Afghanistan is home to more than 70% of the world’s refugee and displaced population. Since the Taliban seized power in August of last year, the Afghan people have endured the worst human rights abuses and continue living in abject poverty, bearing perils for being Afghans.  Between August 15, 2021 (the day the Taliban seized control of Kabul), and June 15, 2022, 2,106 civilian deaths were reported by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Afghanistan now has 3.4 million internally displaced persons. The Global Peace Index, an annual survey that assesses how hazardous a country is based on 23 parameters including political terror, deaths from internal conflict, and other factors, placed Afghanistan as the most dangerous country in the world for four consecutive years, from 2019 to 2022. The most vulnerable individuals struggle to locate assistance or access safety. Hazaras continue to be the main targets of horrific ISK assaults and Taliban crimes, and they are frequently subject to forced evictions. Women and girls also live in extreme jeopardy due to the Taliban’s stringent morality measures and hardline approach. Women’s access to political representation, work, healthcare, and education is limited. The Taliban have targeted female activists with harassment and abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearances, and physical and psychological torture. A minimum of 160 former government and security officers have been executed since the Taliban took power, according to UNAMA, and this treatment has even been meted out to those who were allies of the previous regime. Migration serves as a core safety net for these populations, but it is becoming harder with increasing cases. Many people under threat can not migrate due to a lack of safe, authorized, and accessible routes. According to data gathered by the Mixed Migration Centre, obtaining a visa for authorized few nearby countries is difficult and expensive for Afghans. The...

According to Henley & Partners, a worldwide investment migration advisory company, India will surpass China (at number 2) as the fastest growing market for centimillionaires by 2032, with an expected 80% growth rate in individuals worth over $100 million. In a recent survey conducted by advisory firm Henley & Partners, the Centi-Millionaire Report is the first global study of ultra-high-net-worth individuals who boast USD $100 million in investable assets. The study revealed that the US, which ranks first among the world’s 25,490 centi-millionaires, is home to 38% of worldwide centi-millionaires and is closely followed by China, both countries have a net worth of US$100 million or more. India ranks third on the rise of centi-millionaires. Furthermore, the report states that by 2032, India (1,132 centi-millionaires) will surpass China (number 2) as the fastest-growing market for centi-millionaires. It has already overtaken countries such as the UK (968 centi-millionaires), closely followed by Germany in fifth position (with 966). Considering the level of poverty and hunger prevailing in the country, this is an impressive achievement. Switzerland (808), Japan (765), Canada (541), Australia (463), and finally Russia (435), make up the rest of the top 10 countries for centi-millionaires. So, how has India achieved this position? Primarily due to its dominance in the IT sector, along with super financiers and CEO`s of multinational companies. It is in the IT sector where the growth of the super-rich has increased. Additionally, the report also revealed that over the past 20 years, the number of centi-millionaires has doubled in India, mainly due to the economically and socially disruptive effects of technology, and the Covid pandemic. Bangalore, a southern city in India, has become one of the world’s leading hubs for IT development and software. Leading US software firms are now run by Indian-origin CEOs, an indicator of their expertise in the IT sector.  In a...

File photo shows the national flags of China (R) and the United States as well as the flag of Washington DC on the Constitution Avenue in Washington, capital of the United States. [Photo/Xinhua] Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in 1979, Sino-US climate diplomacy has experienced many ups and downs. It reached a flashpoint during the Barack Obama administration, and then hit a low during the Donald Trump administration, which abandoned many of Obama's policies apart from pulling the US out of the Paris Agreement. Initially, the Joe Biden administration revived hopes of resuming Sino-US climate cooperation, but those hopes have not materialized. So it's time the US and China resumed their climate talks. Many countries across the world experienced frequent extreme weather and natural disasters in the summer, indicating that it is becoming increasingly difficult to tackle climate change. The Sixth Assessment Report the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in April says the interaction between climate change, ecosystems and human society is mainly negative and harmful. This means human beings face greater climate risks. First, climate change poses a bigger risk to human survival, and global warming is increasingly influencing weather patterns, causing frequent heat waves, heavy downpours and droughts in many parts of the world, which are worsening global food insecurity. In fact, by June 2022, the number of people suffering from acute food insecurity in 82 countries increased to 345 million from 135 million in 2019. These developments are bound to have a negative impact on both China and the US. The Biden administration has pledged to elevate the fight against climate change as a "national policy" and restore the US' leadership in global climate governance. As for China, it should make efforts to meet its climate action targets of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and realizing carbon neutrality...

The COP27 climate summit in Egypt is approaching, bringing representatives from all around the world to discuss global objectives for addressing the greatest challenge of our time: climate change. Pakistan is one of the countries most impacted by long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns. At the largest international conference on the subject, it has to make a stronger case for climate justice. Pakistan contributes modestly to overall global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—among the lowest in the world. Yet, it is one of the countries most vulnerable to extreme fluctuations and, currently, lacks the technical and financial capacity to adapt to the detrimental impact caused by climate catastrophes. In a press conference, the Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) disclosed distressing information about the effects of long-term changes in temperatures and weather on Pakistan, which produces less than 1% of global carbon emissions. The country has had 152 extreme occurrences during the past 20 years, many of which have been brought on by climate change, including the most recent devastating floods. According to the government, the frequency of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) has increased by 300% in just one year. Pakistan has had the hottest cities in the world for three years running, and the frequency of high-intensity heat waves has climbed to 41 days per year. According to the estimates provided by the government, the country will probably experience absolute water scarcity by 2025, or three years from now. Food insecurity is also anticipated to increase from 40% to 60% by 2050, in addition to a lack of water. However, the estimated 2 to 3-foot rise in sea level along the coast poses a threat to the very life of cities like Thatta, Badin, and Karachi, the nation’s most populous metropolis, and is expected to cause a threefold increase in climate-induced migration from 0.7 million to 2 million by 2050. Given the plethora of climate change-related...

Asia is the world’s largest continent both in terms of size and population. It has two highly populated countries in  the world, China and India, and the three largest economies of the world – China, Japan, and India – also reside in this continent. Asia is also emerging as one of the world’s largest consumer markets due to  its population. For many decades, it has been the  most volatile continent of the world because of various regional conflicts that kept surfacing mainly for territorial reasons. Once again, Asia is becoming a focal point of global attention as the two super powers, US and China, have conflicting positions on the Taiwan issue; China considers it  an integral part of the country, while the US defends it as an independent country. These two opposite views have long been a point of contention between the  countries, and more recently, they have  caused them to experience significant tension. Furthermore, there have been grave concerns of a possible outbreak of war between the USA and China ever since Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker of the USA, decided to visit Taiwan despite warnings from China that it would resort to military action if Pelosi dared to go. Nancy Pelosi has a history of being an unrelenting critique of China’s policy in dealing with Human Rights issues since  she was a junior House member. She is known for unfurling a pro-democracy banner right at the Tiananmen Square in China, where local protestors had been executed two years prior  by the Chinese government. Right before Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, a well-known political analyst of USA, Thomas L. Friedman, made these remarks in his column, “I have a lot of respect for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But if she does go ahead with a visit to Taiwan this week, against President Biden’s wishes, she will be doing something that is utterly reckless, dangerous and irresponsible.” Pelosi remained undeterred and went ahead with her plans to visit Taiwan on 2 August, 2022, despite...