Bilal is an analyst, editor and research lead for the Current Developments team. A regular contributor to Daily Brief, Bilal specialises in both East and Central Asian affairs with specific interest in Afghanistan.
Bangladesh’s COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and public transportation were set to lapse today, but have been extended to August 10.
READ MOREUS Secretary of Defense—General Lloyd Austin—will arrive in Hanoi today, beginning his trip to Southeast Asia. General Austin will also
READ MOREThe Indian farmers union has pledged to today begin daily protests in front of the Parliament House in New Delhi,
READ MOREUzbekistan will today open the high-level “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities” summit in Tashkent. The two-day
READ MOREThe UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Today’s
READ MOREChina celebrates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) today. Coming to power after having
READ MOREUS President Joe Biden will meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah today in Washington.
READ MOREChina will commence the Shenzhou-12 spaceflight mission today, launching three astronauts aboard a Long March rocket. Shenzhou-12 is the third
READ MOREChinese telecommunications giant Huawei will open its Dongguan Global Cyber Security and Privacy Protection Transparency Center today. The Shenzhen-based company
READ MOREIndividuals over the age of 18 in France are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as of today. The decision
READ MOREAustralia closes its Afghan embassy today. Today’s closure comes as the US expedites its withdrawal from Afghanistan—originally set for September
READ MOREThe Eurozone nations’ finance ministers (Eurogroup) will convene an informal meeting to discuss bloc-wide macroeconomic developments today. Prior to today’s
READ MOREThe six-day Delphi Economic Forum 2021 will begin in Athens today. The blockbuster annual forum will bring together political, business,
READ MOREUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his diplomatic counterparts from the Group of Seven (G7) in London
READ MOREPakistan’s National Assembly—its lower house of parliament—will reconvene today in Islamabad after its Friday session abruptly ended. The last session
READ MORETokyo will instate a state of ‘quasi-emergency’ today to combat the city’s recent rise in COVID-19 cases. With just 100
READ MOREFrance and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue nations (Quad)—US, Japan, India and Australia—will today begin two days of joint naval exercises
READ MOREThe US-led ‘West Africa Joint Operations’ (WAJO) counterterrorism exercises will begin today. Counterterrorism investigators from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger’s
READ MOREThe 28th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-New Zealand Dialogue is set to take place virtually today. ASEAN and New
READ MOREUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will arrive in Japan today, beginning the duo’s
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