The author is a visiting scholar at Tsinghua University. Given its unusual sensitivity, the Indian authorities’ visa policies toward Chinese personnel often reflect the latest twists and turns in the Sino-Indian relations. Two recent events tellingly demonstrated this point. In the aftermath of India’s failed bid to join Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG), which New Delhi blamed Beijing as the culprit behind the scenes of their non-admittance, the Indian authorities first refused to renew the visas…
Posts published in “Day: August 10, 2016”
By CHRISTOPHER BEAM and XIUZHONG XU in LONGCAO, China The hardest part about getting into Longcao was not the floodwater, or the debris blocking the roads. The biggest obstacle was the cluster of police officers standing guard under the archway at the village’s main entrance, peering into cars as they passed by. “If anyone asks, I don’t know why you’re here,” our taxi driver said when we told her that we wanted to visit this…
BEIJING—Chinese officials are cracking down on protests over a nuclear-fuel-recycling project that has also raised alarms from the U.S. government. In the eastern city of Lianyungang, a potential site for the project, thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent days to demonstrate against it, according to residents and videos posted online. A large police presence continued Tuesday. Communist Party officials this week responded with warnings that the demonstrations are illegal. They cautioned…
ASADABAD – Islamic State and the Taliban, after more than a year of fierce combat, have forged a patchwork ceasefire across much of eastern Afghanistan that has helped both insurgencies regroup and counter US-backed efforts to dislodge them, reported Wall Street Journal on Monday. Until several months ago, Islamic State fought bloody battles with local Taliban units over fighters and territory in several provinces. The long-running Taliban insurgency has sought to stamp out its smaller…
The leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group for the so called Khurasan province has been killed during an operation of Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan officials have said they are aware of the reports regarding the death of ISIS Khurasan chief Hafiz Saeed but an investigation is underway to confirm his death. This is not the first time reports have emerged regarding the death of Hafiz Saeed…
A new TOLOnews security report shows a marked increase in the number of Afghan civilian casualties during July following the escalation of violence in some regions of the country – mainly in the southern province of Helmand. “192 civilians were killed in July which shows an 82 percent increase in the toll compared to a month earlier,” the report noted. The report found that air strikes on militant targets sharply increased in July while ground…
Abdul Jabbar Qahraman, former head of the military operation for Helmand, on Sunday warned the Afghan government and security institutions against underestimating the ongoing insurgency in the volatile province. Looking skeptical about government’s counter-insurgency policy, Qahraman blasted government over what he called a lack of commitment to end the Helmand turmoil and restore peace. New reports from the warfront in Helmand illustrates that currently up to five districts in the area are under the complete…
Two foreign university lecturers from the American university in Afghanistan were kidnapped on Sunday night in Kabul. One is a U.S national and the other an Australian, according to officials. The incident took place in Darulaman area of Kabul close to the university after a number of unknown gunmen abducted the two men, security officials said, adding that efforts are underway to free the hostages. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but…