Armed resistance in Afghanistan is spreading beyond isolated pockets, challenging the Taliban's claim of stable governance. Five years after taking Kabul, the group still controls all provincial capitals. However, the growing geographic dispersion of insurgent groups undermines their argument for international acceptance. Five years after seizing Kabul, the Taliban’s strongest argument for international acceptance rests on control. The Taliban governs every provincial capital and faces no conventional army capable of marching on Kabul.
The Seoul International Film Festival will screen The Assassin(s) as its opening film despite controversy. The historical thriller stars Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Min-ho. Critics object to its fictionalized portrayal of the 1974 assassination attempt that killed South Korea's first lady. It will show on October 21 and 22. The historical thriller, starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, has drawn criticism over its fictionalised portrayal of the 1974 assassination attempt that killed South Korea's first lady.
The US and Australia conducted an inaugural hypersonic weapon flight test over an Australian range. The exercise demonstrates a joint push for standoff strike capabilities. However, the weapon’s combat value depends on whether allied airbases can survive China’s long-range fires. The inaugural flight-test release of a US air-launched hypersonic weapon over an Australian weapons range demonstrates both nations’ push for standoff hypersonic strike, yet the weapon’s true combat value hinges on whether allied airbases and kill chains can survive China’s long-range fires.
Asian central banks may stop buying US Treasuries due to Trump's trade policies. Japan and China have historically been major creditors. Their potential withdrawal would strain Washington's debt financing. Geopolitical tensions are forcing a reassessment of long-standing financial commitments. TOKYO – For decades, the US enjoyed a remarkable luxury: its two biggest creditors, Japan and China, kept showing up at Treasury auctions with checkbooks open.
Xi Jinping used his Washington visit to undermine US-Japan relations. He deployed wartime history to challenge Tokyo's security posture. Japanese leaders arranged a brief UN meeting to counter this. The strategic goal was to weaken the American alliance with Japan. Beyond all the pageantry, the Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a strategic goal for his Washington visit – to undermine the American relationship with Japan.
CPEC 2.0 shifts focus from fixed infrastructure to industry, agriculture, and private business. This transition complicates security for Chinese investors in Pakistan. Protecting dispersed industrial zones and mines requires different strategies than guarding large, static construction sites. CPEC 2.0 aims to move past the infrastructure-heavy first phase toward industry, agriculture, mining, technology, green development and business-to-business investment. That shift could deepen economic ties between Pakistan and China, but it also changes the nature of the security challenge.
Mikhail Klimaryov, a Russian activist living in Germany, says Kremlin agents continue to target him abroad. The persistent pressure has driven him into a state of paranoia regarding his personal safety. He fled Russia to escape political persecution but remains under constant surveillance. Mikhail Klimaryov fled Russia to escape political persecution and now lives in Germany, but says he is still not safe.
Trucks bearing the unknown "HAL" logo have appeared in Minsk. The vehicles likely originate from the sanctioned Minsk Automobile Plant, reflecting deepening trade ties between Belarus and Indonesia despite Western restrictions on the manufacturer. Belarus’s Minsk Automobile Plant is under Western sanctions, limiting who can buy the vehicles produced there. That may be the reason trucks branded with the previously unknown “HAL” badge have been spotted amid strengthening trade relations between Belarus and Indonesia.
Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine. At least 19 people died in the strikes. A five-story apartment block in Pryluky was severely damaged. Homes and infrastructure in Kremenchuk also suffered extensive destruction. Russia launched a massive overnight missile and drone attack across Ukraine, killing at least 19 people. Strikes severely damaged a 5-story apartment building in the northeastern city of Pryluky and caused extensive damage to homes and infrastructure in Kremenchuk in the central Poltava region.
Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko suggested Kyiv is losing the war. He urged the country to consider compromises with Moscow. His opposition party ejected him from its parliamentary faction. The remarks intensified internal debate. A prominent lawmaker has sparked controversy by saying Ukraine is losing the war and should consider making controversial compromises with Moscow. An opposition party ejected Oleksiy Honcharenko from its parliamentary faction, but his remarks may fuel further debate amid relentless Russian attacks.
The World Health Organization confirmed testing for a suspected plague case in Siberia. A laboratory worker died in the region. The agency stated it is monitoring the situation closely. The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns over a possible plague case, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
A High Court ruled that a cyclist's negligence contributed to a fatal accident. The victim failed to travel at a speed allowing him to stop at a zebra crossing. He also did not check for oncoming traffic before proceeding. The court found he breached two key obligations. The High Court found that the victim breached two obligations in his conduct as a cyclist by failing to travel at a speed that would allow him to stop at the zebra crossing involved and not stopping to check for oncoming traffic.
The world's largest penguin colony has shrunk by nearly two-thirds in fourteen years. A new study identifies climate change as a primary driver of this rapid population decline. The finding highlights the accelerating impact of environmental shifts on Antarctic wildlife populations. The population of a penguin colony that was previously the largest in the world has fallen by almost two-thirds, a new study has revealed - with climate change thought to be a major reason for the decline.
