A plane takes off Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on August 4, 2022. — AFP
Far above Kabul, the cash-strapped Taliban government has located a potentially lucrative revenue stream: Afghanistan’s airspace.
As Israel and Iran’s exchange of missiles threw flight paths into disarray this year, the skies above Afghanistan offered carriers a less turbulent and faster route to ply — for a flat $700 overflight fee, according to industry insiders.
The US aviation authority eased restrictions on the country’s airspace and paved the way for commercial flyovers in 2023, two years after the Taliban takeover.
Airspace that had long been avoided — as the country endured four decades of war and shifting powerbrokers — suddenly became a viable option, allowing carriers to abbreviate routes and save on fuel costs.
But it was not until the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June that the route really gained traction, allowing the Taliban government to potentially rake in millions.
Faced with shuttered airspace over Iran and Iraq, and unpredictable openings and closures across the Middle East, airlines saw reason to divert course and found refuge over Afghanistan.
While missiles clogged the neighbouring airspace, “the risk of flying over Afghanistan (was) virtually zero”, said France-based aerospace and defence consultant Xavier Tytelman.
“It’s like flying over the sea.”
May’s average of 50 planes cutting through Afghanistan each day skyrocketed to around 280 after June 13, when war erupted in the neighbourhood, data from tracking website Flightradar24 showed.
Since then, in any given day, more than 200 planes often traverse Afghanistan — equivalent to roughly $4.2 million a month, though this figure is difficult to verify as the authorities do not publish budgets and have declined to comment.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during their meeting in New Delhi, India August 19, 2025. — Reuters
Development comes against backdrop of US tariffs on New Delhi.
Modi is on his first visit to China in seven years to attend SCO bloc.
Regional security bloc, whose members also include Russia and Iran.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday, as ties between the Asian rivals thaw against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s imposition of punitive tariffs on New Delhi.
Modi is on his first visit to China in seven years to participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) regional security bloc, whose members also include Russia and Iran.
Modi’s visit is the first since a deadly 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese troops on their disputed Himalayan border. The neighbours share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s.
Here is a timeline of the thaw in ties since the military standoff began five years ago:
2020: At least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese troops are killed in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, northern India, in June 2020.
The same year, New Delhi heightened scrutiny of investments from China, banned popular Chinese mobile apps and severed direct passenger air routes.
December, 2022: Minor border scuffles between Indian and Chinese troops break out in the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which is also claimed by China as part of southern Tibet.
August, 2023: Modi and Xi meet in Johannesburg on the sidelines of a summit of the BRICS grouping of nations and agree to intensify efforts to disengage and de-escalate tensions.
September 2024: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, speaking at an event in Geneva, says about 75% of the “disengagement” problems at India’s border with China had been sorted out.
India’s aviation minister also indicates a thaw in the standoff, writing in a post on X that the two countries had discussed early resumption of direct passenger flights on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in Delhi.
October 2024: Both nations reach a deal on patrolling their disputed frontier to end the military stand-off.
Modi and Xi hold their first formal talks in five years on October 23 in Russia on the sidelines of a BRICS summit.
The leaders agreed to boost communication and cooperation between their countries and resolve conflicts to help improve ties.
December 2024: Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval travels to China to hold first formal talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the border issue after the October agreement.
Doval and Wang are designated as special representatives by their countries for discussing the border issue.
January 2025: Wang and India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri hold talks in China. Both sides agree to resume direct air services and work on resolving differences over trade and economic issues.
April 2025: Chinese embassy spokesperson says India and China should stand together to overcome difficulties in the face of tariffs imposed by Trump’s administration.
July 2025: Jaishankar makes first visit to China in five years, says India and China must resolve border friction, pull back troops and avoid “restrictive trade measures” to normalise their relationship.
Reuters reports that the Indian government’s top think tank has proposed easing rules that de facto require extra scrutiny for investments by Chinese companies.
August 2025: Wang tells his Indian counterpart while on a visit to New Delhi that China and India should establish “correct strategic understanding” and regard each other as partners, not rivals.
Later in the month, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong says at an event in New Delhi that China opposes Washington’s steep tariffs on India and will “firmly stand with India”.
How a leaked phone call derailed Thai PM’s careerpublished at 11:10 British Summer Time
11:10 BST
Jonathan Head BBC South East Asia Correspondent
Image source, Getty Images
Thailand’s Constitutional Court strikes again, removing yet another prime minister from office.
The country’s notoriously interventionist panel of nine appointed judges has ruled that Paetongtarn Shinawatra violated ethical standards in a phone call she had in June with veteran Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which he then leaked.
In it, Paetongtarn could be heard being conciliatory towards Hun Sen over their countries’ border dispute, and criticising one of her own army commanders.
