WORLD
Doha agreement dealt a blow to Afghan military, say US generals
The so-called Doha agreement was signed in February 2020 and set a date for the US to withdraw its troops. Gen Frank McKenzie said the deal had a "really pernicious effect" on the Afghan government and military. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin agreed, saying the agreement had helped the Taliban get "stronger".
US Marines told to clean graffiti insulting Taliban
The Marines were ordered to destroy equipment the military was leaving behind at Hamid Karzai International Airport as the withdrawal was winding down, the Wshington Post reported. They smashed electronics with sledgehammers, shattered windows and stripped armoured vehicles to render them useless to the Taliban.
Clock ticks toward Friday as US govt shutdown looms
Democrats this week scrambled to extend funding for some federal government operations, in a bid to avoid a shutdown as negotiations with Republicans reached a stalemate amid a bitter partisan divide in Washington, Xinhua news agency reported. US President Joe Biden cancelled a trip in an effort to focus on budget negotiations amid a tense moment in Washington.
Alarm bells in Islamabad over anti-Pak bill in US Senate
Raising the issue of the anti-Pakistan bill that aims to penalise and sanction different countries, Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader in Senate and chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Senator Sherry Rehman said Pakistan was faced with a moment of serious peril after the hasty pullout of US forces from Afghanistan.
Putin, Erdogan discuss international cooperation, bilateral ties in Sochi
Putin noted that Russian-Turkish cooperation on the international arena has been successful, further pointing to efforts aimed at coordinating positions on Syria and Libya, Xinhua news agency reported
Militant Bangladesh preacher Ibrahim arrested, to be grilled
He is also accused of being behind the assassination of progressive popular Islamic preacher Maulana Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi in 2014. In a case of murder against six presenters, including Ibrahim, of Islamist programmes, organised by Jamaat-e-Islami and paid by Pakistan, on different private Bangladesh television channels, it was alleged that Ibrahim of the Zakir Naik-run Peace TV had threatened to kill Faruqi in 2012.
Power blackouts now rolled out in Beijing and Shanghai
The Beijing office of State Grid Corp. of China said it will begin scheduled power outages in select areas through Sunday. Electricity will mainly be cut for a few daytime hours at a time. The rolling blackouts will affect at least four districts in the capital. They include Xicheng and Dongcheng, which house government agencies and residences of top officials; Chaoyang, where many foreigners live; and Haidan, where several tech companies are located.
US Senators seek probe into Pak's role in assisting Taliban
The 'Afghanistan Counterterrorism, Oversight, and Accountability Act' seeks to establish a task force that will focus on continued evacuation of American citizens, legal permanent residents and Special Immigrant Visa holders from Afghanistan. Introduced by 22 American Republican Senators, the bill seeks to tackle issues related to the Afghan withdrawal, such as counterterrorism strategies and sanctioning the Taliban for alleged human rights abuses in the country.
US concerned about Pak nuclear weapons after Taliban takeover
"We estimated an accelerated withdrawal would increase risks of regional instability, the security of Pakistan and its nuclear arsenals," Chairman of the Joint Chief General Mark Milley told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "We need to fully examine the role of Pakistan sanctuary," the general said, while emphasising the need to probe how the Taliban withstood US military pressure for 20 years, the report said.
Fresh tensions between UK and France over fishing permits
French Sea Minister Annick Girardin reportedly said: "French fishing must not be taken hostage by the British for political ends." "It is a new refusal of the British to apply the conditions of the Brexit accord despite all the work undertaken together," a French newspaper quoted Girardin as saying.
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