Trump’s counter terrorism chief quits in protest over Iran war

IANS | March 17, 2026 8:51 PM

Washington, March 17 (IANS) The Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Joe Kent, has resigned with immediate effect, in a significant setback to President Donald Trump and the first high-level exit from the administration in protest against the ongoing Iran war.

Pakistan: Rights body expresses concern over continued detention of Baloch leaders

IANS | March 17, 2026 8:02 PM

Quetta, March 17 (IANS) A leading Pakistani human rights organisation on Tuesday voiced serious concern over the continued detention and ongoing trials of Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leaders, including Mahrang Baloch, who have been kept in custody for nearly a year while facing "multiple fabricated cases" before the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Quetta.

Australian parliament moves cross-party motion raising concern over human rights in Tibet

IANS | March 17, 2026 7:52 PM

Canberra, March 17 (IANS) The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) co-chair Senator Deborah O’Neill (Labour) continues to highlight the international concern over human right violations in Tibet and the protection of Tibetan cultural and religious identity. The Senator recently introduced a cross-party motion on Tibet in the Australian Senate. Marking the 67th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Uprising, an identical motion was also passed in Australia's House of Representatives.

As purges continue, Xi's long-term Taiwan ambitions remain unchanged: Report

IANS | March 17, 2026 6:39 PM

Beijing, March 17 (IANS) Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s long-term ambitions regarding Taiwan remain unchanged as he continues to strengthen political control over People’s Liberation Army (PLA) which operates more as the CCP’s military arm than a national institution, a report has detailed citing details from the ChinaPower Project at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).