News and analysis

Mexican Interior Minister Alfonso Navarrete said Friday there are “warning signs” that drug cartels are trying to influence the country’s upcoming elections. Mexico will elect a new president, Congress, and a host of local and state officials on July 1, a vulnerable moment for a country where multi-billion-dollar drug cartels …

Saudi and US military forces have launched joint “friendship” war games in the kingdom’s northern region as the Riyadh regime presses ahead with its deadly campaign against Yemen with Washington’s support. The maneuvers, dubbed Friendship Military Exercises 2018, are due to continue for several days with the announced objective of …

US President Donald Trump has agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by May, says a senior South Korean official, claiming that Pyongyang is ready to get rid of its nuclear weapons under certain conditions. Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s national security advisor, broke the news in Washington on Thursday, …

At least nine people have been killed and 18 others injured in a bomb attack near a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul. The casualties were caused after an attacker, who had been stopped at a nearby security checkpoint, set off an explosive device he was carrying, said Nasrat Rahimi, …

Pakistani authorities have endorsed a proposal from India on exchange of prisoners that could also cover detainees from the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistani Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on Wednesday that exchange of prisoners between the two neighboring countries would cover all those held by either side that fall within the …

India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has notched a historic win in provincial elections in the northern state of Tripura, boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chances of securing a second term in next year’s national election. Results announced for most of the 59-seat regional chamber showed that the BJP had …

Hundreds of Rohingya living in no man’s land have left their makeshift camp and crossed into Bangladesh after soldiers from Myanmar used loudhailers to threaten them, community leaders said Wednesday. Around 6,000 Rohingya have been living on a thin strip of land between the two countries since fleeing Myanmar in …

The U.S. military’s latest test of its Standard Missile 3 Block IIA ballistic missile interceptor has reportedly failed. (DefenseNews) —  A test shoot of the SM-3 Block IIA fired from an Aegis Ashore test site in Hawaii failed at the end of January, CNN has reported. The missile is designed to intercept …

Saudi Arabia has reportedly joined Turkey and China in a move to block a US-sponsored attempt this week to place Pakistan on an international terror-financing watch list. Washington had reportedly working behind the scenes during the ongoing Paris meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to take action against …

Bangladesh has formally handed over to Myanmar’s Home Minister Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe a list of more than 8,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees as Dhaka moves to launch their repatriation under an agreement signed between the two countries last year.   The delivery of the list occurred after officials of the …