US president to discuss troop withdrawal with his Afghan counterpart amid a surge in fighting between Afghan forces and the Taliban across the country.
Jun 21 - ...The Taliban said the visit would be “useless”.
“They (Ghani and Abdullah) will talk with the US officials for preservation of their power and personal interest,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. “It won’t benefit Afghanistan.”
There was no immediate reaction from Ghani’s office but a senior Afghan official said the Afghan president would be seeking assurances from the US over its continued support for Afghan security forces in the aftermath of the withdrawal.
The visit would also come in the face of slow progress in talks between the Taliban and Afghan government representatives in Qatar.
Officials have raised concerns over the stalling negotiations and have said the Taliban has not yet submitted a written peace proposal that could be used as a starting point for substantive talks... quoted from
During his tenure, Ghani has strengthened ties with Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, with which it has made deals to increase mutual trading.[25][26] New trade routes have also been launched within the wider region. The Chabahar Port in Iran allows increased trading with India whilst avoiding Pakistani territory.[27] A railway line from Khaf in Iran to Herat in Afghanistan is set to be opened in late 2018.[28][29] In 2017, a railway line from Turkmenistan was extended to Aqina in Afghanistan, the precursor of the "Lapis Lazuli" transport corridor that was signed by Ghani that same year and would link Afghanistan to the Caucasus and the Black Sea.[30] Other regional projects include the CASA-1000 hydroelectricity transmission from Central Asia, and the TAPI gas pipeline, expected to be completed by 2018 and 2019 respectively.[31] In January 2018 at the inauguration of the Khan Steel iron smelting plant in Kabul, Ghani said that he is aiming for Afghanistan to become a steel exporter. source from
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has replaced two top ministers charged with managing the country's faltering security
Jun. 21 - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has sacked his defense and interior ministers. On Saturday, the Taliban seized at least six more districts across Afghanistan.
Jun. 21 - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has opted to replace his defense and interior ministers Saturday amid a rapidly deteriorating security situation across Afghanistan. With foreign forces withdrawing and the Taliban's reach expanding,the deteriorating situation has forced the president to act.
Who are the incoming defense and interior ministers in Afghanistan?Ghani has named General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi as his new defense minister. He will replace Asadullah Khalid, who has served in the role since 2018 but previously suffered severe injuries in a 2012 suicide bombing, forcing repeated treatments abroad.
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi previously fought under the late Ahmad Shah Massoud during the country's civil war in the 1990s. Massoud was murdered by the Taliban just two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US.
President Ghani also named General Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal, who previously held several regional posts, as the country's new interior minister.
Cabinet changes must be approved by parliament so both men will serve in an acting role until then... more
President Biden looks forward to welcoming Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation, to the White House on June 25, 2021. The visit by President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues. The United States is committed to supporting the Afghan people by providing diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian assistance to support the Afghan people, including Afghan women, girls and minorities. The United States will remain deeply engaged with the Government of Afghanistan to ensure the country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorist groups who pose a threat to the U.S. homeland. The United States continues to fully support the ongoing peace process and encourages all Afghan parties to participate meaningfully in negotiations to bring an end to the conflict. source from
Bangi and Khwaja Ghar districts in the northern Takhar province were retaken from the Taliban in an operation by government and public uprising forces on Monday morning, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Jun. 21 - The operation was launched on Sunday night with Air Force support and “the districts were cleared of Taliban this morning,” the ministry said. “The Taliban escaped from the district after suffering heavy casualties,” the Defense Ministry said.
The statement also mentioned that Abdal and Qara Parcho villages on the outskirts of the Taluqan city, capital of the province, were also cleared of the Taliban.
Taliban has not yet commented on the operation.
The situation has been fragile in the northeastern province of Takhar over the last two weeks. Eight districts of the province, including Chal, Baharak, Ishkamish, Namak Ab, Yangi Qala, Khwaja Ghar and Hazar Samooch, have either fallen to the Taliban or have been evacuated by security forces within a week's time.
