Kyiv culture war leaves famous Russian writer red-faced
A defaced plaque on a picturesque Kyiv street has become the latest sign of the culture war simmering in Ukraine as the country battles Russia’s invasion. The monument to Russian…
Playground of empires
Sikhs were the last to lay arms. After Ranjit Singh’s death, palace intrigues and contest for power had weakened the formidable Sikh kingdom and after two bloody wars – one…
Crimean oysters aim for Russian palates under embargo
Sergei Kulik slowly hoists a cage from the Black Sea off Russian-annexed Crimea and looks on in admiration. Beyond the slimy layer of mud are oysters - and Kulik's dreams…
The Afghan and the mighty empire
So this is how the cookie crumbles. The United States says that the much debated ‘security pact’ with Afghanistan is in the interest of the Afghan people and essential for…
Who are the Russians?
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian federation found itself facing the question of whether it was the successor and legitimate heir to the Soviet Union or to…
New century, new Great Game?
The fact that Pakistan’s intelligence chief went on a rare visit to Tajikistan in the last days of 2024 means rumours that the Pakistani military removed Afghan Taliban check-posts from…
Azerbaijan says ‘God-given’ oil and gas will help it go green
Flames soar into the air from a sandstone outcrop on a hillside on the Absheron peninsula near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, as it prepares to host the COP29 climate…
IMU’s journey
THE withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has changed the dynamics of terrorism and counterterrorism (CT) in Afghanistan and its neighbourhood: while the operational capabilities of Al Qaeda appear weakened,…
A journey through fiction
Historical novels can be a good source for understanding our past depending on who has written them and how. In modern world literature, there is a fine example of Hilary…
Strategic games
IT is August 2021. Pakistani spymasters, pro-establishment ideologues and then prime minister Imran Khan unanimously celebrate the re-conquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban. The age-old pursuit of a ‘friendly government’…
