Brussels, Belgium | XINHUA | U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the time has come for international forces to pull out from Afghanistan. “Together, we went into Afghanistan to deal with those who attacked us and to make sure that Afghanistan would not again become a haven for …
Read More »Biden faces tough choices in Afghanistan as troop withdrawal deadline nears
A landmark deal between the United States and the Taliban in February said foreign forces would leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in exchange for security guarantees by the Afghan armed group. Kabul, Afghanistan | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden has mulled over extending the May 1 deadline set last year by …
Read More »Chinese FM spokesperson: Australian Govt should apologize to Afghan people
Beijing, China | XINHUA | The Australian government should formally apologize to the Afghan people for the violent crimes committed against the civilians, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday. It should make a solemn promise to the international community that such atrocities will never happen again, spokesperson Hua …
Read More »Trump says U.S. troops in Iraq to be reduced to 2,000
Washington, US | XINHUA | U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq would soon be reduced to about 4,000 and 2,000 respectively. “A lot of progress has been made in Afghanistan, but we will be down to 4,000 soldiers in a very short period of …
Read More »11 Ugandans who returned from Afghanistan test positive for COVID-19
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Eleven Ugandans who recently returned from Afghanistan have tested positive for COVID-19 according to results released from the health ministry today. All the 11 returnees were under quarantine at the time of testing. The returnees are part of 19 cases that tested positive from …
Read More »COVID-19: 11 Ugandans back from Afghanistan test positive
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & PROSSY NANSUBUGA | Uganda’s COVID-19 confirmed cases have jumped to 889 , with 11 of them from a group of 91 that returned in the past week from Afghanistan. The returnees from Afghanistan are all under quarantine. Results from 2,170 samples tested on 29 …
Read More »‘Fear and panic’ as virus threatens Afghanistan, Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | With porous borders, creaking hospitals and large illiterate populations, Afghanistan and Pakistan face a potentially devastating health crisis after the new coronavirus erupted in neighbouring Iran. Islamabad has closed official border crossings while Kabul has suspended all travel to the Islamic republic, which has reported …
Read More »In bombshell, Trump calls off secret summit, talks with Taliban
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Saturday he had called off a secret summit with the Taliban and Afghanistan’s leader, abruptly slamming the door on a year of diplomacy to end America’s longest war. In a Saturday evening bombshell, Trump said that he had planned unprecedented, …
Read More »Fears in US of bad peace deal with the Taliban
Washington, United States | AFP | An Afghanistan peace agreement that the US seems close to reaching with the Taliban has prompted worries that President Donald Trump’s desire to quickly withdraw US troops could further plunge the country into civil war. Trump said Friday he was pleased with talks on ending …
Read More »Senate rebukes Trump over Syria, Afghanistan pullouts
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Senate approved by a large majority Monday an amendment critical of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria and Afghanistan, in a sign of the deep discontent caused by the policies within his own Republican ranks. The resolution was sponsored by the Republican leader of …
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