One Village Chose Oman
Madha is a province of Oman that does not touch Oman. It sits in a stretch of rocky valley between the Musandam Peninsula and the Omani mainland, entirely surrounded by the United Arab Emirates.
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Asia-Pacific
China, Taiwan, the Koreas, Japan and the Pacific: the region where the US-China rivalry is most likely to turn from competition into crisis.
14 political cartoons and analysis on Asia-Pacific, newest first.
The Nowhere People
The Geopolittoon · The field that belonged to a country it could not reach There was a patch of farmland in northern Bangladesh, about 1.7 acres — roughly the size of a football pitch. Nobody lived on it.
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India Paid 50% For This
On 9 October, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General Licence 135, authorising transactions relating to the sale, delivery, offloading or importation — "including into the United States" — of…
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India's Plan Leaves Out the Hardest Part. That May Be Why It Is Working.
On 7 October 2026, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We are grateful to our Indian friends for such readiness and the ideas that are being offered." A week earlier, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha had…
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Forty Percent of Russia's Refining Is Offline. That Is the War Now.
Standfirst: Zelensky says he will intensify strikes on Russian refineries in response to what he calls Moscow's "new doctrine" of hitting civilian infrastructure.
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Tajikistan Declares UNSC Bid is “About Responsibility, Not Status” in High-Stakes Contest Against India
At the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, a significant diplomatic contest has taken center stage. Tajikistan, actively competing with India for the sole Asia-Pacific non-permanent seat on the UN…
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China releases underground Church pastor Ezra Jin Mingri months after Trump sought his freedom
Beijing's Unregistered Church Leader, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, Released Amid Diplomatic Pressure A significant development in the ongoing struggle for religious freedom in China has seen prominent underground church…
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China Escalates East Taiwan Patrols Amid Global Outcry
China launches new coast guard patrols east of Taiwan, sparking fierce condemnation from Taipei and alarm from Western powers, escalating regional maritime tensions.
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The Kim-Xi Pyongyang Summit: Why North Korea Just Won Without Firing a Shot
On June 8–9, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a rare state visit to Pyongyang, North Korea — his first trip to the Hermit Kingdom in years.
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Fire and Water: Xi Jinping's Taiwan Warning to Trump That Shook the Beijing Summit
The pageantry was immaculate. Brass bands played. Children waved American and Chinese flags. An honour guard stretched across the steps of the Great Hall of the People.
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When Democracy Shoots Itself: Gunfire Erupts in the Philippine Senate as ICC Closes In
It was supposed to be an arrest. It became a siege. On the evening of Wednesday, May 13, 2026, more than a dozen gunshots rang out at the Philippine Senate as police and marines moved in to arrest Senator Ronald dela…
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Why South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s India Visit is a Strategic Game-Changer
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in New Delhi on April 19, 2026, for a highly anticipated three-day state visit. Accompanied by First Lady Kim Hea Kyung and a high-level delegation of ministers and business…
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North Korea Fires 10 Ballistic Missiles Amid US-South Korea 'Freedom Shield' Military Drills
In a dramatic and highly calculated show of force, North Korea launched a barrage of approximately 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on Saturday.
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Sanae Takaichi's Supermajority Win: A Defining Moment for Japan-China Relations
A supermajority in the Japanese Diet is a game-changer. It provides the ruling coalition with the legislative power to pass bills almost unilaterally, and crucially, it clears the path for initiating constitutional…
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