Last week, the annual gathering of the Valdai International Discussion Club was held in Sochi, Russia. Today, this conference does not deserve the attention such events used to have a decade ago, when many Western experts saw it as a unique opportunity to gain access... MORE

On May 31, the Oberlandesgericht (state-level higher court) in Dresden, Germany sentenced the 28-year old university student “Lina E.” to five years and three months in prison for her leadership position in a “criminal entity.” Among other offenses, she caused “severe bodily harm” to others... MORE

On June 15, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or “Pakistani Taliban,” announced the establishment of two new “shadow provinces” in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populated province: “North Punjab” and “South Punjab.” This brought the total number of the group’s parallel proto-administrative units in Pakistan to twelve (Twitter/TheKhorasanDiary,... MORE

Between September 13 and 16, Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) uncovered a newly formed jihadist group, Tawhidul Uluhiah al-Jihadi (TUJ), which was recruiting members for attacks planned for 2024 (The Daily Star, September 27). Jewel Molla, TUJ's founder, emerged on the jihadist scene rapidly at just... MORE

The People’s Republic of China’s increasingly assertive stance on affirming its territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific is informing the evolution of a closer defense relationship between New Delhi and Manila. On September 25, the Philippine Coast Guard removed a floating barrier that China had installed... MORE

PLAN's submarine force faces autonomy issues due to historical distrust between leadership and boat commanders, impacting long-distance deployments. PLAN submarines historically employ senior officers as mission commanders for centralized control—a practice dating back to the force's early development—yet frequent and extended deployments strain senior officers,... MORE

At the end of September 2023, a draft of the Russian federal budget for 2024 and the 2025–26 planning period was introduced to the State Duma. Fiscal revenues for 2024 are planned to be 35.07 trillion rubles ($418.5 billion, according to the average exchange rate... MORE

The talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, scheduled for October 5 in Granada, Spain, were abruptly canceled when Aliyev refused to take part. According to Baku, the main reason for this was the European Union changing the previous tripartite... MORE

*Read Part Two. On September 28, the leader of the separatist regime in Karabakh signed an order to dissolve all “state” agencies and organizations by the end of 2023 (Armenpress.am, September 28). This was accompanied by a mass exodus of the Armenian population from the... MORE

*Read Part Four. Four months in, the Ukrainian counteroffensive has been slowly, but steadily advancing along the Bakhmut, Melitopol, and Berdyansk salients. Ukrainian forces have effectively retaken the initiative at sea with innovative drone strikes on Russian positions in and around Crimea (Euromaidan Press, October... MORE