Flávio Bolsonaro’s election lead threatens Amazon conservation efforts. Climate campaigners warn of increased deforestation and ecosystem collapse. President Lula’s success in curbing deforestation failed to translate into electoral support. The rainforest faces a critical four-year period. Inquest under way into why President Lula’s success in curbing Amazon deforestation has not lead to success at pollsMore fire, more ash, more crime, more death.
Flávio Bolsonaro vowed to re-democratise Brazil after winning the first round. Critics fear he will continue his father’s authoritarian rule. The son of the disgraced ex-president leads the race. His victory signals the rapid rise of the Bolsonaro political house. After a surprise first-round victory, critics suggest son of disgraced ex-president could seek to continue his father’s authoritarian ruleFlávio’s surprise first-round win highlights rapid rise of Brazil’s House of BolsonaroFlávio Bolsonaro, the far-right frontrunner to become Brazil’s next president, has vowed to “re-democratise” the South American country, fuelling fears over a move into authori.
The US Department of Justice detained James Codey Bryant as a second suspect in a Canadian school shooting. Prosecutors allege he provided technical advice to the primary suspect. The incident involved an eighteen-year-old who allegedly killed six children after discussing the plan with ChatGPT. Justice department detained James Codey Bryant and allege he offered ‘technical advice’ to primary suspectA surprise suspected accomplice has been arrested in connection with a mass school shooting in Canada that was made notorious after an 18-year-old allegedly killed six children after discussing it with the AI chatbot ChatGPT. The US Department of Justice said Tuesday it had detained James Codey.
The Mecca Agreement faces structural weakness if members maintain separate partnerships while expecting others to absorb their security risks. The mutual defense clause becomes ambiguous when a crisis forces nations to prioritize their own alliances. If each member preserves its own partnerships while expecting the others to absorb its security risks, what does the promise that an attack against one is an attack against all mean when a crisis arrives?
Kenya is tracing all contacts of its first Ebola death case. The World Health Organization’s top official in the country confirmed that the United Nations and partners are providing full support for the rapid response effort. Kenya’s first Ebola death has triggered a race to trace everyone the victim came into contact with, as the United Nations and partners provide full support, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top official in the country has told UN News in her first interview on the case.
A Liberian-flagged tanker caught fire off Sochi after a drone attack on October 6. All 23 Indian crew members were rescued. Ukrainian monitors identified the vessel as part of Russia’s shadow fleet. The incident highlights growing risks to commercial shipping in the Black Sea. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker caught fire off the Russian resort city of Sochi after an apparent drone attack, Russian authorities said on October 6.
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola death after a citizen arrived from the DRC. Health officials identified twenty-eight close contacts for monitoring. The virus continues to spread rapidly in the DRC's north-east. This marks the seventeenth known outbreak of the disease in the region. Health minister says 28 contacts identified after death of citizen who arrived from DRC on SaturdayKenya has reported its first-ever Ebola death, the health minister announced on Tuesday, as the disease continues to spread rapidly through the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the outbreak was announced in May. This is the 17th outbreak of the highly infectious, often deadl.
Papua New Guinea faces drying water sources and failing crops. Food prices are rising months before peak agricultural damage. Pacific Ocean temperatures have surpassed records from 1997 and 2015. Experts are labeling this pattern a Super El Niño. Across Papua New Guinea, water sources are drying up, crops are failing and food prices are rising months before the worst agricultural impacts are expected.
Central Africa seized over 250 tonnes of illicit medical products in six years. The black market thrives due to fragile local health systems. Antibiotics, malaria treatments, and opioids circulate freely on the streets. This undermines public health efforts and regulatory oversight in the region. Antibiotics, malaria treatments, painkillers, opioids. More than 250 tonnes of medical products were seized over six years in Central Africa.
A new Tigray rebel alliance is forcibly recruiting boys as young as fifteen. Fighting resumed on 23 September, threatening a fresh humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia. Civilians are fleeing as armed groups round up men and boys on the streets. Civilians try to flee as men and boys rounded up on streets by new alliance as Ethiopia conflict erupts againAs renewed fighting has threatened a fresh humanitarian crisis in the northern region of Ethiopia, reports are emerging that a new alliance of armed groups in Tigray has been forcibly recruiting men and boys to its ranks. Renewed conflict erupted on 23 September between Ethiopia’s federal go.
Guardian readers funded life-saving surgery for Abdiqadir Salah, a seven-year-old Somali boy injured in a US drone strike. The operation took place in Mogadishu after an investigation revealed the attack killed twelve civilians. The boy’s mother described the hospital journey as a moment of mixed joy and apprehension. After Guardian investigation uncovered drone strike that killed 12 civilians and injured many more, seven-year-old Abdiqadir Salah underwent vital operation in MogadishuOn the rickshaw ride to the hospital, Marian Haji Abdi Guled felt a mixture of joy and apprehension: the day they had been waiting for had finally arrived. Almost a year earlier, her then seven-year-old son, Abdiqadir Salah, had bee.
