World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Exxon’s oil drilling gamble off Guyana coast ‘poses major environmental risk’
- Humans ‘pushing Earth close to tipping point’, say most in G20
- Poland backs down in row with EU over disciplining judges
- China holds live-fire exercises near Taiwan in response to ‘provocations’
- Bob Dylan accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old in 1965
- Haiti hit by storm as officials fear quake death toll could rise
- Maki Kaji, ‘godfather of sudoku’, dies aged 69 in Japan
- Undersea volcanic eruption creates new Japanese island
- New Zealand reports first Covid-19 case in community since February
- Mallorca marine reserve boosts wildlife as well as business, report finds
- ‘Spreading like a virus’: inside the EU’s struggle to debunk Covid lies
- Coronavirus live news: weekly deaths up by a third in England and Wales; Singapore prepares to reopen for business
- New Zealand to go into national lockdown over one Covid case
- ‘Masks work’: experts on how to navigate Delta when you’re vaccinated
- The smooth compromise: how Obama’s iconography obscured his omissions
- Thomas Quasthoff: ‘From birth, my mum felt guilty. I had to show her I made the best of my life’
- Pose star Sandra Bernhard: ‘I never tried to be revolutionary. That’s just who I was’
- Is this the beginning of the end of the American gas station?
- ‘My theatre went dark’: Amanda Kloots on loving and losing actor Nick Cordero
- New mathematical record: what’s the point of calculating pi?
- How is UK planning to help resettle Afghan refugees?
- How the Taliban took Afghanistan
- Stop the east African oil pipeline now | Bill McKibben, Diana Nabiruma and Omar Elmawi
- Underground review – mine explosion disaster film digs deeper than most
- BHP to shift oil and gas assets into Woodside Petroleum as part of major overhaul
- ‘The wounds won’t heal’: Kenya’s agonising wait for justice on killings by police
- The woman on a mission to expose torture in Thailand’s troubled south
- Does Trump’s endorsement really carry the day in local elections?
- ‘Was it worth it?’: veterans of Afghan conflict reel at Taliban takeover
- The Taliban leaders in line to become de facto rulers of Afghanistan
- China will tread carefully in navigating the Taliban’s return
- Dominic Raab says no one predicted Taliban takeover of Afghanistan – video
- Evacuations continue in Afghanistan – in pictures
- 'Chilling reports': UN chief urges security council to act on Afghanistan – video
- 'I stand squarely behind my decision': defiant Biden defends withdrawal from Afghanistan – video
- Raab: pace of Taliban takeover 'caught everyone by surprise' – video
- Afghans climb on to plane during takeoff in attempt to flee Taliban – video
- 'The world abandoned us': desperate Afghans try to escape Taliban – video report
| Exxon’s oil drilling gamble off Guyana coast ‘poses major environmental risk’ Posted: 17 Aug 2021 03:15 AM PDT Experts warn of potential for disaster as Exxon pursues 9bn barrels in sensitive marine ecosystem ExxonMobil's huge new Guyana project faces charges of a disregard for safety from experts who claim the company has failed to adequately prepare for possible disaster, the Guardian and Floodlight have found. Exxon has been extracting oil from Liza 1, an ultra-deepwater drilling operation, since 2019 – part of an expansive project spanning more than 6m acres off the coast of Guyana that includes 17 additional prospects in the exploration and preparatory phases. Continue reading... |
| Humans ‘pushing Earth close to tipping point’, say most in G20 Posted: 16 Aug 2021 03:01 PM PDT Global survey finds 74% also want climate crises and protecting nature prioritised over jobs and profit Three-quarters of people in the world's wealthiest nations believe humanity is pushing the planet towards a dangerous tipping point and support a shift of priorities away from economic profit, according to a global survey. The Ipsos Mori survey for the Global Commons Alliance (GCA) also found a majority (58%) were very concerned or extremely concerned about the state of the planet. Continue reading... |
| Poland backs down in row with EU over disciplining judges Posted: 17 Aug 2021 04:07 AM PDT Warsaw says it will shut down supreme court chamber that Brussels says is a breach of EU law Poland has told the European Union it will shut down a chamber at its supreme court devoted to disciplining judges, an issue that has been at the heart of a dispute between Warsaw and Brussels. The Polish government said on Tuesday that it sent a letter to the European Commission on Monday, the for Warsaw to inform the EU's executive branch of how it would proceed with the disciplinary chamber after the EU's top court said the chamber undermined judicial independence and contravened EU law. Continue reading... |
| China holds live-fire exercises near Taiwan in response to ‘provocations’ Posted: 17 Aug 2021 04:17 AM PDT Army says warships, anti-submarine aircraft and fighter planes sent to the south-west and south-east of island China has launched live-fire air and sea exercises near Taiwan in response to what it called "external interference and provocations by Taiwan independence forces". According to a statement from Col Shi Yi, the spokesperson of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) Eastern Theatre Command, warships, anti-submarine aircraft and fighter planes were dispatched to the south-west and south-east of Taiwan on Tuesday. Continue reading... |
