Silk Road

The US’ newly unveiled “Strategy For Central Asia 2019-2025” surprisingly isn’t sinister like some of the countries’ critics might have expected, but that doesn’t mean that it’ll succeed since its viability almost entirely depends on bringing “peace” to Afghanistan first then convincing the regional states to more closely integrate with…

From a gang of teenage assassins to a Monty Python-style comedy, here’s the cult Japanese director’s most memorable works One of the most irrepressible filmmakers in Japan, Takashi Miike has directed over 100 features since his debut in 1991 in a career that’s never been shy of controversy. Inspired by the…

Turkmenistan's autocratic president has fired his longtime security chief, a man widely seen as one of the most influential officials in the Central Asian nationFebruary 13, 2020, 6:22 PM2 min readASHGABAT, Turkmenistan -- Turkmenistan's autocratic president has fired his longtime security chief, a man widely seen as one of the…

February 12, 2020 | 12:24pm Enlarge Image A woman walks past posters on Potsdamer Platz that refer to the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. Getty Images The Berlin Film Festival, which gets underway next week, is bracing itself for disruption to its 2020 edition as more than 50 Chinese delegates and…

How Budget counters ‘origin fraud’ in FTAs (The Hindu) Mains Paper 3: Economy Prelims level : Origin fraud in FTAs Mains level : Counter mechanism to fraud in trade sector Context: Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signed by India with any country or group of countries entitle exports from such countries…

Russia’s Greater Eurasian Partnership envisages the supercontinent peacefully coming together in the shared interests of peace, stability, and development, brought about by Moscow’s “balancing” strategy in recent years which was first practiced in the Mideast region, one of the most important areas of the world for the success of this…

According to Norwegian Intelligence Service boss Morten Haga Lunde, the Kinzhal, one of Russia's new missiles, can potentially strike a target in Norway with 40 minutes' warning time.Focus 2020, an assessment of security challenges facing Norway prepared by the Norwegian Intelligence Service (E-Tjenesten), has singled out Russia and China as…

New York Clamor downstairs to the New World Mall food court to find Tarim Uyghur Cuisine. Critic Robert Sietsema reviews three new restaurants serving food from Xinjiang, all of them with hearty menus New York has had a sparing number of Uyghur and related restaurants over the last decades, but…

MUNICH – The coronavirus crisis represents the single biggest challenge for Xi Jinping since he became general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CCP) in 2012. Individuals and families across China are living in fear. Multiple Chinese provinces are under virtual lockdown. The virus has brought significant parts of…

A man points to the webpage of an online shop that sells machine guns on the dark web in Germany on November 12, 2016. Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images When you think of the dark web, your brain likely conjures a nefarious place on the internet where you can…