Jun. 20 - Afghanistan's former president has said the United States came to his country to fight extremism and bring stability to his war-tortured nation and is leaving nearly 20 years later having failed at both.
In an interview with The Associated Press just weeks before the last US and Nato troops leave Afghanistan, ending their "forever war", Hamid Karzai said extremism is at its "highest point" and the departing troops are leaving behind a disaster.
"The international community came here 20 years ago with this clear objective of fighting extremism and bringing stability ... but extremism is at the highest point today. So they have failed," he said. Their legacy is a war-ravaged nation in "total disgrace and disaster".
"We recognise as Afghans all our failures, but what about the bigger forces and powers who came here for exactly that purpose? Where are they leaving us now?" he asked and answered: "In total disgrace and disaster"... more
Jun. 12 - The Japanese government is considering ending a state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures as scheduled on June 20, but keeping some curbs such as on restaurant hours until the Olympics start in July, the Mainichi daily reported.
New coronavirus infections in Olympics host Tokyo have inched down during the last month of emergency restrictions although authorities remain concerned about the spread of variants and the continued strain on medical resources.
On Friday, the head of Japan's main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Edano, called for the Games to be postponed or cancelled, saying there was an "extremely high risk" of an explosive outbreak in August and September if they went ahead.
The Mainichi newspaper reported on Friday the government would ask restaurants to keep shorter hours and impose other curbs under the targeted quasi-emergency measures. Bars and restaurants are now asked to close by 8 p.m. and are banned from serving alcohol.
A final decision is expected late next week, a few days before the end of the current emergency state, which also covers the northern island of Hokkaido, host of the marathon event. more
The son of a Holocaust survivor, Rabbi Mordechai Balla says one of the most important aspects of his new job is educating non-Jewish soldiers while ministering to all faiths’ needs
Jun 12 - Shortly after assuming power in 1933, Adolf Hitler banned rabbis from administering to Jewish conscripts in the German military. Later this month, the German government will install the first chief military rabbi since the ban, with more Jewish clergy set to bolster the lines in the near future. It has been 76 years since the conclusion of the Holocaust, and nearly 90 years since a rabbi has served in this capacity.
The appointee, Budapest-born Rabbi Mordechai Eliezer “Zsolt” Balla, told The Times of Israel that his goal isn’t only to provide religious resources for soldiers, but to normalize German military service for all prospective Jewish inductees... more
German soldiers at a press presentation on May 26 in Frankenberg
Rabbi Mordechai Eliezer (Zsolt) Balla says he 'will help all Jews live Jewish life' For the first time in 100 years, and 76 years after the end of the Holocaust, a chief rabbi has been appointed to the German army.
Rabbi Mordechai Eliezer (Zsolt) Balla's appointment ceremony will take place in Leipzig in three weeks, according to several reports. At least ten other rabbis will also be appointed to various posts in the German army.
"It is a great responsibility. We have to help all Jews live a Jewish life, if they are looking for kosher food and the opportunity to pray," Balla told Kan public broadcaster Thursday .
Germany has reportedly allocated € 5 million to establish the army's new chief rabbinate. The German army does not record the religious affiliations of its members. But an estimated 300 Jews, 1,400 Muslims and 94,000 Christians make up the armed forces of the Bundeswehr, German media reported.
Today, the President of the United States and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom reaffirm their commitment to work together to realise our vision for a more peaceful and prosperous future.
Our revitalised Atlantic Charter, building on the commitments and aspirations set out eighty years ago, affirms our ongoing commitment to sustaining our enduring values and defending them against new and old challenges. We commit to working closely with all partners who share our democratic values and to countering the efforts of those who seek to undermine our alliances and institutions... more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to speed up the United States' recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession. Wikipedia
H.R.1319 - American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 This bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses. quoted from
When two of his employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, handpicked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared. . .quoted from
美轰炸机再飞中东 以升级作战计划 伊朗如何反击？20210309 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际 Mar 11, 2021
An oil tanker off the coast of Tartus, Syria Israel targeted some 12 tankers headed for Syria, US officials say -WSJ The report alleged that since 2019, Israel has been using naval weapons, including water mines, to strike vessels which were either Iranian, or carried Iranian cargo, as they made their way to Syria.
