Category: 2. World

An Afghan man, whose details were accidentally leaked by the UK in a major data breach, has been detained in Pakistan for imminent deportation alongside several family members, his son told the BBC.

The BBC has seen documents which appear to confirm the man was part of Afghan special forces units who worked alongside British forces in Afghanistan, known as the Triples.

The threat of deportation comes as Pakistan continues its drive to remove what they say are “illegal foreign nationals” to their countries.

But the Afghan man’s son said their case is particularly urgent, as if they are deported to Afghanistan, he fears they will be killed because of his father’s Triples association.

The Taliban government claims that all Afghans can “live in the country without any fear”. But a UN report titled “No safe haven” that was released last month cast doubt on their assurances about a general amnesty.

The man and his family initially applied to the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) – which was set up to relocate and protect Afghans who worked with British forces or the UK government in Afghanistan – shortly after the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.

The family were in Pakistan waiting for a final decision on the application – which was endorsed by the Ministry of Defence last year – when Pakistani authorities came to take them away.

The man’s son, Rayan, whose name we are changing for his safety, told the BBC he avoided being rounded up after hiding in a hotel bathroom in the capital Islamabad with his wife and baby son as several of his family members were taken to a holding camp.

“Some of my family are just children, the youngest is only eight months old, we kept begging the police to leave them.”

His brother later called from the camp to say officials informed them they would be deported, Rayan added.

“My brother told me they were kept in a room with about 90 other people, and were then singled out by name and separated,” Rayan said. “I’m so scared they will suddenly be deported.”

Rayan explained the family had been in limbo in Pakistan since October 2024, when the family had their biometrics recorded.

But they are still waiting.

“We have just been waiting with no explanation. They kept telling us to wait, and now it is too late,” Rayan said.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said it does not comment on individual cases. “We remain fully committed to honouring our commitments to all eligible people who pass their relevant checks for relocation,” the statement added.

The situation is made more worrying by the fact the family’s details were among those of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to resettle in the UK which were inadvertently leaked in February 2022. Families involved in the leak fear it has made them vulnerable.

Rayan is now terrified police will come back to detain him, his wife and their child next, and said he has been pleading with the British High Commission in Islamabad to be relocated to another hotel for protection.

Calvin Bailey, a Labour MP who worked alongside the Afghan Triples as an RAF commander, told the BBC that the situation is “incredibly upsetting”. He said Rayan’s father and the Triples were “people that we need to help and we owe a duty to and we must ensure that they receive more than the minimum protection”.

Bailey went on to add that he hopes the government and the British High Commission is engaged behind the scenes, even though that work is not always public.

Pakistan has a long record of taking in Afghan refugees. But the government has previously said it has been frustrated by the length of time it has taken for Afghans to be relocated to other countries.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Talal Chaudry, told the BBC it “should ask the UK authorities why they are delaying these resettlements”.

“It’s already been years,” he said. “Do you really think they will give any leniency to Pakistani nationals who are overstaying in the UK?”

Since September 2023, the year Pakistan launched its “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan”, 1,159,812 individuals have returned to Afghanistan, according to the United Nations migration agency.

The government has maintained its policy is aimed at all illegal foreign nationals.

About three million Afghans are living in Pakistan, according to the UN’s refugee agency – including around 600,000 people who came after the Taliban takeover in 2021. The UN estimates that half are undocumented.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has called on Pakistan to “ensure that any return of Afghans to Afghanistan is voluntary, safe and dignified”.

Amid police raids and deportations this summer, UNHCR has urged the government “to apply measures to exempt Afghans with continued international protection needs from involuntary return”.

Additional reporting by Usman Zahid

Wizdan Ridho Abimanyu, a ninth-grader in Sragen, told Reuters he was awakened in the middle of the night by a sharp pain in his stomach.

He suffered from diarrhoea and a headache, which he suspected was caused by food poisoning. He later saw schoolmates complaining of similar symptoms in their social media posts.

The alleged culprit was a meal comprising turmeric rice, scrambled eggs, fried tempeh, a cucumber salad and a box of milk – all prepared in a central kitchen and distributed to several schools in town.

The government has said it would cover any medical expenses incurred as a result.

“We cannot draw any specific conclusions right away,” Sigit Pamungkas, leader of the town’s government, had told Indonesia’s Tempo newspaper.

“But the main point is that it’s not just [happening here],” he said, adding that the free meals programme as a whole “needs to be more stringent and more hygienic”.

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Published On: Fri, 15 Aug 2025

13:06:42 PKT

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem warned the Lebanese government on Friday against confronting the Iran-backed group, saying there would be “no life” in Lebanon in that event.

Qassem said Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shi’ite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests against a US-backed disarmament plan as they still see room for dialogue with the Lebanese government. But he said any future protests could reach the US Embassy in Lebanon.

