Two major Afghan cities, the second and third largest after Kabul have been captured by the Taliban. The Taliban have captured Lakshkar city of Lashkar Gah which was evacuated by the military and the government officials after striking a deal with the militants. The capture of Kandahar and Herat is the Taliban's biggest prize yet. It makes the total of twelve provincial capitals captured so far out of a total of 34 provincial capitals. Losing Ghazni to the Taliban cuts off the crucial highway linking the Afghan capital Kabul which is the southern province. All these were part of an insurge
The United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is scheduled to meet China's new ambassador Qin Gang on Thursday. The meeting will take place in the afternoon at the State Department in Washington. The meeting is between the two largest economies on navigating deeply strained relations. 55-year-old Gang has earned a reputation of often pointing to public defenses for his country’s proposition and struck an optimistic tone after he arrived in Washington in late July. He said great potential awaits bilateral relations. According to AsiaOne Magazine, the high-level talks in China
Afghan Army Chief General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzi is replaced as Taliban militants continue to make rapid advances. The removal of the chief who had only been in the post since June was confirmed by the BBC on Wednesday. AsiaOne reported that out of 34 provincial capitals of the country, the insurgents have now taken control of almost nine provincial capitals after heavy fighting was reported in the cities of Kandahar and Ghazni cities. President Ashraf Ghani earlier went to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to try to rally pro-government forces. Mazar-i-Sharif was traditionally an anti-Ta
In the fight against rebels in the Tigray region, the prime minister of Ethiopia has called on civilians to join the army. Prime minister Abiy Ahmed asked all the capable Ethiopians to show their patriotism by joining the war. Since June the fighting escalated between the government troops and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) who ruled Ethiopia for decades and now controls Tigray, as reported to Asia News. The Fighting initially broke out in November 2020 which has forced two million people to flee their homes. Those who were left behind hundreds of thousands were pushed into fami
Lithuania plans to build a metal fence topped with razor wire of 4 meters (13 feet) on the borders of Belarus. According to AsiaOne Magazine, the cost of the fence is expected to be around $178 million. The government also announced a plan to offer the migrants who agree to return to their countries of origin a sum of €300 each. Interior minister Agne Bilotaite told Reuters news agency that without this physical barrier it is impossible to protect the borders of the country. However, a spokesman for the EU said the bloc does not finance fences or barriers. The EU has offered help to the
On Tuesday, the United State peace envoy was back in the Middle East and warned the Taliban not to pursue a military victory on the ground. The US delivered a blunt message: A Taliban government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan will not be recognized. Zalmay Khalilzad of the U.S. The State Department said that the U.S. envoy was in Doha, Qatar where the Taliban maintain a political office, as mentioned to AsiaOne Magazine. They help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. The state department said the U.S. envoy would
On Tuesday, 2500 Russian, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan troops along with 500 military vehicles wrapped up their drills intended to stimulate the joint response on potential security threats coming from Afghanistan. The war games that began last week were held at the Harb-Maiden, as reported to AsiaOne Magazine. The firing range was about 20 kilometers north of the Tajik border with Afghanistan. They saw the troops practice action against invading militants. The Russian su-25 attack jets struck mock targets imitating militant vehicles as a part of their exercise. According to the Russian mili
North Korea has repeated a threat to respond to the U.S. South Korean military exercise as its claims are an invasion rehearsal. Meanwhile, the U.S. insists that the drills were purely defensive to maintain the South’s security. Ned Price of the State Department reported in Washington that they have long maintained the United States harbors no hostile intent towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He further added that they support inter-Korean dialogue, engagement and will continue to work with their partners (South Korea) towards that end as reported to AsiaOne News. On
Foreign Affairs Minister Raychelle Omamo along with her Kenyan delegation held talks with Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu on Sunday. The neighboring states were not on a strong footing for several months but came together to agree to cement the relations between them. The areas which the delegates mainly agreed on were diplomacy, trade, and security. The prime minister’s office gave a press statement about President Uhuru Kenyatta extending an invitation for Somalia’s prime minister to visit Nairobi. The disputed existing maritime between t
On Monday, The U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken called out bullying in the South China Sea. Blinken even warned the U.N. Security Council that the conflict would have serious global consequences for security along with commerce which would spark a strong rebuke from China. Washington rejects China’s territorial claims by Beijing in the resource-rich water as unlawful. Blinken told the Security Council meeting on maritime security that “when a state faces no consequences for ignoring these rules, it fuels greater impunity and instability everywhere”. He further added that they h