| Bob Dylan accused of sexually abusing a 12-year-old in 1965 Posted: 16 Aug 2021 02:00 PM PDT A lawsuit, filed Friday, alleges the Nobel laureate plied a girl with drugs and alcohol and abused her over six weeks in 1965 A new lawsuit alleges that Bob Dylan, the Nobel-winning folk singer-songwriter, plied a 12-year-old girl with drugs and alcohol before sexually abusing her in 1965. The lawsuit alleges that the Times They Are A-Changin' singer "befriended and established an emotional connection with the plaintiff", identified in Manhattan supreme court papers, obtained by the Guardian, only as "JC" and groomed her over the course of six weeks in April and May 1965. Continue reading... |
| Haiti hit by storm as officials fear quake death toll could rise Posted: 16 Aug 2021 11:02 PM PDT Tropical depression makes landfall over areas already hit by Saturday's quake that killed at least 1,419 Medical teams and aid workers were racing to save lives and provide food and shelter on Monday amid fears that the official death toll from Saturday's earthquake could rise further and a tropical depression bore down on the crisis-stricken Caribbean country. The official death toll rose on Monday to 1,419, and at least 6,000 were injured by the 7.2-magnitude quake – a tremor even more powerful than the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 200,000 Haitians in 2010 and levelled much of Port-au-Prince. Continue reading... |
| Maki Kaji, ‘godfather of sudoku’, dies aged 69 in Japan Posted: 16 Aug 2021 08:46 PM PDT Puzzle enthusiast and publisher credited with turning grid-based numbers problem into global phenomenon Maki Kaji, a Japanese publisher who popularised the numbers puzzle sudoku played daily by millions around the world, has died from cancer aged 69. A university dropout who worked in a printing company before founding Japan's first puzzle magazine, Kaji took hints from an existing number puzzle to create what he later named "sudoku" – a contraction of the Japanese for "every number must be single" – sometime in the mid-80s. Continue reading... |
| Undersea volcanic eruption creates new Japanese island Posted: 17 Aug 2021 01:55 AM PDT Crescent-shaped landmass 50km south of Minami Ioto could disappear due to erosion The 6,000-plus islands that make up the Japanese archipelago have a new addition, after scientists said an undersea volcanic eruption 1,200km (745 miles) south of Tokyo had created a new landmass. The island was formed in the Pacific Ocean about 50km south of Minami Ioto, the southernmost island of the Ogasawara group. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand reports first Covid-19 case in community since February Posted: 16 Aug 2021 09:08 PM PDT Officials have not yet established a link between the case, detected in Auckland, and the border or managed isolation facilities New Zealand has a new case of Covid-19 transmission in the community, Ministry of Health officials have confirmed. The news will be greeted with dismay in the country, which has not had a case of transmission in the community since February, and has so far avoided incursions into the community from the more-transmissible Delta variant. The case was detected in Auckland, and health officials have not yet established a link between the case and the border or managed isolation facilities. Continue reading... |
| Mallorca marine reserve boosts wildlife as well as business, report finds Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Protected area delivered a tenfold return on investment, with benefits for fishing, biodiversity and tourism A marine protection area established off the coast of Mallorca is proving beneficial not just for the environment but for business, too, according to a study that appears to confirm the long-term benefits of MPAs for both habitats and economies. According to the study, carried out by the non-profit Marilles Foundation, the protected area has generated €10 in benefits for each euro of the €473,137 (£402,000) invested in the scheme. Continue reading... |
| ‘Spreading like a virus’: inside the EU’s struggle to debunk Covid lies Posted: 17 Aug 2021 02:32 AM PDT Understaffed and underpowered, a Brussels taskforce tries to fight a fake news tide that threatens to undermine the union itself In April 2020, near the start of the global pandemic, Felix Kartte was working 14-hour shifts as an EU policy officer, struggling to monitor a barrage of coronavirus-linked disinformation. Articles claiming that the pandemic was a hoax, that it was caused by 5G, that it could be cured by hydroxychloroquine or alternative medicine were going viral across the continent – part of a global phenomenon the World Health Organization warned was becoming an "infodemic." Kartte and colleagues in StratCom, the EU diplomatic service's strategic communications division, could detect what they say were patterns of Covid-denier and anti-vaxxer disinformation linked to Russia and to a lesser extent China, being disseminated in several languages across Europe. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 17 Aug 2021 04:10 AM PDT Covid mentioned in 527 deaths last week compared to 404 the week before; Singapore experts say there may be hundreds of deaths each year from endemic Covid-19
India has administered more than 8.8m doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the past 24 hours, government data showed, close to its all-time record and speeding up a campaign to inoculate all eligible adults by December. India has undertaken one of the world's largest Covid-19 vaccination drives and has so far administered 554m doses, giving at least one dose to about 46% of its estimated 944m adults. Only about 13% of the population have had the required two doses.
