20-08-2021 JERUSALEM/ DOHA: Israel says it reached an agreement with Qatar and the United Nations on a mechanism to transfer aid from the Gulf State to the besieged Gaza Strip, boosting prospects for relief in the Palestinian enclave after it was devastated in an Israel-Hamas conflict. Aid disbursement after the …

20-08-2021 WASHINGTON: US Capitol Police have arrested a suspect who allegedly threatened to detonate a bomb near Congress after an hours-long standoff on Thursday. Capitol Police Chief J Thomas Manger identified the suspect as Floyd Roy Roseberry from North Carolina and said he was taken into custody without incident. Manger …

19-08-2021 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies KARACHI/ KABUL/ LAHORE: For the last 20 years, the Kartei Sakhi shrine in west Kabul has been one of the main gathering places for the annual Ashura commemorations in the city. Every year, thousands of men, women and children in black …

19-08-2021 Bureau Report + Agencies WASHINGTON/ KABUL/ ISLAMABAD DUBAI: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, speaking from exile in the United Arab Emirates, said on Wednesday that he had left Kabul to prevent bloodshed and denied reports he took large sums of money with him as he departed the presidential palace. Ghani …

19-08-2021 By SJA Jafri (Courtesy Al Jazeera) CANBERRA/ BRISBANE/ ISLAMABAD: Two refugees are taking the Australian government to court, arguing that their detention offshore was fundamentally illegal because they were children at the time. Cousins Mehdi and Adnan, who by chance travelled on the same boat from Jakarta to Australia, …

18-08-2021 By SJA Jafri + BBC KABUL/ NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD: The Taliban’s blisteringly fast takeover of Afghanistan has stunned security and diplomacy experts worldwide. Days after the fall of Kabul, nations are hurriedly evacuating their diplomats and citizens, leaving behind two decades of work and investments. The Taliban’s rout is …

18-08-2021 JALALABAD/ KABUL: The first pushback against the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan appeared to draw a violent response from the country’s new rulers. Reports from the local media suggested injuries, possibly even deaths as the Taliban opened fire on a protest where the national flag was unfurled. The firing comes …

18-08-2021 WASHINGTON: The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) Tuesday released a report on failures in the United States’ Afghanistan mission after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. The SIGAR report accuses US leaders of not fully comprehending Afghanistan’s political dynamics and said their priorities were influenced by their own …

18-08-2021 KABUL: The Taliban criticized Facebook for blocking freedom of speech in Afghanistan as a result of the crackdown by the US firm. A Taliban spokesman was responding to social media giant Facebook’s measure to block the Taliban and their content from its platforms, including the messaging app, WhatsApp. On …

Burqa not mandatory for women Mullah Baradar back in Afghanistan UK plans to resettle 20,000 Afghans Thousands Afghanis enter Pakistan 18-08-2021 By SJA Jafri KARACHI/ QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD/ KABUL/ WASHINGTON/ LONDON/ PARIS/ CANBERRA: Finally, after taking the control of Kabul by Taliban on 15th August 2021, the global hypocrisy, fraud and …