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In the rugged terrain along the Durand Line, the contested border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, a fresh wave of violence has erupted, pitting Pakistani forces against the Taliban government in Kabul. What began as Pakistani airstrikes on February 21 targeting alleged militant camps in eastern Afghanistan has spiraled into a wider ongoing conflict, with retaliatory…

President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on the island EU member days ago. Macron will meet his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around…

Hongkonger Shirley Sung finally returned home on Sunday after being stranded in Dubai for a week and making eight failed attempts to secure a flight, ultimately paying HK$11,000 (US$1,406) to escape the Middle East conflict via Kuala Lumpur. The 30-year-old solo traveller, who had flown to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a wedding, found…

As missiles and drones curtail energy production across the Persian Gulf, analysts warn that water, not oil, may be the resource most at risk in the energy-rich but arid region. On Sunday, Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants. Earlier, Iran said a US air strike had damaged an Iranian plant. Hundreds…

Every few years, Washington’s foreign policy establishment rediscovers its favorite bogeyman: a grand, coordinated coalition of adversaries hell-bent on dismantling the American-led world order. Today, the specter haunting the think tanks and op-ed pages is the so-called “anti-American axis” — a sinister alignment of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, presumably plotting in unison to…