Staying in Australia, Sydney's hospital system is under "enormous pressure" after a positive Covid case resulted in 80 staff being forced into isolation at St George hospital, the New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, has admitted, while ambulances carrying coronavirus patients waited for hours outside another facility. The St George hospital staff have been deemed close contacts of a patient in the oncology ward who tested positive. Four patients and two staff members have now tested positive, while 21 patients in the ward remain in isolation after their tests, NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty has said. Related: Covid putting Sydney's hospital system under 'enormous pressure', NSW health minister admits Continue reading... |
| New Zealand to go into national lockdown over one Covid case Posted: 17 Aug 2021 01:40 AM PDT PM Jacinda Ardern warns this is 'only chance' to stop spread of suspected Delta variant New Zealand will go into a national lockdown on Tuesday night, after detecting one case of Covid-19. The entire country will be at alert level 4 – the highest level of lockdown – for at least three days from midnight, and the regions of Auckland and Coromandel for four to seven days. Continue reading... |
| ‘Masks work’: experts on how to navigate Delta when you’re vaccinated Posted: 17 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT The vast majority of those hospitalized are unvaccinated, but health experts say everyone should exercise caution The Covid-19 vaccine was supposed to bring life back to normal. Then came the Delta variant. Real-world data collection continues, but it's clear that the vaccines do offer significant protection against becoming infected by Delta. They offer even greater protection against severe illness: Among states that are reporting breakthrough cases of Covid-19, fully vaccinated people made up no more than 5% of overall hospitalizations. Continue reading... |
| The smooth compromise: how Obama’s iconography obscured his omissions Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT A look back at the official photographs of Obama's presidency shows his skill at conjuring a sense of pride and possibility – but today his victories seem narrow indeed From the beginning, Obama's team was invested in constructing a certain image of what would be deemed a "historic" presidency. During Obama's campaign, the artist Shepard Fairey, who designed the famous "Hope" poster, was widely acknowledged as his key iconographer. But, in retrospect, who Obama was and what he represented endures in the public imagination thanks to the work of the White House photographer Pete Souza, a longtime photojournalist who first had the assignment under Ronald Reagan. Over time, Souza helped create a new image of race in the US. This was an image of a postracial nation, where postracial didn't mean liberation – it meant a US where race was solely affect and gesture, rather than the old brew of capital, land and premature death. Progress would deposit us in a place where black would be pure style – a style that the ruling class could finally wear out. In the thick of the 2008 primary, in an essay titled Native Son, George Packer argued that after a half century when "rightwing populism has been the most successful political force in America", there was finally hope for an alternative. "Obama is a black candidate," he wrote, "who can tell Americans of all races to move beyond race." The ensuing years bore out the impossibility of that widely held belief, but it was already evident in the language. How could a single person be black and capable of moving everybody beyond race? Continue reading... |
| Thomas Quasthoff: ‘From birth, my mum felt guilty. I had to show her I made the best of my life’ Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Born disabled due to the effects of Thalidomide, the exuberant star rose to classical music's pinnacle – then quit at the peak of his powers. Now he's back – singing jazz Thomas Quasthoff has been retired from classical music for nearly a decade now. The German bass-baritone was in his early 50s when he made the shock announcement – an age when singers of his type are still in their prime. His elder brother Michael had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010, and that diagnosis and his brother's subsequent death had left Quasthoff temporarily physically incapable of singing. "Three days after being told that my brother would not live longer than nine months I lost my voice," he recalls. "Doctors looked at my throat and said: 'Everything is fine.' But my heart was broken, and if the heart is broken ..." he pauses. "The voice is the mirror of the soul." Continue reading... |
| Pose star Sandra Bernhard: ‘I never tried to be revolutionary. That’s just who I was’ Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT The trailblazing actor and comedian on asserting her bisexuality in the 80s, misogynistic male comics – and befriending Madonna During nearly five decades in showbiz, Sandra Bernhard has racked up title after title – comedian, actor, singer, author, radio host – and a reputation for controversy. She has worked with a long list of superstars, from Richard Pryor and Robin Williams to Robert De Niro and Cyndi Lauper. But she has never been overshadowed; her force of personality has guaranteed that. Even 30 years ago, the Los Angeles Times was paying homage to her "acid-tongued, antagonistic persona". But there are no cutting remarks today. On this sunny morning in LA, she appears relaxed, in a pink-striped shirt and trousers, reminiscent of the early 80s outfits she wore for her many appearances on Late Night With David Letterman. Continue reading... |
