With Iran supporting the revival of the Great Silk Road that once connected East Asia with Europe, Sputnik asked Moscow-based Oriental-affairs expert Vladimir Sazhin to about the role Tehran will play in this major geopolitical project. “Ali Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirmed Tehran’s backing for the Beijing-proposed…
North Korea has confirmed it has conducted its fifth nuclear test, announcing it is now capable of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets. The statement came just hours after a powerful explosion was reported near the country’s secretive nuclear test site. “The standardization of the nuclear warhead will enable the DPRK [North Korea] to produce…
Afghanistan may soon experience a serious humanitarian crisis, as some 600,000 refugees are expected to return by year’s end from neighboring Pakistan, where they are facing increasing pressure, the International Organization for Migration warned. The flow of refugees from Pakistan to Afghanistan is skyrocketing as Afghans “are fleeing increased incidents of violence, arbitrary arrest, detention…
Air China, Asia’s third largest airline, has found itself in the middle of a racism storm since its inflight magazine began advising tourists to avoid London’s ethnic minority neighborhoods. A feature article on the British capital that appeared in the latest edition of Wings of China told its readers: “London is generally a safe place…
Indian security forces will use shells full of a chilli compound as an alternative to shotgun pellets, to control crowds in Kashmir, the interior minister said on Monday, after widespread use of the weapons wounded thousands and inflamed public anger. More than 3,800 people have been wounded and one killed by shotgun pellets since protests…
As India plans to equip its troops along the Chinese border with the BrahMos missile, China’s Defense Ministry has called for calm. A long term territorial dispute between Beijing and New Delhi has been brewing along the Tibetan border. China lays claim to roughly 35,000 square miles ruled by India, while India says that China…
