International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
Students across Afghanistan have started returning to university classrooms after the Taliban stormed to power, and in some cases, females have been separated from their male peers by curtains or boards down the middle of the room. What happens in universities and schools across the country will be closely watched by foreign powers for signs
The Taliban on Monday claimed total control over Afghanistan, saying they had won the key battle for the Panjshir Valley, the last remaining holdout of resistance against their rule. Following their lightning-fast victory in mid-August over the former Afghan government’s security forces and the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of war, the Taliban
(Reuters) – The Taliban claimed victory on Monday over opposition forces in the Panjshir valley northeast of Kabul, declaring that it completed the Islamist group’s takeover of Afghanistan and promising to announce a new government soon. Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound after fighting over the weekend with the National Resistance Front
Washington (AFP) – A former sniper in the US military went on a shooting spree in central Florida, killing four people, including an infant boy in his mother’s arms, officials said Sunday. The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Bryan Riley, shot and killed a 40-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman and her three-month-old son in a residential area
“America is back,” goes President Joe Biden’s catchphrase, but his unapologetic exit from Afghanistan shows America won’t be back to business as usual. Beyond the trauma of the Kabul evacuation, Biden is pitching a much broader retreat: a halt to using vast military resources to impose order and US values around the planet. “This decision
Kabul (AFP) – The Taliban were on Friday close to forming a government, with the hardliners under intense international scrutiny over their vow to rule Afghanistan with greater tolerance, especially on women’s rights. The announcement of a new administration, earlier expected to be made after Friday afternoon prayers, would now not happen until Saturday at the
Wellington (AFP) – An attacker inspired by the Islamic State group stabbed six people at a New Zealand supermarket on Friday before police who had the man under surveillance shot him dead, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Ardern said the man, a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in 2011 and was on a
Tokyo (AFP) – Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday he will not run for re-election as party leader this month, effectively ending his tenure after just one year, his party’s secretary general said. Suga announced his intention to resign at an emergency meeting of senior members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Toshihiro Nikai told
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (Reuters) – Flash flooding killed at least 44 people in four Northeastern states as remnants of Hurricane Ida unleashed torrential rains that swept away cars, submerged New York City subway lines and grounded airline flights, officials said on Thursday. Across large swaths of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, residents spent the day coping with
New York (AFP) – The remnants of Hurricane Ida triggered spectacular flash flooding and a rare state of emergency in New York City overnight into Thursday and killed at least eight people in what was called a historic weather event. Streets turned into rivers while subway stations were also flooded, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported
Tokyo (AFP) – The course of true love never did run smooth, but after public controversy and a wedding delay, Japan’s Princess Mako is reportedly set to tie the knot and move to America. The daughter of Japan’s crown prince and niece of Emperor Naruhito has endured years of sniping and stalling over her plans to
Washington (AFP) – Moderna said Wednesday that tainted batches of its Covid-19 vaccine sent to Japan were contaminated with stainless steel particles, but the company did not expect it posed “an undue risk to patient safety.” The US biotech firm is facing major setbacks in Japan, with hundreds of thousands of doses suspended following reports of