| Is this the beginning of the end of the American gas station? Posted: 17 Aug 2021 04:00 AM PDT A movement in California seeks a moratorium on new pumps – and a transformation of the US transportation system Emily Bit remembers a time when she didn't feel the constant threat of climate change. Her family lives in American Canyon, in southern Napa county, California, a state now being hit by record high temperatures and devastating wildfires. "It didn't used to be this bad," she said. These days her family has to evacuate their home every summer. Two of her friends lost their homes in Paradise, the town consumed by the 2018 Camp fire disaster, the deadliest in California history. Last year, a wildfire burned the nature reserve behind her local school until it was "entirely black. It was like something from a dystopian novel". Continue reading... |
| ‘My theatre went dark’: Amanda Kloots on loving and losing actor Nick Cordero Posted: 17 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT The Broadway favourite, who died of complications from Covid last summer, is remembered by his wife and co-star When you're on Broadway and suddenly find out that your show is closing, you feel this wave of sadness. As a cast member, there was nothing you could have done to save it. You didn't write the script; you didn't call the shots. You just had to show up, and smile, and dance, and perform, and give it your all every day. Your cast has become like your family, the theatre like your home, and your dressing room like your own personal bedroom in that house, your space filled with photos, cards, and memories. After your last show, you have to take that all down, pack everything into a box, and walk out of the theatre as it goes dark. Related: Nick Cordero: Broadway star dies aged 41 of coronavirus complications Continue reading... |
| New mathematical record: what’s the point of calculating pi? Posted: 17 Aug 2021 12:35 AM PDT The famous number has many practical uses, mathematicians say, but is it really worth the time and effort to work out its trillions of digits? Swiss researchers have spent 108 days calculating pi to a new record accuracy of 62.8tn digits. Using a computer, their approximation beat the previous world record of 50tn decimal places, and was calculated 3.5 times as quickly. It's an impressive and time-consuming feat that begs the question: why? Continue reading... |
| How is UK planning to help resettle Afghan refugees? Posted: 17 Aug 2021 01:46 AM PDT Ministers are expected to announce a 'bespoke' scheme similar to that put in place for Syrians in 2014 Ministers are expected to announce plans for a new settlement scheme in the UK for Afghan nationals following the Taliban takeover of the country. Similar to a scheme put in place for Syrians in 2014 amid the country's civil war, this would be in addition to existing structures to assist some Afghan nationals. Continue reading... |
| How the Taliban took Afghanistan Posted: 16 Aug 2021 07:00 PM PDT The departure of US forces was followed by a rout of Afghan government forces. Now, after 20 years of western intervention, Afghanistan is back under the control of the Taliban It began with a steady trickle of military defeats. First Afghan government control was ceded to the Taliban in provincial towns and cities. Then, as the lack of resistance became apparent, bigger cities and regional capitals began to fall. Finally on Sunday the Taliban entered Kabul as the western-backed government fled the country. The Guardian's senior international correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, tells Michael Safi that it marks a stunning reversal for the Afghan government, which had begun negotiating a deal with the Taliban in recent months. And as deeply flawed as the government in Kabul has been for the past 20 years, it has created space for the education of girls and a free press. All of that is now in grave doubt as Afghans wait to see whether their new Taliban rulers plan to carry on where they left off in 2001. We hear voices from inside Afghanistan including reporter Zahra Joya, who was a child when US forces invaded in 2001 and drove out the Taliban. She describes her fears for what will come next. Continue reading... |
| Stop the east African oil pipeline now | Bill McKibben, Diana Nabiruma and Omar Elmawi Posted: 17 Aug 2021 04:14 AM PDT The fate of a planned line from Uganda to Tanzania will be the first test of whether anyone was listening to António Guterres' call to end fossil fuels If there is one world leader trying to look out for the planet as a whole, not just their own nation, it's the UN secretary general. Last week, António Guterres was resolute in the wake of the damning report from the IPCC on the perilious climate crisis. It should, he said, sound "a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet". He called for an end to "all new fossil fuel exploration and production", and told countries to shift fossil fuel subsidies into renewable energy. Continue reading... |
