Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

7/13/2025 early and often early and often America Would Be Better Off If Trump Won in 2020 By Ed Kilgore Joe Biden’s 2020 win was a Pyrrhic victory for Democrats, and the four-year gap just made Trump’s second term more horrific.
What might have been had Trump’s 2020 Election Night victory-claim stuck. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP Photo When Donald Trump’s megabill passed the Senate, consummating nearly a half-year of aggressively reactionary policymaking by the 47th president, a...

Afghanistan Gets Into Tourism Industry, Releases A Wild Fake Hostage Video To Drum Up Business
The Taliban even have a golf course, but there aren't ladies' tees PublishedJuly 10, 2025 11:47 AM EDT•UpdatedJuly 10, 2025 11:48 AM EDT Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Are you tired of trips to Gatlinburg? How about packing your bags for a...

Afghanistan Invites Americans For A 'Vacation' In Bizarre Video With Hostage Twist
Last Updated:July 10, 2025, 21:21 IST The 50-second clip begins with what appears to be a hostage scene: three people kneeling with bags over their heads. The 50-second clip begins with what appears to be a hostage scene. (Image Credit:...

A look at the diplomatic dance over Taiwan, as US presses allies for clarity amid China flex
Efforts are also being made to persuade allies to increase their defence spending in light of growing concerns regarding China’s ambitions toward Taiwan. However, the request for commitments related to a potential conflict over the island has...

'Being Church in a time of conflict' - Church of England confronts global threats
(Photo: Unsplash/Hoyoung Choi) Members of the Church of England’s General Synod arrived in York yesterday for five days of deliberation and discussion. Before the debate returned to questions of spending, sexuality or safeguarding, Synod...

Afghanistan: 6-year-old girl married to 45-year-old man, Taliban asks groom to wait till bride turns 9
Driven by poverty, joblessness and stringent restrictions on women since the return of the Taliban in 2021, the incidents of child marriage have increased considerably in Afghanistan. Child marriage in Afghanistan has gone up since return of...

Afghans invite US tourists to visit with bizarre video featuring a mock hostage EXECUTION and poking fun at their country's reputation for terrorism
An Afghan social media account has revealed a tourism pitch unlike any other in a bid to court Western travellers, reshape the nation's global image and revive its shattered economy. The slick marketing video, shared across social media by...
Political Watch: July 10, 2025
• On July 3, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement on the passage of the Republican reconciliation bill. Carbajal voted against the bill, while opposing its unprecedented cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and food...

Government Allows Migrants Deported By The US To Work Legally In Costa Rica
(MENAFN- Costa Rica News) In a recent unprecedented decision, the Costa Rican government approved this Monday that a group of 25 migrants deported by the Donald Trump administration in the United States may legally work in the country, either as...

Afghanistan: From Pariahs To Partners, A Deadly Shortcut To Legitimacy
Is India’s abstention from the recent UN General Assembly resolution on Afghanistan part of a disturbing trend of violent, extremist regimes quietly gaining global legitimacy? New Delhi’s decision came just days after Moscow formally recognised...

State Department reductions prompt concerns for Afghan refugee aid
The State Department is set to dismiss more than 1,300 employees as part of the Trump administration’s initiative to downsize the federal government, according to recent reports. This move is anticipated to impact a range of programs, including...

Why over 500,000 Afghans were forced out of Iran in just 16 days and what’s next?
The dusty border town of Islam Qala in western Afghanistan has become a holding pen for the displaced, families huddled under tarpaulins, children too young to understand why their lives have been upended, and elderly men with sunburnt faces...

Why has Iran expelled half a million Afghans in 15 days?
Iran has expelled over half a million Afghans since the war with Israel ended. The United Nations and other international organisations have called the development one of the biggest forced movement of population in decades. Millions from...

What Russia’s Embrace of the Taliban Means for Afghan Women and the World
In 1979, Russia, as the Soviet Union, invaded Afghanistan, unleashing a decade of violence with lasting repercussions, including the mass displacement of millions of Afghans. Arguably, the creation of the Taliban in 1994 is rooted in the aftermath...

How I remember the life of former President Muhammadu Buhari, By Aliyu Abdullahi
A lot have been said about the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, the good, the bad and the ugly. His military career, his record of public service, his spartan lifestyle, his rigidity in principles he held dear to his heart, his silence in...

Iran criticised for harsh mass deportations of Afghans
Iran has faced criticism for the “undignified” large-scale expulsions of hundreds of thousands of Afghans during the height of summer, in a policy that has accelerated since the 12-day war with Israel. More than half a million Afghans have been...

Governor DeWine appoints Brigadier General Mark C. Arnold to OHIO Board of Trustees
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed Brigadier General Mark C. Arnold to the Ohio University Board of Trustees. General Arnold was appointed by Gov. DeWine on June 27, 2025. His term will end May 13, 2027. “The Board of Trustees is honored to...

Time to transform Afghan-Kazakh interaction into sustainable cooperation
KABUL (Pajhwok): Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi during a meeting with his Kazakh counterpart in Kabul on Friday said the time had come to transform the existing positive interaction between the two countries into sustainable and...

Our closest Afghan allies are in limbo
Nearly four years after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, America’s Afghan allies remain in limbo due to a combination of bureaucratic dawdling under the Biden administration and rapid-fire changes in policy under President Donald Trump.Among...

Viral promo invites Americans to vacation in Afghanistan
The video features a blend of dark comedy, views of the Afghan countryside, and military visuals A bizarre promotional video targeting American tourists and inviting them to travel to Afghanistan has been released by a local tour operator. The...