In a televised speech, he condemned an August 5 government decision that, he said, would “strip the resistance of its weapons” and pave the way for fighters to be expelled from their homes.

Qassem accused the cabinet of executing “American and Israeli orders” to end the resistance, even if it meant civil war, and serving “the Israeli project” — a stance he said explained the “joy” expressed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

SRINAGAR, India — Flash floods caused by torrential rains in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir have left at least 56 people dead and scores missing, authorities said Thursday, as rescue teams scouring the devastated Himalayan village brought at least 300 people to safety.

Following a cloudburst in the region’s Chositi village, which triggered floods and landslides, disaster management official Mohammed Irshad estimated that at least 80 people were still missing as of late Thursday, with many believed to have been washed away.

Irshad said that the count of missing people could increase as authorities continue to tally the figures.

Officials halted rescue operations for the night, he said. Weather officials forecast more heavy rains and floods in the area.

India’s deputy minister for science and technology, Jitendra Singh, warned that the disaster “could result in substantial” loss of life.

Susheel Kumar Sharma, a local official, said that at least 50 seriously injured people were being treated in local hospitals. Many were rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris.

Chositi is a remote Himalayan village in Kashmir’s Kishtwar district and is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 9,500 feet and about a 5-mile trek from the village.

Multiple pilgrims were also feared to be affected by the disaster. Officials said the pilgrimage had been suspended and that more rescue teams were on the way to the area to strengthen rescue and relief operations. The pilgrimage began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on Sept. 5.

The first responders to the disaster were villagers and local officials who were later joined by police and disaster management officials, as well as personnel from India’s military and paramilitary forces, Sharma said.

Abdul Majeed Bichoo, a local resident and social activist from a neighboring village, said that he witnessed the bodies of eight people being pulled out from under the mud. Three horses that were completely buried alongside them under debris were “miraculously recovered alive,” he said.

The 75-year-old Bichoo said Chositi village had become a “sight of complete devastation from all sides” following the disaster.

“It was heartbreaking and an unbearable sight. I have not seen this kind of destruction of life and property in my life,” he said.

The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes, officials said. They added that more than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen when the tragedy struck. The flash floods also damaged and washed away many homes, clustered together in the foothills.

Photos and videos circulating on social media showed extensive damage caused in the village with multiple vehicles and homes affected.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that “the situation is being monitored closely” and offered his prayers to “all those affected by the cloudburst and flooding.”

“Rescue and relief operations are underway. Every possible assistance will be provided to those in need,” he said in a social media post.

Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India’s Himalayan regions, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions.

Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms also has increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions.

Kishtwar is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region’s fragile ecosystem.

China’s newly revised entry-exit regulation introduced a new K visa policy, effective October 1, 2025.  This opens the door to young foreign science and tech talent with greater flexibility and fewer barriers. This article explains the policy changes, their background, and what they could mean for China’s innovation landscape.

On August 7, 2025, China’s State Council issued Order No. 814, officially amending the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners. This seemingly small legislative change — just two new sub-items — could have outsized significance for China’s global talent strategy.

Effective October 1, 2025, China will introduce a new K visa designed specifically for foreign young science and technology talent. This addition reflects a broader policy direction—making it easier for highly educated and skilled individuals from around the world to contribute to China’s innovation ecosystem.

What has changed?

Before this revision, China’s 2013 Foreigners Entry-Exit Administration Regulations recognized 12 categories of ordinary visas, covering purposes like work (Z visa), study (X visa), business (M visa), and family reunion (Q visa). The amendment makes two main changes:

1. A New Visa Category — Article 6 now includes: “(6) K visa: issued to foreign young science and technology talent entering China.”
2. Application Requirements — Article 7 now specifies: “Applicants for a K visa must meet the conditions and requirements for foreign young science and technology talent stipulated by the relevant Chinese authorities and submit corresponding supporting documents.”

The definition of “young science and technology talent” is quite specific:

• Graduates in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) fields from recognized universities or research institutions worldwide, holding at least a bachelor’s degree; or
• Young professionals engaged in relevant education or research work at such institutions.

Why now? The policy background

The introduction of the K visa ties directly to national strategic priorities outlined in the 20th National Congress report:

• “Science is the primary productive force, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driver.”
• The Talent Power Strategy calls for “more proactive, open, and effective” policies to attract international talent.

With the global race for scientific and technological leadership intensifying, China is making an explicit play for the next generation of innovators. The K visa is an instrument for:

• Lowering barriers to entry for qualified individuals;
• Enhancing international exchange in science and technology; and
• Fostering collaboration that feeds into China’s innovation ecosystem.

How the K visa differs from existing options

Compared with existing visa types for work or research, the K visa offers:

• More flexibility: No requirement for a Chinese employer or inviter at the application stage.
• Convenience: Potentially more generous terms for entry frequency, validity period, and duration of stay.
• Breadth of permitted activities: Holders can engage in education, research, cultural exchange, entrepreneurship, and business.

