Iranian Plateau

The World

Dispatches from a desperate Pakistan

Lifestyle & Belief

BBC reporter Hugh Sykes has been travelling around the country this week and says that the news there is often so bad that some are at a point of despair.

The World

Back from Afghanistan, soldiers look to a New Year and new life

Lifestyle & Belief
The World

Will Pakistan’s relief aid prevent destabilization

Environment
My ride to Lahore!

A journalist returns to Pakistan more than 60 years after her family fled to India

Lifestyle & Belief
The World

Iran strikes nuclear deal with Brazil and Turkey

Global Politics
Kabul Hotel

Historical Photos of a Bygone Age in Afghanistan

Culture

Professor Mo Qayoumi grew up in Afghanistan in the 1950s and 60s before leaving the country to study and work in the US and the Middle East. For the past several years he has been collecting and publishing pictures of the Afghanistan he once knew on the internet.

Pakistan boosts national pride by breaking world records

While banding together to sing the national anthem en masse and kicking coconuts off people’s heads might seem frivolous, a former Pakistani ambassador says these feats are grabbing rare international attention for good news from Pakistan.

Government report on Iranian spy agency pulled from circulation

A Library of Congress report claimed that Iran has one of the largest spy agencies in the Middle East. Now, a ProPublica reporter questions the legitimacy of the figures because of uncertainty about who wrote it and where they got their information.

New book recalls British Empire’s attempt to intervene in Afghanistan

Arts, Culture & Media

The British Indian Army invaded Afghanistan twice. Neither ended exactly smoothly, but the first invasion ended in disaster with the British Army retreating but being slaughtered on its way out of Kabul. A new book examines that history and some of the similarities between that invasion and the current U.S.-led effort.

Pakistan, India to normalize trade relations

India and Pakistan, countries that have fought two wars, will normalize trade relations after Pakistan reciprocated on a move India made in 1996.