaze in 17 years has said it will cooperate with an investigation into alleged negligence, as the death toll rose to 30. Death toll reaches 30 as police investigate negligence as ‘primary theory’.
The design, which also features the words “Liberty,” “In God We Trust” and “1776-2026” on the front and an image of the bald eagle from the presidential seal on the back, was a revision from a draft made public in October. U. S. Mint will produce $1 coin with Trump's image, Treasury Secretary says.
Trade office cites investigation of Brazilian trade practices while Marco Rubio says Lula’s policies ‘bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians’ Brazil has condemned the US decision to impose 25% tariffs on certain Brazilian products, after the Trump administration found a range of what it deemed unfair trade practices by the South American country.“The Brazilian government repudiates the decision.
Since start of Trump’s second term, 14 Mexican immigrants have died in ICE custody and three in agency operationsMexico formally requested that US state attorneys general criminally investigate cases of immigrants who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or during raids, the Mexican government said Tuesday. The request follows the death of Mexican immigrant Lorenzo Salgado Arauj.
Ukraine is expanding its use of medium-range drones to strike Russian military targets deep behind the front lines. Operators of FP-2 drones told RFE/RL the attacks hit air defenses, troop positions, and logistics hubs, forcing Russia to divert resources to protect sites deep inside its territory.
A bipartisan group of US senators on July 14 introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, unveiling a revised package of sanctions and tariffs aimed at squeezing Moscow's war finances while seeking to overcome concerns that had stalled earlier versions of the legislation.
Ukrainian soldier Artem lost both his arms in combat near Pokrovske, a frontline village in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. Recovering from his injuries has meant relearning how to do daily activities -- from getting dressed to working at a computer.
There is a version of development work that looks responsible but accomplishes very little. It moves cautiously, funds what is already proven and prioritizes institutional comfort over urgency. As a region of staggering diversity, rapid change and compounding crises, Asia cannot afford to settle for that version. In 2025, a year of significant headwinds for The post Asia’s development moment d.
AI has become one of the few technologies in recent memory that organizations are simultaneously overestimating and underpreparing for. Across Asia-Pacific, investment levels suggest extraordinary confidence in AI’s ability to reshape enterprise performance. The organizational foundations required to realize that value tell a rather different story. KPMG’s inaugural Global AI Pulse survey, publish.
Choosing a path for the future has never been easy, but for young people today, such rapid technological change as artificial intelligence (AI) is making it increasingly difficult to predict which skills will remain relevant in the years ahead.
Whistleblower suggests internal security services deployed spyware from 2017 against key domestic and foreign targetsA former member of Morocco’s domestic intelligence service has helped to provide an unprecedented insight into how the north African state used hacking software – including Pegasus spyware – to target journalists, human rights defenders, French politicians and Spanish cabinet minist.
Iran has executed some 40 political prisoners since mass protests rocked the country in January. Twelve more may be about to join them, and they were all put on death row by one man: Mohammad Reza Tavakoli, honored by the judiciary as an “exemplary judge.”.
A new round of US strikes across Iran hit dozens of military targets in areas near the Strait of Hormuz, including missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb island,.
Despite renewed US strikes on Iran and attacks around the Gulf, veteran Middle East scholar Francis Gregory Gause argues that diplomacy is still alive, and that both Washington and Tehran are once again maneuvering to strengthen their positions before an eventual return to negotiations.
As the US and Iran exchange new strikes, military analyst Jonathan Schroden explains why wars often become more violent before peace, how the Strait of Hormuz has become the conflict's strategic centre, and why drones are reshaping naval warfare.
When Dr. Sahira Al Nahari founded Shifā Art, a Saudi Arabia-based organization using art to create conversations around mental health, she noticed that men attending her therapeutic art workshops often felt uncomfortable opening up about their feelings.
The UN maritime agency, IMO, condemned overnight attacks on shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz that killed at least two seafarers as fresh strikes were reported early Tuesday in the escalating US-Iran war.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued updated global guidelines aimed at reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia, saying that up to 45 per cent of cases may be preventable or delayed by addressing modifiable risk factors throughout life.
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