She defended her conversation saying she had been trying to make a diplomatic breakthrough with Hun Sen, an old friend of her father Thaksin Shinawatra, and said the conversation should have remained confidential.
The leak was damaging and deeply embarrassing for her and her Pheu Thai party. It sparked calls for her to resign as her biggest coalition partner walked out of the government, leaving her with a slim majority.
In July, seven out of the nine judges on the court voted to suspend Paetongtarn, a margin which suggested she would suffer the same fate as her four predecessors. So today’s decision is not a surprise.
Paetongtarn is the fifth Thai prime minister to be removed from office by this court, all of them from administrations backed by her father.
This has given rise to a widespread belief in Thailand that it nearly always rules against those seen as a threat by conservative, royalist forces.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced the “endless catalogue of horrors” unfolding in Gaza after nearly two years of conflict, as Gaza’s civil defence reported dozens of new casualties from Israeli strikes.
As Israel’s military prepares to take control of Gaza City, the nation faces increasing domestic and international pressure to halt its offensive in the Palestinian territory, where the UN has officially declared a famine.
About two million Palestinians—the vast majority of the population—have been displaced at least once during the conflict, with humanitarian organisations warning against any expansion of military operations.
“Gaza is piled with rubble, piled with bodies and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law,” Guterres told journalists on Thursday, emphasising the need for accountability.
On Thursday, massive plumes of smoke were rising above Gaza City following Israeli bombardments of the city’s outskirts, as captured in video footage.
Aya Daher, displaced from Gaza City’s Zeitoun district, told the AFP news agency she had no shelter and was “just waiting for God’s mercy” outside a local hospital.
“There were explosions all night. I was injured, my husband was injured by shrapnel, and my son was also wounded in the head. Thank God we survived, but there were martyrs,” she said.
Cindy McCain, head of the UN’s World Food Programme, warned that Gaza had reached “breaking point” and called for the urgent restoration of its network of 200 food distribution points.
Following a visit to the territory, McCain reported witnessing firsthand that “desperation is soaring”.
The UN formally declared a famine in the Gaza governorate last week, attributing it to “systematic obstruction” of humanitarian aid deliveries by Israel.
Thailand’s Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday for an ethics violation after only a year in power, dealing another crushing blow to the Shinawatra political dynasty that could usher in a new period of turmoil.
Paetongtarn, who was Thailand’s youngest prime minister, becomes the sixth premier from or backed by the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or judiciary in a tumultuous two-decade battle for power between the country’s warring elites.
In its verdict, the court said Paetongtarn violated ethics in a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen when both countries were at the brink of an armed border conflict. Fighting erupted weeks later and lasted five days.
The decision paves the way for the election by parliament of a new prime minister, a process that could be drawn out, with Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai party losing bargaining power and facing a challenge to shore up a fragile alliance with a razor-thin majority.
In a 6-3 decision, the court said Paetongtarn had put her private interests before those of the nation and damaged the reputation of the country, causing a loss of public confidence.
“Due to a personal relationship that appeared aligned with Cambodia, the respondent was consistently willing to comply with or act in accordance with the wishes of the Cambodian side,” the court said in a statement.
The ruling brings a premature end to the premiership of the daughter and protégé of influential tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra. Paetongtarn, 39, was a political neophyte when she was thrust abruptly into the spotlight after the surprise dismissal of predecessor Srettha Thavisin by the same court a year ago.
Paetongtarn has apologised over the leaked call and said she was trying to avert a war.
Uncertainty ahead
She is the fifth premier in 17 years to be removed by the Constitutional Court, underlining its central role in an intractable power struggle between the elected governments of the Shinawatra clan and a nexus of powerful conservatives and royalist generals with far-reaching influence.
The focus will next shift to who will replace Paetongtarn, with Thaksin expected to be at the heart of a flurry of horse-trading between parties and other power-brokers to try to keep Pheu Thai in charge of the coalition.
Deputy premier Phumtham Wechayachai and the current cabinet will oversee the government in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected by the house, with no time limit on when that must take place.
There are five people eligible to become prime minister, with only one from Pheu Thai, 77-year-old Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former attorney general with limited cabinet experience, who has maintained a low profile in politics.
Others include former premier Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has retired from politics and led a military coup against the last Pheu Thai government in 2014, and Anutin Charnvirakul, a deputy premier before he withdrew his party from Paetongtarn’s coalition over the leaked phone call.
The ruling thrusts Thailand into more political uncertainty at a time of simmering public unease over stalled reforms and a stuttering economy expected by the central bank to grow just 2.3 per cent this year.
Any Pheu Thai administration would be a coalition likely to have only a slender majority and could face frequent parliamentary challenges from an opposition with huge public support that is pushing for an early election.
