Asia Stocks Set to Decline, Dollar Extends Rally: Markets Wrap
Asian stocks look set to follow Wall Street lower as investors contemplate a protracted period of higher interest
2023-09-27 08:22
Inside El Salvador's mega-prison holding 12,000 alleged gangsters
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's relentless war on gangs is steadily filling the cellblocks of a massive prison that may...
2023-08-23 09:58
'SNL' creator Lorne Michaels' murky past explored as Maureen Ryan's bombshell book exposes 'toxic culture' on show
Maureen Ryan's book also gives voice to Horatio Sanz's alleged sexual abuse victim, who slammed the cast members for remaining silent
2023-06-08 16:48
Tristan Tate defends Elon Musk over Starlink decision, fans say 'the Matrix will continue to attack'
'Elon musk is not at war with Russia,' Tristan Tate pointed out
2023-09-11 19:56
Kia/Hyundia settle class-action lawsuit over security flaw in vehicles
Hyundai Motor America and Kia America will resolve class-action lawsuit prompted by a surge in vehicle thefts with a settlement agreement that could be valued at $200 million
2023-05-20 02:57
How Hong Kong became a fencing powerhouse and cheered up a city
Hong Kong is one of the smaller Asian Games teams by population, but when it comes to fencing the city is a regional...
2023-09-19 13:47
3 fake electors want Georgia election subversion charges against them to be moved to federal court
Lawyers for three Georgia Republicans, who falsely claimed that Donald Trump won the state and they were “duly elected and qualified” electors, are set to argue that their criminal charges should be moved from state to federal court
2023-09-20 12:23
Joey Votto homers in return to Cincinnati Reds' lineup after 10-month absence
Joey Votto homered in his return to the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup after a 10-month absence that followed an operation to repair his left biceps and rotator cuff
2023-06-20 08:58
Jefferies' third-quarter profit falls short of expectations as M&A sputters
By Niket Nishant and Lananh Nguyen (Reuters) -Jefferies Financial Group reported a smaller-than-expected third-quarter profit on Wednesday as lingering economic
2023-09-28 06:25
Damning report criticises Trump and Biden for ‘dangerous and chaotic’ US withdrawal from Afghanistan
The US State Department released its Afghanistan After Action Review report, detailing the failures of both the Trump and Biden administrations during the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021. The long-awaited report found that the decision by both administrations had detrimental consequences and laid out the shortcomings of a “chaotic and dangerous environment” during the pullout after nearly two decades of war in Afghanistan. “The decisions of both President (Donald) Trump and President (Joe) Biden to end the US military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security,” said the unclassified report. “Those decisions are beyond the scope of this review, but the AAR (After Action Review) team found that during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow,” it added. Out of the 85-page After Action Report, the department made only 24 pages public, keeping the remainder classified. The details emerged more than a year following a 90-day long review of the handling of the evacuation operation and include details of what happened in the final days of US presence in Afghanistan and recommendations to prepare for future events. The finding of the reports also highlighted the shortcomings of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, without naming him. It included the state department’s failure in expanding its crisis management task force as the Taliban advanced on Kabul in August 2021 and the lack of a senior diplomat “to oversee all elements of the crisis response”. Referring to the State Department’s top floor where Mr Blinken and other top diplomats have their office, it said: “Naming a 7th floor principal ... would have improved coordination across different lines of effort.” The report stated that senior Biden administration officials had “not made clear decisions” regarding at-risk Afghans. There were no clear instructions about who would be included in the evacuation operation or about where they would be taken. “That added significantly to the challenges the Department and DoD faced during the evacuation,” it said. The State Department’s noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) “was hindered by the fact that it was unclear who in the Department had the lead”, it said. The review also stated the concerns about signalling and maintaining confidence in the Afghan government hindered crisis preparation and planning. This inhibition ultimately contributed to the collapse of the Afghan government in mid-August 2021. The report comes as the Biden administration was criticised for its chaotic pullout of US troops and its officials from Kabul after the takeover of the Taliban, toppling president Ashraf Ghani’s government. The unprecedented scenes showed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and other citizens trying to flee Taliban rule and attempting to enter Kabul airport. Videos showed men clinging onto aircraft as they taxied down runways and others trying to climb the big walls of the airport. During the evacuations, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 13 US servicemembers and more than 150 Afghans outside an airport gate. According to the report, approximately 125,000 individuals, including nearly 6,000 Americans, were evacuated from Kabul prior to the departure of the last US soldiers from Afghanistan on 20 August. Defending Mr Biden’s handling of evacuations, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the decisions were made to end the war. “He had to make a decision,” she told reporters on Friday. The US had poured “billions of dollars into a war with no end in sight” and that “he wanted to stop that, he wanted to end that,” she said. A Trump spokesperson said: “There’s only one person responsible for the disastrous pullout of Afghanistan — Joe Biden.” The State Department’s critical review was not reflected in the White House report which was released in April. Read More Over 1,000 Afghan civilians killed in violence under Taliban rule, says UN Xi undecided on whether to order military unification with Taiwan by 2027, top US official claims Ukraine Russia – live: CIA director William Burns ‘called Kremlin’ after Wagner mutiny Who are Isis-K? Al-Qaeda ‘could regroup in Afghanistan in two years and threaten US’ Biden overruled Blinken and Austin on Afghanistan pullout, book says
2023-07-01 19:56
Panama criticizes Colombia for not helping stem record flow of migrants through Darien Gap
Panama's top immigration official is criticizing Colombia, saying it is not helping to slow the record flow of migrants through the dangerous jungle of the Darien Gap
2023-08-07 11:48
German govt expects economy to shrink 0.4% in 2023 - source
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's government expects the economy to shrink by 0.4% this year in its draft autumn projections, a source
2023-10-06 16:55
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