WORLD
Speed of Taliban advance in Afghanistan surprising
The momentum is clearly with the insurgents, while the Afghan government struggles to keep its grip on power. This week, one leaked US intelligence report estimated that Kabul could come under attack within weeks, and the government could collapse within 90 days. The US and its Nato allies, including the UK, have spent the best part of the last 20 years training and equipping the Afghan security forces.
Pak 'smugglers markets' forced to rethink business model due to troops withdrawal
The US is set to wrap up its military presence in Afghanistan by the end of this month, the end of a campaign that saw hundreds of billions spent, often with little accounting. Along the Afghan border after 2001, the markets mushroomed in Pakistan, offering military gadgets, clothing and luxury goods meant for American bases and compounds.
UN humanitarians assess needs of 18.4 mn Afghans
"Many people are arriving in Kabul and other large cities, seeking safety from the conflict and other threats," Xinhua news agency reported on Friday citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as saying. Inter-agency assessments are ongoing in the field focusing on new displacement and other issues.
China forced Covid-19 origins probe to drop lab-leak theory: WHO
In the documentary, titled "The Virus Mystery", Peter Ben Embarek said the Chinese researchers were against the theory that Covid-19 pandemic emerged from a genetically modified virus which leaked from the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), the Washington Post reported.
Doha meeting on Afghanistan calls for ceasefire
Issued on Thursday evening at the final session of the meeting, a joint statement made it clear that the participants have agreed on the need to accelerate the peace process as a very urgent and key issue for negotiating concrete proposals between the Afghan government and the Taliban, reports Xinhua news agency.
Pak 'kill list' taken up by parliamentary committee
The committee called upon the Imran Khan government to carry out an investigation. Shazia Marri, the committee's chairperson, directed the interior secretary to have an early meeting with former Senators Farhatullah Babar and Afrasiab Khattak to take the matter forward. The names of both the senators figure on the hit list, Dawn news reported. Five UN bodies, in a joint letter to the government on May 29, 2019, had mentioned the ‘kill list'.
Ghazni Guv arrested for handing over province to Taliban
The Ministry of Interior Affairs said that the Governor along with his deputy and chief of staff have been arrested and disarmed in Wardak province, according to media reports. Laghmani was let go and escorted by the Taliban from Ghazni to Wardak. Parts of Ghazni have fallen to the Taliban, while Afghan forces are still active in other parts of the provincial capital and will launch operations against the fighters.
Afghan govt thinks Pak has some magic powers to persuade Taliban: Imran
He said in fact, persuading the Taliban has become more difficult, Dawn news reported. "Now, our leverage on the Taliban is miniscule as they think that they have won against the Americans," he said. About the controversy over US President Joe Biden's phone call, the Prime Minister said: "I keep hearing that President Biden hasn't called me. It's his business. It's not like I am waiting for any phone call."
US Covid cases, hospitalisations, deaths continue to rise: CDC
"We continue to see cases, hospitalizations, and deaths increase across the country. And now over 90 per cent of counties in the United States are experiencing substantial or high transmission," Walensky said in a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing on Thursday. The seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases reached about 113,000 per day, a nearly 24 per cent increase from the previous week.
Biden's 'hell-bent, ill-planned withdrawal' from Afghanistan turning into debacle
The Taliban's march to Kabul continues with the fall of more provincial capitals each day. The last count was 12 capitals, including Ghazni on the road between the major cities of Kandahar and Kabul. The Afghan government is trying to mount a counter-attack, and President Ashraf Ghani has sacked another army chief. But the Taliban now controls at least eight entire provinces.
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