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The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to maintain profound economic and political relations with the People's Republic of China. In the interim since the 1970s China has not only enjoyed diplomatic and economic relations with the US but has become its largest trading partner. Having diplomatic relations with both Washington and Tehran, as well as being a permanent member of the United Nation's Security Council the government of China has openly served a constructive role, for all its own purpose and intentions, in attempting to bring Iran and the United States (such as in the case of the 2015 nuclear negotiations or JCPOA) back to the negotiation table. The 2015 nuclear agreement in particular was important as it potentially offered both Iran and the United States with a diplomatic opportunity and a platform to de-escalate their tensions, differences, and hostilities. The agreement also meant getting rid of most sanctions and barriers in doing business openly with Iran and hence the opening of the lucrative Iranian market to the Chinese, amongst other international players. Therefore, we have witnessed triangular relations between these three states which have influenced their political, economic, and diplomatic ambitions. This article examines the US factor in China and Iran relations in order to highlight China's dual policies towards Washington and Tehran. It concluded that the US factor compels the Chinese side to pursue a dual policy towards Iran which revolves around limited cooperation and limited abandonment. At the same time, Beijing tends to tilt toward Tehran in order to send Washington a message that China would not tolerate unilateralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By examining the historic settlement of the Balochi people from West Asia to East Africa, this article seeks to study and examine their past immigration patterns, presence and current socio-political situation as a minority Muslim population. The Balochi people are an Indo-European ethnic Sunni Muslim minority population located in a region currently shared and divided by modern Islamic republics of Iran in West Asia and Pakistan in South Asia. The Balochis have formed a significant part of the non-indigenous Muslim population in East Africa since the late 17th century. Yet, there is not much written on them as a distinct Sunni Muslim minority group originating from historic Iran (including parts of South Asia) to Africa. Being part of a larger project, this study will explore the chief reasons behind the immigration of the Balochis to the regions of East Africa and how did their presence affect the local population and vice versa. The hypothesis is that the Balochis were formerly welcomed by the indigenous and non-indigenous population of East Africa and established amicable relationships with them. Using the method of qualitative content analysis combined with historical analysis, this article highlights the reciprocal impacts of the Balochi immigrants and indigenous people of East Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the representation of women with disabilities (sensory impairment) in the Indian cinema, focusing on the Hindi speaking Bollywood. Three popular movies shown in Bollywood have been selected in order to investigate the way in which women with disability are represented. The movies include Koshish (i.e. 'Effort', (1972), Lafangey Parindey (i.e. 'Cheeky Birds', (2010) and Kaabil ([i.e. 'Capable', (2017). The year 1970 has been selected as the beginning of the time frame because it is the closest time to the first Bollywood movie (Koshish, 1972), in which a disabled woman is depicted as a leading role. To analyze the movies, Critical Disability Theory (CDT) was selected as the study's theoretical framework, and Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) has been applied as the study's research method. Results reveal that the representation of women with disability has undergone significant positive changes over time, which includes variations in social status, ability and achievements, issues and concerns, patterns of pleasure, presence and acceptance, social attitude, words and phrases used, as well as changes in policies related to women with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is actively engaged in Afghanistan, especially with the Neo-Taliban, which indicates significant changes in China's foreign policy. The Chinese government invited the Neo-Taliban delegations several times and tried to expand their role in their country. The present study examines the impact of China's active engagement with the Neo-Taliban, using Ibn Khaldun's Social Theory and Discourse Analysis. Questioning the nature of the active engagement of China with Neo-Taliban, we hypothesized an increase in insecurity overflow from Afghanistan to China, as well as an increase in insecurity complications in Afghanistan against China's interests. It became clear that the Neo-Taliban's increasing interaction with China was to the detriment of Taliban and ultimately China. The Doha Peace Agreement requested the control and restriction of foreign fighters residing in Afghanistan, which for the foreign fighters, including the Uighurs, were a reminder of the restrictions imposed on them before the fall of the Islamic Emirate. However, Mullah Omar did not openly engage with China. This will delegitimize the Afghan Neo-Taliban and ultimately create a disperse Neo-Taliban with a fragile legitimacy, whose fragility does not seem to collapse, but will not serve China's interests either. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]