| Underground review – mine explosion disaster film digs deeper than most Posted: 17 Aug 2021 04:00 AM PDT French-Canadian director Sophie Dupuis puts human drama ahead of the action in this naturalistic, character-driven film Here is an arthouse disaster movie from Quebec: a naturalistic, character-driven drama about what it might truly look like if a mineral mine exploded, trapping five workers underground. It's the second feature from French-Canadian director Sophie Dupuis, who herself grew up in a mining family. She opens her film in the heat of the rescue: red lights flashing, a response team descending into darkness. One of the rescuers, Max (Joakim Robillard), would be the hero of the Hollywood version, running around hot-headedly, disobeying orders: "Fuck you! I'm going to get the others!" Actually, much of the film is about how damaging it is for Max living with this tough-guy masculinity. Continue reading... |
| BHP to shift oil and gas assets into Woodside Petroleum as part of major overhaul Posted: 17 Aug 2021 03:53 AM PDT Global miner declares a bumper profit due to high iron ore prices but slashes value of NSW coalmine to become a $200m liability Global miner BHP is planning a major overhaul, simplifying its company structure and dumping its oil and gas assets into Woodside Petroleum, creating one of the biggest energy producers in the world. BHP on Tuesday declared a bumper profit due to high iron ore prices, as it announced it will bring together its Australian and UK arms into one company and leave the London Stock Exchange, which could have ramifications for investors. Continue reading... |
| ‘The wounds won’t heal’: Kenya’s agonising wait for justice on killings by police Posted: 16 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT Five years after Willie Kimani's death, his father is still waiting for a resolution. But as killings continue, cases like his pile up within a crippled justice system Paul Kinuthia will never forget the moment he saw his son's body lying on the bank of the river he played in as a child. He threw his hands up in despair and begged God to intervene. It has been five years since Kinuthia's son, Willie Kimani, a lawyer, was murdered along with his client, Josephat Mwenda and driver, Joseph Muiruri, in Nairobi in June 2016. At the time, Kimani was representing Mwenda in court, after Mwenda had been shot and injured by police. Continue reading... |
| The woman on a mission to expose torture in Thailand’s troubled south Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:30 PM PDT Despite the risks, Anchana Heemmina wants justice for victims of the Malay Muslims' decades-old insurgency – and for herself Much of Anchana Heemmina's work involves listening to stories of immeasurable pain, all part of her campaign to stop the cycle of violence that has long haunted Thailand's troubled southern provinces. Her work striving for human rights and to prevent torture by state authorities has put Heemmina's life in danger. Continue reading... |
| Does Trump’s endorsement really carry the day in local elections? Posted: 17 Aug 2021 12:30 AM PDT Analysis: Trump thought he'd use the midterm primaries to punish his enemies and tighten his grip on the party. It's not working out quite how he'd hoped As the Republican party first began to prepare for the 2022 midterm elections it seemed like Donald Trump had it all figured out. The former US president had an axe to grind with certain Republicans who had bucked him in the past and the upcoming party primaries were a place he could assert his still powerful influence and exact revenge on his perceived foes. Continue reading... |
| ‘Was it worth it?’: veterans of Afghan conflict reel at Taliban takeover Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Former soldiers express anger and heartbreak as service in 20-year war rendered 'pointless' As chaotic scenes unfolded more than 4,000 miles away in Kabul, veterans of the 20-year conflict and families who lost loved ones on the battlefield have been asking the stark question: "Was it worth it?" "There is a generation of Afghans who have been given a taste of what freedom is like, so you never know, but it feels pretty bleak at the moment," said Andrew Fox, a former major in the Parachute Regiment who served on three tours of Afghanistan and who has spoken openly about the impact of PTSD on his own health. Continue reading... |
| The Taliban leaders in line to become de facto rulers of Afghanistan Posted: 16 Aug 2021 09:00 PM PDT The task facing the new head of state will be more challenging than 1996. But who is in the running for a governing role? Last time the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan – in 1996 – there was never any question of what form of government they would install and who would rule the country. They were filling a vacuum, and Mullah Mohammed Omar, the reclusive cleric who had led the movement since its beginnings two years earlier, took charge. Then, Kabul was a shattered husk, with a tiny hungry, scared population, almost no economic activity, no telephones and public transport provided by ancient Russian-made cars or 1970s buses once driven from Germany. The Taliban could impose whatever they wanted. Continue reading... |
