Central Asia

Daily Memo: Explosions in Kabul

Afghanistan in crisis. Two explosions took place outside Kabul airport on Thursday, the Pentagon confirmed. Few details were available at the time of writing, but the U.S., U.K. and others had warned on Wednesday of a credible threat of an attack on the airport by an Islamic State affiliate based in Afghanistan’s Khorasan region. Turkey […]

Daily Memo: Biden Sticks to Afghanistan Withdrawal Deadline

Hard deadline. Resisting pressure from G-7 members, U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington would not change the Aug. 31 deadline for the complete withdrawal...

Daily Memo: EU Support for Domestic Rare Earths, More Concerns Over US Withdrawal

EU support. The European Union is reportedly developing proposals to support domestic production of a rare earth magnet used in the manufacturing of electric...

After Afghanistan’s Fall, Watch Turkmenistan

Last week as the Taliban surged into Kabul, effectively completing their takeover of Afghanistan, attention in surrounding states and major Eurasian powers turned to...

Daily Memo: Merkel’s Meeting in Moscow, More Supply Chain Disruptions

Farewell visit. Angela Merkel is in Moscow for her final in-person talks as German chancellor with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They are expected to discuss...

Daily Memo: Talking to the Taliban, Maneuverings Around Taiwan

“The authorities in Kabul, whoever they are.” The European Union should open a dialogue with the Taliban, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said,...

Daily Memo: Afghanistan Is Falling

Escape from Afghanistan. Cities in Afghanistan are falling like dominoes, with the Taliban taking another eight provincial capitals in the past six days. The...

Daily Memo: North Korea’s Usual Playbook, European Gas Prices

Open to discussion. High-level U.S. and South Korean diplomats held talks on mapping out a path forward for potential engagement with North Korea. Conspicuously,...

Daily Memo: Japanese Support for Taiwan, North Korean Warnings for Seoul

Support for Taiwan. Japan’s defense minister over the weekend called for greater international attention on the “survival of Taiwan,” warning that China is working...

Daily Memo: Cyber Wars Can Become Hot Wars

Biden’s warning. U.S. President Joe Biden warned that cyberattacks could spark a shooting war. This follow’s last week’s launch of the U.S.-led multilateral cybersecurity...

Daily Memo: US-China Cyber Strife, Preparations on Afghanistan

The U.S.-China cyber feud is escalating. On Wednesday, Chinese state media claimed U.S. hackers launched attacks on thousands of servers in China. This comes...

Brief: Russia Tries to Block US Plans for Central Asia

Background: Since the United States began withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban have been gaining strength and neighboring countries have been increasingly concerned...

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