“Appointing a new prime minister…will be difficult and may take considerable time,” said Stithorn Thananithichot, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.
“It’s not easy for all parties to align their interests,” he said. “Pheu Thai will be at a disadvantage.”
Despite growing concerns over plastic pollution and how it’s affecting human health, global policy progress on the matter is faltering.
Research from Trellis data partner GlobeScan, in conjunction with ERM and Volans, shows that sustainability experts ranked a Global Plastics Treaty as highly impactful but among the least feasible actions out of 64 sustainability measures assessed. While the research was conducted prior to the latest treaty negotiations, treaty talks have stalled without meaningful commitments.
The unlikelihood of a treaty is all the more pressing at a time when public concern over plastic pollution is widespread. A Globescan study from last year showed 70 percent of people globally felt directly impacted by single-use plastic waste. The leading concern of single-use plastic waste? Not climate change or ocean pollution, but the presence and effect of microplastics and chemicals in the human body.
What this means
The gap between the low feasibility of a global treaty and the significant public concern over the health impacts of plastics presents both risk and opportunity for business. Brands that take decisive action to reduce plastics can build consumer trust and credibility, while those that delay may face reputational challenges with increasingly health-conscious audiences.
Based on a survey of 844 sustainability practitioners in 72 countries conducted April-May 2025 and an online survey of more than 30,000 people across 31 markets conducted in 2024.
Typhoon Kajiki steadily intensified over the South China Sea last weekend into a category 2 storm with sustained wind speeds of 115mph. It made landfall near the coastal city of Vinh in Vietnam on Monday afternoon, having slightly weakened but still packing a punch with winds of up to 100mph and torrential rainfall.
Kajiki’s wind threat soon faded after landfall, but the flood risk continued into Tuesday and Wednesday as the system moved inland. Parts of central and northern Vietnam, as well as Thailand, experienced 300-400mm of rainfall.
Seven people were killed in Vietnam, with flood water damaging more than 10,000 homes. The area is also home to thousands of hectares of rice plantations, some of which have also been affected by the extreme rainfall. Power outages and flooding have also reached the capital, Hanoi, where the outer bands of the storm continued to produce heavy rainfall into Tuesday and Wednesday.
A damaged statue in Vinh, Vietnam. Photograph: Luong Thai Linh/EPA
The duration of torrential rains from Typhoon Kajiki led to an elevated landslide risk across Laos and Thailand on Thursday. Landslides were reported in 12 Thai provinces, including the popular tourist destination of Chiang Mai, where four people were killed. Another person drowned in Mae Hong Son, bringing the death toll to five in Thailand, with a further 15 injured.
Further rains can be expected over Thailand, Laos and Vietnam over the weekend as another system, designated as tropical depression 20W by the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, now over the South China Sea, tracks westwards over the region. This will prolong the risk of landslides and could hamper rescue efforts.
Monsoon floods across India and Pakistan continued this week, with 200,000 people evacuated across the Punjab province of Pakistan alone. Further extreme monsoon rains fell over the region this week, as well as across parts of India, raising fears that water released from dams in India would cause flooding downstream in Pakistan.
At least 34 people died in Kashmir, adding to the wider death toll of about 800 caused by the 2025 monsoon season, which has been the wettest across the region in 12 years. Torrential rains are expected to continue across north-west India next week, before the monsoon season begins to wind down throughout September.
A giant dust storm approaches Phoenix, Arizona. Photograph: Ross D Franklin/AP
The monsoon season across the south-west of the US is also in full swing, as thunderstorms affected Phoenix, Arizona early this week. A spectacular dust storm moved through the area as a result of these thunderstorms on Tuesday afternoon.
Torrential rain from monsoon storms can help to produce strong wind gusts that push out in advance of the rain, picking up dust and sand from the previously dry landscape into large dust clouds. However, the heavy rainfall also caused disruption on Wednesday morning, flooding an underpass downtown, stranding several cars.
A Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed during a rehearsal for an airshow in Radom, central Poland, and the pilot died, the army said on Thursday.
“A Polish Army pilot died in the crash of an F-16 aircraft — an officer who always served his country with dedication and great courage. I pay tribute to his memory,” Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote on X after arriving at the crash scene.
The General Command of the Armed Forces said that the accident involved an aircraft from the 31st Tactical Air Base near Poznan and that there were no injuries to any bystanders.
“Rescue operations were immediately initiated at the scene,” it said in a statement.
Footage obtained by Polish media showed the F-16 performing a barrel roll aerobatic manoeuvre, and then crashing in flames as it slid on the ground.
Local media said the aircraft crashed into the runway around 1730 GMT and damaged it, and the Radom Airshow planned for the weekend has been cancelled.