| China will tread carefully in navigating the Taliban’s return Posted: 16 Aug 2021 09:00 PM PDT Analysis: Difficult to predict how China will deal with its volatile neighbour, but Uyghur issue could prove contentious The US's hasty departure from Afghanistan has provided much material for China's propaganda agencies to discredit Washington's foreign policy. But Beijing is also treading a careful line in navigating an increasingly uncertain security situation in one of its most volatile neighbours. On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying, said that while Beijing will "continue developing good-neighbourly, friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan", it also urges the Taliban to "ensure that all kinds of terrorism and crimes can be curbed so that the Afghan people can stay away from war and rebuild their homeland". Continue reading... |
| Dominic Raab says no one predicted Taliban takeover of Afghanistan – video Posted: 17 Aug 2021 02:11 AM PDT It was impossible to predict the Taliban would retake Afghanistan so swiftly after the withdrawal of international troops, Dominic Raab has said, arguing: 'No one saw this coming.' Speaking to the media following his return from holiday, after chaotic and deadly scenes at Kabul airport on Sunday, the UK foreign secretary said US and British troops had stabilised the airport, allowing evacuations to resume |
| Evacuations continue in Afghanistan – in pictures Posted: 17 Aug 2021 01:55 AM PDT Following the Taliban's military takeover of the country, westerners continue to leave. Afghans hoping to escape Taliban rule have gathered in Kabul, with many making desperate attempts to flee. There was chaos at the airport, where troops used guns and helicopters to clear the runways, and several people died in frantic last-minute attempts to escape by clinging to departing planes Continue reading... |
| 'Chilling reports': UN chief urges security council to act on Afghanistan – video Posted: 16 Aug 2021 10:18 PM PDT United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the security council to 'use all tools at its disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan' and guarantee that basic human rights will be respected. Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban took over the country 20 years after they were ousted by a US-led invasion. 'We are receiving chilling reports of severe restrictions on human rights throughout the country,' said Guterres. 'I am particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against the women and girls of Afghanistan'.
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| 'I stand squarely behind my decision': defiant Biden defends withdrawal from Afghanistan – video Posted: 16 Aug 2021 02:44 PM PDT Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan even after Taliban forces took Kabul, saying: 'I stand squarely behind my decision.' Striking a defiant tone, the US president admitted the situation in the country had deteriorated faster than anticipated, but said it showed there would never be a good time to withdraw US forces. 'American troops cannot and should not be dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves,' Biden said. 'We gave them every chance to determine their own future; we could not provide them with the will to fight for that future.'
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| Raab: pace of Taliban takeover 'caught everyone by surprise' – video Posted: 16 Aug 2021 01:06 PM PDT Britain will use all the means at its disposal, including sanctions and diplomacy, to hold the Taliban to account in Afghanistan, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said. In his first public appearance since the crisis began, Raab said that 'everyone was caught by surprise by the pace and the scale of the Taliban takeover', in which Kabul fell to the Islamist group over the weekend. Britain, which had initially committed 600 members of the armed forces to evacuate British nationals and former British staff, will shortly have 900 troops in Kabul.
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| Afghans climb on to plane during takeoff in attempt to flee Taliban – video Posted: 16 Aug 2021 06:40 AM PDT Desperate Afghans clung to the side of a moving US military plane leaving Kabul airport on Monday, with at least three people apparently falling to their deaths from the undercarriage immediately after takeoff. Video footage shows hundreds of people running alongside the plane as it moves along the runway of Kabul international airport. A number of people hang on to the side of the C-17A aircraft, just below the wing. Others run alongside waving and shouting
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| 'The world abandoned us': desperate Afghans try to escape Taliban – video report Posted: 16 Aug 2021 05:35 AM PDT Thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals have surged on to the tarmac at Kabul airport trying to get a place on a flight out of the country, amid chaotic scenes that unfolded as the Taliban took control of the city. Fearful that the Taliban may reimpose the brutal rule they enforced before 2001, Afghans are seeking ways out of the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings
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