Afghanistan
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Former Taliban commander admits destroying Bamiyan Buddhas
A former Taliban commander and provincial governor has admitted taking a direct part in the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues, saying he has no regrets.
8mn Afghan migrants have returned as Taliban attempts to woo investors
Taliban officials say 8mn Afghan migrants have returned from Iran and Pakistan in five years, as daily deportations of 2,000 to 3,000 people continue.
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UNCCD COP17 addresses scourge of desertification
With up to 40% of world’s land degraded, delegates from around world gather in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to advance solutions.
Afghanistan FM Muttaqi urges US to reopen Kabul embassy
Five years after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has called on Washington to reopen its embassy in Kabul and deepen diplomatic and economic engagement with the country.
Taliban mayor assassinated by resistance front in Afghanistan amid battles across province
NRF, led by son of legendary Mujaheddin commander known as “Lion of Panjshir”, claims responsibility.
Russia swings 93% of its rail trade to friendly states as it maps corridors to the Indian Ocean
Russia is stitching together a web of new railway corridors from the South Caucasus to the Indian Ocean, redirecting freight away from Europe towards Asia and the Global South.
HANA says Afghan women and children at risk in continued deportations from Iran
In a report published August 10, HANA said deported children could face family separation, disrupted education, lack of legal identity, exploitation and unsafe living conditions.
Taliban delegation’s arrival in Moldova prompts government investigation
Chisinau says it is investigating decision to invite Afghan agriculture ministry officials as Moldova does not recognise Taliban rule.
Ukraine less births than Kyrgyzstan this year as Central Europe's demographic crisis deepens
Ukraine is on track to record fewer births this year than Kyrgyzstan for the first time - a reversal from the end of the Soviet Union, when Ukraine's newborns outnumbered Kyrgyzstan's five to one.
MACRO ADVISORY: Best Eurasia books published in 1H26
Macro-Advisory Limited has issued its annual mid-year compilation of the best business, political and general interest books published in 1H26, covering the twelve states in the Eurasia region plus Iran and Afghanistan.
Taliban's homegrown drone programme outpaces Pakistan's defences
The Afghan Taliban's growing investment in drone technology is a direct response to their lack of a conventional air force, and Pakistan's defence establishment.
PANNIER: Afghan groups battle Taliban near Tajik border
If Afghanistan’s rulers lose control of Badakhshan province, route to Chinese border will be blocked and calculations in Central Asia’s capitals may change.
COMMENT: Central Asia's talk of decolonisation outruns the reality
Public discourse increasingly casts Central Asia as shedding Russian influence – through decolonisation, a pivot to China, or a push for greater sovereignty – but the reality on the ground is far messier.
China to open Afghanistan border after nearly a century? Iran to bomb “Trump” route? “Cargo corridor” journalism is where it’s at nowadays
Wars are reshaping countries’ thinking on how to get goods in and out.
Germany detaining Afghans without criminal records for deportation
The report said the detainees face deportation despite having no known criminal convictions. Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior had not publicly commented on the findings.
US strike on Iranian railway bridge hits China-Russia trade corridor near Turkmenistan
The US struck a railway bridge in Iran's Golestan province on the China-Iran-Russia rail corridor in one of the deepest US strikes inside Iran since the conflict began.
Pakistan says 54 militants killed after coordinated attacks in Balochistan
Pakistan's security forces have killed 54 militants during operations launched after a series of coordinated attacks in Balochistan over the past four days, while 42 civilians and security personnel also lost their lives in the violence.
Kabul fuel prices surge as petrol rises nearly 14%
Fuel prices have risen sharply in Kabul in recent days, with the price of petrol increasing from AFN66 ($1.03) to AFN75 per litre, a rise of nearly 14%.
TIIF 2026: Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries ramps up Central Asian operations
Russia’s largest e-commerce operator Wildberries became the largest retailer of any sort when it overtook MasterSport in 2019 and took Russia into a new age of e-commerce. Now it is expanding into Uzbekistan's fast-growing economy.
TIIF 2026: Central Asia, new Asian tiger
Central Asia used to be thought of as sitting at the “navel of the world,” about as far away from everywhere as it was possible to be. Today that perception has changed as once again it finds itself at the centre of things.