Blinken, Austin meet in Qatar on Afghan evacuations
US State Secretary Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin opened talks on Tuesday in key diplomatic hub Qatar as they try to speed up evacuations from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover. The top officials from US President Joe Biden’s security team began a meeting at the foreign ministry with their counterparts after a dinner […]
US waiting to see how new Afghan govt shapes up before any decision on recognition: Blinken
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that the United States would like to see how the new Taliban government shapes up and what policies it pursues before recognising it. The US media reported earlier on Friday that Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is likely to lead the new Afghan government. Baradar, […]
US suspends diplomatic presence in Kabul, to conduct ties ‘from distance’
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday decided to maintain diplomatic relations with Afghanistan — even though it’s now controlled by its former arch enemy, the Taliban — but will no longer have any personnel on the ground. “We have suspended our diplomatic presence in Kabul, and transferred our operations to Doha, Qatar, which will soon […]
Before dawn, Taliban enter Kabul airport and take control
The Taliban were in full control of Kabul’s international airport on Tuesday, after the last US plane left its runway, marking the end of America’s longest war. Vehicles carrying the Taliban raced back and forth along the Hamid Karzai International Airport’s sole runway on the northern, military side of the airfield. Before dawn broke, heavily […]
US exit will stop IS attacks in Afghanistan, Taliban spokesperson says
The Taliban’s spokesman says they will crack down on the the militant Islamic State (IS) group’s attacks and expects them to end once foreign forces leave the country. “We hope that those Afghans who are influenced by IS […] will give up their operations on seeing the formation of an Islamic government in the absence […]
UNSC to convene emergency meeting on Afghanistan today
Envoys of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting today (Monday) to discuss the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan following the US drawdown and Taliban takeover of the war-ravished country, according to Radio Pakistan. The state broadcaster reported that France and Britain are expected to submit a resolution in the meeting, proposing the establishment […]
Canada approves Moderna vaccine for kids aged 12-17
Health Canada has approved the usage of the Moderna Covid-19 to inoculate children between 12 to 17 years. The Moderna vaccine had been approved for use in adults over the age of 18 in Canada since December 2020, reports Xinhua news agency. After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, Health Canada said […]
US intelligence community has failed to detect Covid-19 origin, says report
The US intelligence community has failed to reach any firm conclusion on the exact origin of Covid-19 and is split on whether it leaked from a lab in China or emerged in nature, even though it does not believe the virus was developed as a biological weapon, according to results of a detailed review ordered […]
19 drown as boat collides with ship in Bangladesh
DHAKA: At least 19 people were killed and dozens remain missing as a boat packed with passengers and a sand-laden cargo ship collided on Friday in a lake in eastern Bangladesh, officials said. The boat was reportedly carrying some 60 passengers when the incident occurred on a lake in the town of Bijoynagar, local government […]
Osama’s involvement in 9/11 was never proven, say Taliban
WASHINGTON: A Taliban spokesman has said that there was no justification for the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 as Osama bin Laden’s involvement in the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were never proven. Zabihullah Mujahid made the claim during an interview with NBC Nightly News on Wednesday, less than two weeks after the Taliban […]
