Trump says he canceled Putin summit due to stalled negotiations
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had called off a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a lack of dip...
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel testified before a parliamentary committee investigating Germany’s role in the chaotic 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal.
Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan ended abruptly on August 15, 2021, when the Taliban seized Kabul. The German government, including then-Chancellor Angela Merkel, did not anticipate the rapid Taliban takeover, leading to a chaotic evacuation of German citizens and Afghan allies.
Since 2022, a Bundestag inquiry has been investigating the mistakes behind the withdrawal, with Merkel as the final witness. The ex-Chancellor reiterated that the mission was meant to prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan.
Angela Merkel acknowledged that foreign governments failed to meet key objectives, such as promoting the rule of law and women’s rights. She also pointed to cultural misunderstandings, nepotism, and drug trafficking as reasons for the failure. She admitted being initially reluctant to evacuate Afghan development workers, fearing it would signal that Germany was abandoning Afghanistan.
Merkel’s testimony aligned with her former colleague, Helge Braun, who defended the Federal Intelligence Service for underestimating the Taliban’s quick takeover.
The inquiry is focused on the decision-making process and coordination between Germ an government departments and international partners. Committee chair Ralf Stegner highlighted the need to question Angela Merkel about U.S. negotiations under Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, especially concerning the conditions tied to troop withdrawals.
Chairman of Parliamentary Afghanistan Investigation Committee, Ralf Stegner said that, questions will have to be asked about the duty of care towards the local German forces, about the preparations for the evacuation operation and also about the findings of the Federal Intelligence Service as to whether everything was as it should have been.
Former US President Donald Trump continued to criticize the U.S. withdrawal. Called it a "calamity", seeking for accountability. The international mission in Afghanistan has carried on for about two decades with the US leading the way. Germany was also involved from the start, offering military and humanitarian services. The final report from the German inquiry is expected by next February.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had called off a planned summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing a lack of diplomatic progress and saying that “the timing wasn’t right.”
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting major oil producers Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the conflict deepens.
Russian drones struck the Ukrainian capital for a second consecutive night, wounding four people, officials said early on Thursday.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been the target of death threats from an inmate at Paris’s La Santé prison, where he began serving his sentence this week, prompting an official investigation, the Paris prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he expected to reach a series of agreements with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they meet in South Korea next week, ranging from the resumption of Chinese soybean imports to potential limits on nuclear weapons.
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