NEW YORK: The threat posed by terrorism is greater now than it was at the time of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
That was the warning from experts as the UN Security Council, the presidency of which is held this month by Tunisia, hosted a high-level discussion on Friday about the past, present and future of counterterrorism efforts.
In the 20 years since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., a huge amount of research has been carried out around the world into the causes of terrorism, the identity of terrorists, and potential containment and prevention strategies.
The participants in Friday’s virtual event included members of the Global Research Network, which was established in 2015 by the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and includes 120 institutions that collaborate on identifying trends, challenges and developments in terrorism. They were joined by policymakers, practitioners and representatives of civil society.
Various vaccine trials across the world are showing highly promising efficacy, and multiple vaccines are getting approved across continents. The global vaccine race has now entered its second phase, where countries try and procure as many doses of Covid-19 vaccines as possible. India has put its faith primarily in the vaccines of Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech-ICMR. It has also secured future stockpiles of Gamaleya and Novavax vaccines through Advance Market Commitments (AMC). However, India’s crucial challenge is the vaccine rollout a massive exercise that it will have to execute using a health sector delivery system that is in dire need of an upgrade. This special report weighs India’s options.
The Taliban today undoubtedly has a stronger hold over how the US militarily plans to withdraw from the conflict in Afghanistan. This raises questions about the continuing challenges to security in South Asia in particular, the influence of IS Khorasan (IS-K), the group’s Afghanistan avatar, and its rise both as an ISIS-aligned entity and a big-tent brand for various jihadist groups in the country. As the ‘Khorasan’ project of ISIS gets more attention, and the US and the Taliban stand amidst a winded peace negotiation, this paper looks into how the IS-K is taking advantage of political uncertainty in Afghanistan to expand its footprint not only in the country but in the entire region.
English By Anjana Pasricha Share on Facebook Print this page NEW DELHI - In India, the world’s largest democracy, which has long looked to the United States as a model to be emulated, the overrunning of the U.S. Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters evoked shock and disbelief, even as political analysts cautioned that there are important lessons to be learned.
Others expressed concern that the domestic turmoil highlighted by the events could weaken the global leadership role of the United States.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed to see news of rioting and violence in Washington.