List of All Articles with Tag 'h'

AMSTERDAM Dutch King Willem-Alexander on Saturday apologised for the Netherlands' historic involvement in slavery and the effects that

As the trillion-dollar AI rally gathers pace, pity the humans on Wall Street trying to figure out this

A look at how Arsenal can afford to buy the likes of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber while still adhering to FFP rules.

Harry Winks has joined Leicester from Tottenham on a permanent deal.

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

When the Supreme Court cut affirmative action out of college admissions programs Thursday, it did not outlaw the goal of achieving diversity, but it set a new "race-neutral" standard for considering applicants.

Wilfried Zaha continues to weigh up his options after his Crystal Palace contract expired.

Chelsea have finalised the signing of two highly rated teenagers on free transfers.

Tens of thousands of people gathered on Saturday afternoon in Seoul for the city’s Pride parade, following months

Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has fired a warning to Chelsea over Romelu Lukaku's future.

(Reuters) -China's ruling Communist Party appointed central bank Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng as the bank's party secretary on Saturday, a

Louis Tomlinson’s 19-year-old sister has reflected on the negative comments and criticism she received after announcing her pregnancy earlier this month. On 19 June, Phoebe Tomlinson revealed that she and her boyfriend, footballer Jack Varley, 26, are expecting their first child together. The couple said their firstborn is a boy, sharing the news in a gender reveal video posted on Instagram 10 days later. In the video, Varley pops a black balloon filled with blue confetti, before hugging Phoebe as they celebrate the news with friends and family. The model and mum-to-be later answered fan questions about her pregnancy journey on her Instagram stories, including whether she had dealt with any backlash for being a “young mama”. Phoebe replied: “Any nasty comments will get removed and blocked, so I just try and let them go over my head. That’s the downside of social media. And I’ve truly learnt in the past few weeks how incredibly cruel people can be. “I’m lucky I have an amazing family,” she added. Her twin sister Daisy left lots of blue heart emojis on Phoebe and Varley’s gender reveal video, while their older sister Lottie Tomlinson, 24, said she “can’t wait to meet” her nephew. Phoebe also responded to a 19-year-old fan who also “wanted a baby early in life but people were against it”. She said: “Why do ‘people’ matter? It’s your life, sweets.” Phoebe also shared she “feels like any other expecting mum” when asked if it was scary to become a mother at “such a young age”. Elsewhere, she said her brother Louis was “excited” to find out Phoebe and Varley were having a boy. While the former One Direction star wasn’t at the gender reveal, Phoebe told a fan she texted him a few days prior to the announcement. She also expressed her excitement at her baby meeting Daisy, and told a fan she becomes “emotional” when she thinks about Varley becoming a father. “I can’t wait to see them snuggle and to watch him thrive as a dad,” she added. Finally, Phoebe said that she felt her late mother Johannah Deakin “guiding us through” the pregnancy. Deakin died from leukemia in December 2016, aged 43. The family was dealt another tragic blow in March 2019, when the siblings lost their sister Félicité Tomlinson after she died from an accidental drug overdose, aged 18. Read More Kevin Costner’s estranged wife says she’ll move out of their $145m home on one condition Colleen Ballinger: Everything we know about the ‘grooming’ allegations against YouTuber Miranda Sings Sarah Jessica Parker reveals she and husband Matthew Broderick haven’t ‘spent a night apart’ in 31 years Ellie Simmonds decided to find her birth mother as she starts ‘new chapter’ with partner Matt Dean Nutritionist explains how women can eat to help balance hormones