In practice, this makes it more appealing to fresh graduates, independent researchers, and entrepreneurs who might not yet have formal job offers in China but want to explore opportunities.

Implications for China’s talent landscape

Boosting Early-Career Talent Flow

Most immigration systems favor experienced professionals with long CVs. The K visa takes a different angle, aiming at youth — those in the formative stages of their careers. That means China is not just importing skills, but also building long-term relationships that may yield decades of collaboration.

Supporting innovation ecosystems beyond Beijing and Shanghai

While top-tier cities will be obvious magnets, the flexibility of the K visa could benefit smaller innovation hubs — for example, provincial tech parks, biotech clusters, or AI startups — that previously struggled to attract foreign talent due to cumbersome entry requirements.

Signaling openness amid global competition

At a time when some countries are tightening immigration, China is sending a different signal: Qualified talent is welcome here. This could enhance China’s “soft power” among global youth in the science and technology fields.

Potential for reverse brain drain

For Chinese nationals studying or working abroad who have foreign citizenship, the K visa provides an easier route to return temporarily for projects, teaching, or business ventures.

Potential challenges and considerations

• Defining “young” and “talent”: The initial guidelines point to age and academic background, but these criteria will need fine-tuning to avoid excluding capable candidates from non-traditional career paths.
• Integration and retention: Entry is just the first step. To truly benefit, China will need policies that help K visa holders integrate socially and professionally.
• Balancing security with openness: Science and technology are sensitive sectors; managing intellectual property and security concerns will be critical.
• Avoiding bureaucratic bottlenecks: Even with simplified requirements, efficiency in visa processing will determine whether the K visa’s potential is realized.

What to watch before October 1, 2025

Detailed implementation rules

While the overarching framework for the K visa is now in place, its practical impact will depend heavily on the fine print. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in coordination with relevant agencies, is expected to publish detailed guidelines before the October 1 rollout. These will outline the exact application procedures, the specific list of supporting documents required, and whether applications can be submitted entirely online. Clarity on these points will be crucial, as even a well-intentioned policy can falter if applicants face uncertainty, inconsistent instructions, or lengthy processing times.

Pilot projects

Beyond the national-level rollout, certain local governments may take the initiative to sweeten the deal for K visa holders. This could mean offering additional incentives such as startup grants, subsidized housing, or access to innovation hubs. Some cities with strong technology sectors — for example, Shenzhen for hardware innovation or Hangzhou for e-commerce and AI — may view the K visa as a strategic tool to enhance their own talent pools. If successful, these pilot projects could become models for nationwide adoption, amplifying the policy’s impact.

Key takeaways

The K visa is more than a new letter in China’s immigration alphabet — it’s a strategic lever in the competition for global science and tech talent. By lowering the entry threshold for young, educated, and skilled individuals, China is betting on early connections as a pathway to long-term innovation gains.

If implemented smoothly, it could make China a more attractive destination for the next generation of inventors, researchers, and entrepreneurs. But the real test will come in execution and retention — ensuring that those who enter on a K visa find the environment, resources, and opportunities that make them want to stay and contribute.

READ ALSO: Visa for China: Who Needs to Apply and How?

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities marked the fourth anniversary of their takeover on Friday, buoyed by Russia’s first official recognition of their government, a step they hope other countries will follow.

Parades were planned in several cities, including in central Kabul, where helicopters were set to drop flowers and the white-and-black flags of the Taliban’s “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” fluttered across the city to mark their capture of the capital on August 15, 2021.

Taliban members gathered on Thursday night at a square near the shuttered US embassy — seat of their enemy during their 20-year insurgency — waving flags and setting off fireworks, an AFP journalist said.

The military parade held last year with much fanfare at the Bagram airbase, once the linchpin for US-led operations, was cancelled this year, without public explanation.

The Taliban government remains largely isolated on the global stage over restrictions imposed under their interpretation of Islamic law, targeting women in particular.

The International Criminal Court issued in July arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity over the persecution of women and girls, who are banned from most education and work, as well as parks, gyms and travelling without a male guardian.

But the authorities scored a victory in early July when Russia became the first country to officially recognise their administration.

Kabul also enjoys close ties, despite lacking official recognition, with countries including Central Asian states, China and the United Arab Emirates.

On the Western front, the Taliban government reported talks in Kabul with officials from Norway, Britain and the United States, among others.

The authorities face almost no internal opposition, though steep challenges stem from economic fragility, international aid cuts and the influx of four million Afghans expelled from neighbouring countries.

Independent experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday called on the international community not to normalise relations with the Taliban authorities and to reject their “violent and authoritarian rule”.

“Operating without legitimacy, the Taliban enforces an institutionalised system of gender oppression, crushes dissent, exacts reprisals, and muzzles independent media while showing outright contempt for human rights, equality and non-discrimination,” the experts said in a statement.