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BEIJING: Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, a key figure in the country’s economic transformation during the 1990s, has died at the age of 97. Zhu was known for his direct speaking style and his strong support for economic reform. His tenure was marked by major changes aimed at restructuring China’s state-dominated economy and opening it further to global markets. He served as China’s vice premier from 1991 to 1998 before becoming premier, a position he held until early 2003. Zhu’s political career began decades earlier. He graduated from Tsinghua University and joined the Communist Party in 1949. During the Cultural Revolution, he was sent to work in the countryside and experienced a period of political hardship. He was later rehabilitated and gradually returned to senior government positions. In 1987, Zhu became mayor of Shanghai. During his tenure, he helped guide the city through early economic reforms and development that eventually contributed to its emergence as a major international financial centre. He moved to Beijing in 1991 after joining the central government. As vice premier and later premier, Zhu became closely associated with efforts to tackle economic overheating, inflation and financial instability. His government introduced wide-ranging reforms to state-owned enterprises. Many inefficient state companies were closed, restructured or privatised, while large numbers of workers were laid off. Zhu also strengthened the central government’s control over taxation and introduced reforms that encouraged private home ownership. Those changes played a major role in reshaping China’s housing market. One of his most significant achievements was helping China secure membership of the World Trade Organization in 2001, following years of difficult negotiations. China formally joined the organisation in December that year. The WTO accession accelerated China’s integration into the global economy and helped expand international trade and investment. However, Zhu’s reform programme also had critics. Some observers argued that changes to agricultural policy, tax arrangements and state-owned enterprises created difficulties that later governments had to address. Despite those criticisms, Zhu remained widely regarded as one of the most influential economic reformers in modern Chinese history. His reputation for blunt remarks became particularly prominent after a collection of his speeches was published in 2011. The books contained unusually candid assessments of corruption, government debt, banking problems and weaknesses in public administration. The speeches attracted significant public attention because they addressed many of the economic and social challenges facing China at the time. Zhu warned about corruption, inequality and problems created by local officials. His comments continued to attract interest among reform-minded officials, academics and members of the public long after he left office. His death marks the passing of a leader who played a central role in one of the most consequential periods of China’s economic development. Zhu’s legacy is closely linked to the difficult reforms of the 1990s, when China moved towards a more market-oriented economy while maintaining the political control of the Communist Party.

Restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan have sharply reduced their participation in public life, with more than half of surveyed women saying they now leave their homes only once or twice a month, according to a new UN Women assessment. The findings were released as Afghanistan approaches the fifth anniversary of the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. UN Women said Afghanistan remains the only country where girls are barred from secondary education and women are prohibited from attending universities. The agency said the restrictions have increasingly affected women’s freedom of movement, education, employment and access to public life. More than half of the women surveyed reported leaving home no more than twice a month. Nearly three-quarters said they did not feel safe going outside without a male guardian, commonly referred to as a mahram. UN Women said the restrictions have also contributed to growing concerns about women’s mental health. Around seven out of 10 women surveyed described their mental health as either “bad” or “very bad”. Respondents cited social isolation, reduced opportunities and limited access to support networks among the factors affecting their wellbeing. The UN agency said Taliban authorities have introduced more than 100 decrees affecting women and girls since returning to power. It described the measures as creating a system of discrimination and said Afghanistan had become an extreme global example of restrictions on women’s rights. The Taliban maintain that their policies respect women’s rights under their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture. Education remains heavily restricted The restrictions on education have affected millions of Afghan girls. UNESCO estimated that about 2.4 million girls have been prevented from attending secondary school since the Taliban returned to power. Women and girls have also been excluded from university education, limiting their opportunities to pursue professional careers and higher education. UN Women said recent measures had further weakened legal protections available to women. According to the agency, rules introduced this year reduced legal equality between men and women, strengthened the authority of men within marriage and created additional difficulties for women seeking divorce. Women largely excluded from workforce Economic participation remains another major challenge. UN Women reported that only about 7% of Afghan women are employed, compared with approximately 84% of men. The agency said the restrictions on education and employment were limiting women’s ability to earn income, develop careers and contribute to the country’s economy. The findings were based on a door-to-door survey involving 2,190 people conducted between February and March 2025. The agency also conducted telephone interviews with 2,811 people between April and May 2025. UN Women warned that continued restrictions could further isolate women and deepen the social and economic consequences of excluding half of Afghanistan’s population from public life. The Taliban government has not immediately responded to requests for comment on the latest findings.

ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the vision behind the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan extends beyond the three signatories and could eventually include other regional countries. Erdogan said the agreement was designed to strengthen collective security and promote lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region. He stressed that the pact was not directed against any particular country. Speaking in an interview with an Arab newspaper, Erdogan said the three countries wanted to create a broader regional framework based on cooperation, mutual trust and collective responsibility. He said countries that support peace, stability and prosperity should be able to join the framework in the future. According to Erdogan, the agreement is based on the principle of collective deterrence. A security threat against one member would be treated as a concern for the other members. He said the arrangement could also encourage joint defence-industry projects and greater cooperation against terrorism. Erdogan argued that regional countries should take greater responsibility for addressing their own security challenges rather than relying on solutions imposed from outside the region. He described the agreement as the outcome of long-running consultations among the participating countries and said it reflected changing conditions in the region. The Turkish president also rejected the idea that the pact was simply a response to tensions between the United States and Iran. He said its broader objective was to establish a durable mechanism for regional security. Focus on Gulf security Erdogan said the agreement could contribute to stability in the Gulf, which he described as vital to international trade and the global economy. He highlighted the importance of energy supplies, maritime routes and trade links passing through the region. He also expressed concern over tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, warning that prolonged disruption there could have consequences for economies around the world. Erdogan called for restraint and continued diplomatic engagement to ensure the waterway remains safe for international shipping. He said Türkiye preferred dialogue and negotiations over military escalation and believed diplomatic efforts were essential to resolving disputes in the region and beyond. The Makkah agreement formalises growing strategic cooperation between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. The three countries describe the arrangement as defensive and aimed at strengthening collective deterrence rather than creating an offensive military bloc. Erdogan said stronger cooperation between Ankara and Riyadh would also contribute to regional stability. He pointed to expanding ties in defence, trade, investment, energy and tourism. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has described the trilateral agreement as an extension of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia’s existing defence cooperation. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had earlier signed a strategic mutual defence agreement under which aggression against either country would be treated as aggression against both. The latest trilateral framework builds on those longstanding security ties and introduces Türkiye into a wider mechanism for defence cooperation.