Global Issues and Updates

QUETTA -- Pakistanis are concerned about increasing Iranian influence and aggression in the region following a diplomatic row in May over the threat of cross-border military strikes. Tehran has long blamed Pakistan for allowing "anti-state" elements to plot attacks against the Iranian regime from its soil, a claim Islamabad rejects Read more...

A senior Iranian leader and confidant of the Islamic Republic's president is threatening to "depose" President Donald Trump if he continues his policy of confronting Iran and its terror proxy groups in the Middle East, according to recent comments that come as Iranian military leaders threaten missile strikes on USA forces and bases in the region. Read more...

The world has accepted the fact that Russian forces have been in Syria for the past two years and that Russia controls the Syrian coastline, its seaports and its two airbases. It has become used to having Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese militia, involved in the fighting in Syria and giving Assad much-needed support. Other Shiite militias, commanded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, are reported to have arrived from Iraq and Afghanistan. These forces sometimes endure losses on Syrian land, leaving the impression that Iran simply sent some Shiite gangs to fight Sunni gangs on Syrian soil.  The real situation is totally different, because the Iranian forces in Syria are not gangs anymore, nor are they militias. They are an army by every existing definition of one. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are charged with building up Iranian forces in Syria, and they are a regular Iranian armed force, not a militia and certainly not a gang. An ...

Acting as a mediator, Kuwait has presented Qatar a long-awaited list of demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, four Arab nations that cut ties with Qatar in early June. A copy of the list was obtained by The Associated Press and translated from Arabic. A look at the demands: — Curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there. Expel members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard from Qatar and cut off any joint military cooperation with Iran. Only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with U.S. and international sanctions will be permitted. Read more..

There’s No Space for Qatar to Save Face As the crisis in the Gulf heats up, the impossible demands made by the Saudis and Emiratis virtually ensure that things will get ugly. Read more...

BEIJING (Reuters) - Relations between China and the Philippines have entered a "golden period of fast development", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday, touting growth in trade and their efforts to settle disputes in the South China Sea Read more....

China on Wednesday donated thousands of guns to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to help Manila in its battle against Islamist gunmen who are holed up in a southern city. The small shipment of assault and sniper rifles and ammunition is the first example of Chinese military aid since Duterte threatened to move away from Manila's traditional ally America and seek Beijing's support Read more...

China has accused Indian border guards of crossing into its territory from the state of Sikkim on India's northeastern border with Tibet, the Chinese foreign and defence ministries have said, complicating an already difficult relationship. Geng Shuang, a spokesman with China's foreign ministry, said Indian guards "obstructed normal activities" by Chinese forces on the border and called on India to withdraw immediately, according to a ministry statement late on Monday. He urged India to respect China's territorial integrity and the border treaties signed by the two countries, and said China had already suspended official pilgrimages at the Nathu La Pass, which lies on the frontier between Sikkim state and Tibet. Read more...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military on Wednesday launched a new type of domestically-built destroyer, state media said, the latest addition to the country's rapidly expanding navy. Read more...

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian police charged a top Vatican cardinal on Thursday with multiple counts of historical sexual assault offenses, a stunning decision certain to rock the highest levels of the Holy See Read more...

T he tabs on their shoulders  read  “Special Forces,” “Ranger,” “Airborne.” And soon their guidon—the “colors” of Company B, 3rd Battalion of the US Army’s 7th Special Forces Group—would be  adorned  with the “Bandera de Guerra,” a Colombian combat decoration Read more...

The United States on Tuesday declared China as among the world's worst offenders in human trafficking and forced labor, placing it alongside countries the U.S. has long disparaged - Iran, North Korea and Syria Read more..

Pakistan has criticized the United States for declaring an anti-India Kashmiri rebel leader as a global terrorist and defended militants fighting New Delhi's rule in Kashmir as a "legitimate" struggle for freedom Read more...

India and the US have vowed to promote stability and ensure the freedom of navigation across the Indo-Pacific region Read more..