Rashid Ahmed waited two hours at a fuel station in Dhaka’s Mirpur district on March 10, watching the line of motorcycles stretch into the next block as the pump operator....
Since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan returned to power in 2021 under Taliban leadership, the situation for women in Afghanistan has deteriorated sharply. State-sanctioned discrimination has further eroded the already limited freedoms and autonomy of Afghan women, with new decrees systematically restricting their rights and legitimising increasingly severe forms of oppression.
Since the founding of Pakistan in 1947, not a single prime minister has served the full five-year term. If this fact betokens a country marked by instability and sudden changes in the political mood then last week’s remarkable elections have done little to change that reputation. The electoral analysts were proved wrong, as candidates loyal to the imprisoned former prime minister, Imran Khan, stunned outside observers – and even the country’s political elite – by winning the most seats. One thing can now be predicted with confidence: a new period of political turmoil.
Survivors of sex trafficking offences similar to those committed by Jeffrey Epstein may be refused support under the UK’s modern slavery system due to immigration law changes introduced by the previous government, experts have warned.
What began with surprise US and Israeli strikes on Iran one month ago has hardened into a grinding stand-off, with no clear way out.
The conflict’s opening blows on February 28 killed senior leaders in Tehran, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – prompting retaliatory missile and drone attacks on Israel, US bases and Gulf infrastructure.
