Talibanii fac pași mari spre recucerirea Afganistanului și stârnesc temeri privind o nouă criză a refugiaților în Europa

Temeri privind o nouă criză a refugiaților în Europa, după ce talibanii au cucerit mai multe orașe din Afganistan

Talibanii au cucerit joi oraşul Ghazni, la 150 km sud-vest de Kabul, a zecea capitală de provincie care cade în mâinile lor în decurs de o săptămână, scrie BBC. Luptele sângeroase din țară au provocat peste o mie de morți printre civili doar în ultima lună, în vreme ce numeroși localnici s-au văzut nevoiți să își părăsească locuințele. Unii oficiali din Europa se tem deja că eventuala instalare la putere a talibanilor ar putea genera un nou val de refugiați.

Explosion reported on ship at Syria’s Latakia port, fire put out

An explosion at the Latakia port in Syria on Tuesday left an unidentified ship on fire, according to local reports, with some suggesting that the affected vessel had been used to transfer Iranian oil to Syria in the past.

Smoke was seen billowing from a ship moored at Latakia port and identified by the TankerTrackers.com monitoring website as the Wisdom, a Panama-flagged, Beirut-registered vessel, which was previously targeted by a mysterious explosion this year.

Syrian jihadi group in Idlib goes after gas stations

Security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forced gas stations to close in areas controlled by Turkish-backed factions and set up a temporary checkpoint there.

Well-informed sources told Al-Monitor that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s security apparatus has shut down several gas stations near the Ghazawiya crossing in the western countryside of Aleppo. The crossing separates the HTS-controlled areas in Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo from and the areas controlled by the Sham Legion, a faction affiliated with the Free Syrian Army.

CIA chief Burns, Israel’s Bennett meet to discuss Iran

CIA Director William Burns met with the new Israeli prime minister on Wednesday as talks to revive the landmark nuclear deal remained deadlocked.

CIA Director William Burns and Israeli Prime Naftali Bennett met in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to discuss Iran amid increased tensions over the faltering nuclear deal talks and a series of maritime incidents blamed on the Islamic Republic.

Afghanistan: Sustaining urgent medical care as conflict flares across the country

Violence has surged in Afghanistan since May, with conflict in and around provincial capitals between Afghan forces and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, also known as the Taliban). The fighting is impeding access to medical care, increasing the numbers of people killed and wounded by bullets and explosions, and causing widespread displacement. In the areas where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) works—Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Kandahar, Kunduz, and around Herat—the consequences of the conflict have been felt acutely.

Arabs Celebrate Downfall of Tunisia’s Islamists

Tunisia is the third Arab country after Egypt and Sudan to say that it is fed up with the rule of the Islamists. With the exception of Qatar, most of the Arab countries have long regarded the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups as a major threat to security, stability and peace.

The Palestinians… seem to be the only Arabs who continue to believe in the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates, particularly Hamas, the terrorist group that has been ruling the Gaza Strip since July 2007.

Project Pegasus: Unauthorized Snooping Or Threat To National Security? – OpEd

‘Pegasus’, the mythical winged horse has been the center of the universe of discourse for the last few days. Only this time, this is not a horse, but a spy software developed by Israel’s NSO group that exploits the weaknesses of someone’s phone that even the manufacturers don’t know about. Using ‘Pegasus’, a cell phone can be hacked and it will start transmitting data to the attacker through the apps, microphone or camera. It’s like having a spy in one’s pocket; turning the phone, one paid for, a weapon, used by others.

China, Russia Showcase Growing Ties With Joint Military Exercises – Analysis

In the latest display of deepening ties between Beijing and Moscow, Chinese and Russian troops kicked off five days of military exercises in northwestern China on August 9.

More than 10,000 troops from the Chinese and Russian militaries are participating in the Zapad/Interaction 2021 drills in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region that will involve large numbers of aircraft, weapon systems, and vehicles.

Croatia Urged to Ease Path for Wronged Serbs to Gain Citizenship

Legal changes are now helping Croatian Serbs who couldn’t get citizenship of Croatia for years because of administrative failings, but a few are still having trouble obtaining approval, sparking claims of ethnic discrimination.

After amendments to Croatia’s Citizenship Law came into force last year, the problems of Croatian Serbs who had not been able to obtain Croatian papers since the collapse of federal Yugoslavia in 1991 have finally started to be resolved.