Iran’s hard-liner-dominated Parliament has approved the majority of ministers proposed by newly elected President Ibrahim Raisi. 18 out of 19 ministers proposed by Raisi were voted in favor by the lawmakers after a five-day hearing and discussions. Hossein Baghgoli was not approved to be nominated as education minister as his experience was disputed during the hearings. He could manage only 76 votes out of 286 by present lawmakers. The chamber had a total of 290 seats. Raisi had earlier requested the lawmakers to vote quickly to approve his nominees as he wanted the government to get to
The Australian government has evacuated nearly 50 women footballers and athletes and their dependents from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. The eviction was done for the players after an appeal came by the world bodies FIFA and Fifpro. The international footballers federation Fifpro expressed its gratitude to Australia in a statement released by them. The women players went into hiding after the takeover of Afghanistan. The statement said that these young women both athletes and activists, had been in a position of danger and on behalf of their peers around the world they thanked the intern
The United States has warned the American nationalist to stay away from the Kabul airport due to security threats by the Taliban militants. The plea came a few hours after the United States Secretary Antony Blinken had urged the Taliban to ensure “safe passage” for people to seek to flee from the nation. The security situation is deteriorating at the Kabul airport which raises concern for the US and the western officials trying to evacuate their civilians before the deadline which is on August 31. The danger of an attack by the terrorist group ISIS-K is highlighted by the officials. Th
Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. The telephonic conversation came at a time when several countries are evacuating their citizens from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. After the conversation of the two political leaders, the Russian embassy in India said that they expressed the intention to enhance cooperation to counter the dissemination of “terrorist ideology” and the drug threat emanating from Afghanistan. They agreed to form a permanent bilateral channel for consultation on the
On Monday, a secret meeting was conducted between the head of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns with the leader of the Taliban Mullah Baradar. No confirmation for the same was given by both parties. Baradar is among the four men who founded the Taliban in 1994. He was captured in a US-Pakistani operation in 2010 and had spent eight years in prison. He is currently the head of the Taliban political office in Qatar where he signed the Doha agreement in February 2020 of withdrawal of US and NATO troops. Biden administration has set the deadline of 31 August
The United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet briefed that she had received sustainable reports of senior violations committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. It includes the “summary executions'' of civilians and Afghan security forces who have surrendered after the takeover of the nation. The council's emergency session was conducted on the request of Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In Michelle Bachelet's speech to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), she did not give any details of the killing but urged the Geneva forum to set up a mechanism to clo
The United States President Joe Biden is all set to hold a meeting with the G-7 leader to discuss the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan as the deadline comes to an end. This will be the first time where the president will be directly having a conversation with the American allies after the fall of Kabul. The virtual gathering is the first forum of Biden to discuss the Taliban and the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan which has caused apprehension and anger amongst some of the allies. The G-7 meeting will be attended by the leaders from the US, the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, and Canada.
The United States Vice President Kamala Harris is on a Singapore visit as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to counter Chinese influence there. On Monday, The White House had announced a series of new agreements with Singapore at combating cyberthreats, tackling climate change and issues related to coronavirus, and alleviating supply chain issues. The Treasury and Defence Department, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have linked a memorandum of understanding on cybersecurity. They had talks with Singapore counterparts regarding the expansion of information sharing
Poland plans to build a fence alongside Belarus who shares the borders with the nation. They also plan to deploy more soldiers to stop migrants seeking to enter the European Nation. The Poland government has offered to send humanitarian aid to a migrant group stuck at the border for more than two weeks. Along with Poland- Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are the three Baltic state which accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of sending migrants across their borders. They form a part of the EU’s eastern border in what they call a “hybrid war”. These four countries believe
The United States of America aims to complete the evacuation process by the deadline. They plan to evacuate from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan by August 31. The Pentagon said that it was not yet the point to seek a change. However, the UK, France, and Germany will step up the pressure at a virtual G7 summit. Meanwhile, the Taliban said any extension would violate an agreed deal. United States President Joe Biden has taken 24 hours to decide whether to extend the timeline for withdrawal or not. Biden’s decision will provide time for the Pentagon to prepare. Thousands of people have be