Mar. 12 - US and regional officials have accused Israel of targeting "at least a dozen" tankers bound for Syria and mostly carrying Iranian oil due to concerns that petroleum profits were funding extremists, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The report alleged that since 2019, Israel has been using naval weapons, including water mines, to strike vessels which were either Iranian, or carried Iranian cargo, as they made their way to Syria.
The report said that while most of the tankers carried oil, some of the targeted vessels have made efforts to move other cargo, including weaponry.
According to Greenpeace, Iranian oil tankers routinely violate trade embargoes on Iran and Syria to smuggle oil into Syria through the Suez Canal. The organization said that the practice of turning off tracking systems is also commonly done such vessels, to avoid detection for violating the trade embargo.
The practice is so common in fact, that between August of 2018 and July of 2019, Syria received around 17 million barrels of crude oil from Iran this way.
The WSJ report added that other ways that these ships avoid international scrutiny is through the declaration of false destinations, transferal of oil from one ship to another at sea, or through the use of old, rusted tankers which are harder to detect. The report comes after Israel's Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel accused Iran of "eco-terrorism," blaming the country for a recent oil spill which likely came from an Iranian tanker.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that the Israeli defense establishment had no evidence to suggest that Iran deliberately caused the oil spill. source from
四国峰会 美日2+2 美拉帮结伙搅局亚太？20210310 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际 Mar 11, 2021
mar. 15 - TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Wednesday (March 10) that he will invite Taiwan to a democracy summit hosted by President Joe Biden.
The House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday invited Blinken to a hearing to discuss Biden’s foreign policy priorities. Representative Young Kim told the diplomat that the U.S. should invite Taiwan to participate in its planned Summit for Democracy and initiate free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the East Asian nation, saying, "I hope you can promise to work hard on this issue."
The representative stressed that Taiwan is a valuable security and global health partner of the U.S., has a strong democratic system, and has contributed much to the international community. She said Taiwan should therefore be granted a place at institutions such as the World Health Organization.
Blinken agreed, praising Taiwan for its democracy and status as an important technology hub. He added: “It is also a country that can contribute to the world, not just to its own people. COVID-19 is a good example of this." more to read
Mar. 12 - Hong Kong (CNN)US President Joe Biden's administration entered the White House this year aiming to unite allies in efforts to contain China's territorial claims across the Indo-Pacific.
On Friday, Biden takes his biggest step toward that goal so far, bringing together a virtual gathering for leaders of the Quad -- the loose alliance of the United States, Japan, India and Australia that Beijing has called emblematic of a "poisonous" Cold War mentality.
Washington said Covid-19, economic cooperation, and the climate crisis will be topics of discussion on Friday, while New Delhi said its Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, would be discussing a "free and open Indo-Pacific" with Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Absent from those statements was any mention of China. But it was the rise of the Asian economic and military superpower that led to the Quad's revival in 2017 -- and it's Beijing's power plays that keep the bloc's four leaders up at night heading into the summit.
The Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, is an informal strategic forum, featuring semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills. While not a formal military alliance like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it is seen by some as a potential counterweight to growing Chinese influence and alleged aggression in Asia-Pacific.
While members have emphasized the more benign aspects of the relationship, such as recent cooperation on the coronavirus pandemic, the potential for military encirclement by the Quad countries has not gone unnoticed by Beijing.
And it's no wonder.
US Navy Adm. Philip Davidson, the head of the US military's Indo-Pacific Command, on Tuesday called the Quad grouping a "diamond of democracies" in the Indo-Pacific.
Davidson said Tuesday he hoped the organization could "build into something bigger." "Not in terms of security alone, but in terms of how we might approach ... the global economy, critical technologies like telecommunications and 5G, collaboration on the international order. Just much to be done diplomatically and economically," he said. more details
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai gives an interview to the Associated Press at his house, in Kabul, Afghanistan.
