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Category: Politics

Russian ‘low-carbon’ climate plan sees rising emissions offset by forests

Russian ‘low-carbon’ climate plan sees rising emissions offset by forests

Bloomberg reports: Russia expects to increase greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years and instead rely on its trees to meet its international climate obligations, according to a draft of the nation’s low-carbon development strategy. Emissions are seen rising 8.2% from 2019 levels to 2.29 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2050, according to the base-case scenario in the draft prepared by the Economy Ministry. The plan says the growth will be more than compensated for by doubling the…

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Inside the hidden war between the Taliban and ISIS-K

Inside the hidden war between the Taliban and ISIS-K

The Wall Street Journal reports: Two days before he was shot dead by the Taliban, Abu Omar Khorasani, a onetime leader of Islamic State in Afghanistan, sat slumped in a dingy Afghan prison interview room, waiting for his soon-to-be executioners. Mr. Khorasani saw the Taliban’s advance as a harbinger for change. For years both organizations had sworn to rid Afghanistan of nonbelievers. “They will let me free if they are good Muslims,” he told The Wall Street Journal in an…

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ISIS-K, the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack, and its rivalry with the Taliban

ISIS-K, the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack, and its rivalry with the Taliban

ISIS-K, an affiliate of the Islamic State group, has claimed responsibility for the Kabul terrorist attack. Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images By Amira Jadoon, United States Military Academy West Point and Andrew Mines, George Washington University An attack on a crowd gathered outside Kabul’s airport on Aug. 26, 2021, has left at least 100 people dead, including at least 13 U.S. troops. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb and gun assault, which came just days after President Joe Biden warned…

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ISIS-K attack signals West’s least bad option for Afghanistan: the Taliban

ISIS-K attack signals West’s least bad option for Afghanistan: the Taliban

Reuters reports: The deadly attack on Kabul airport has underlined the realpolitik facing Western powers in Afghanistan: engaging with the Taliban may be their best chance to prevent the country sliding into a breeding ground for Islamist militancy. Almost two weeks after the Taliban’s surprise return to power, officials in Europe are beginning to acknowledge that their pragmatic option is to put aside distaste for the country’s new leaders and work with them instead. “It is clear: the Taliban are…

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In its last days in Kabul, U.S. turns to Taliban as a partner

In its last days in Kabul, U.S. turns to Taliban as a partner

The Wall Street Journal reports: Twenty years ago, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban. Today, American forces, battered by one of the bloodiest attacks of the war, are relying for their own security on that same group, whose members they were trying to kill just weeks earlier. Fighters of the Taliban’s elite Badri 313 unit, dressed in the latest tactical gear, patrol the same Kabul airport parking lot as U.S. Marines, separated by a few coils…

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The right-wing Americans who admire the Taliban

The right-wing Americans who admire the Taliban

Michelle Goldberg writes: As the Taliban swept through Afghanistan in August, a Gen Z alt-right group ran a Twitter account devoted to celebrating their progress. Tweets in Pashto juxtaposed two laughing Taliban fighters with pictures meant to represent American effeminacy. Another said, the words auto-translated into English, “Liberalism did not fail in Afghanistan because it was Afghanistan, it failed because it was not true. It failed America, Europe and the world see it.” The account, now suspended, was just one…

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Ivermectin for Covid-19: abundance of hype, dearth of evidence

Ivermectin for Covid-19: abundance of hype, dearth of evidence

Peter G. Lurie writes: In striking testimony before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in December 2020, Pierre Kory, a critical care physician who formerly worked for the University of Wisconsin Health University Hospital, described the “immense potency” of ivermectin, characterizing it as effectively a “miracle drug.” “All studies are positive,” he testified, “with considerable magnitude benefits, with the vast majority reaching strong statistical significance.” Unfortunately, and not for the first time in the Covid-19 pandemic, the…

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Why the media is worse for Biden than Trump

Why the media is worse for Biden than Trump

Jonathan Chait writes: Over the last week, the media has hammered Joe Biden with relentlessly critical coverage of his pullout from Afghanistan, resulting in noticeable drops in his approval ratings. Put aside for a moment whether this reflects failures by Biden or biases by the media. One conclusion we can draw is that this sort of dynamic is a regular feature of Democratic presidencies, and — as the Trump administration showed — a near impossibility during Republican ones. But wait,…

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Islamic State affiliate is prime suspect for Kabul airport suicide bombing

Islamic State affiliate is prime suspect for Kabul airport suicide bombing

Jason Burke reports: The prime suspect for the suicide bombing at Kabul airport is the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Sunday there was an “acute” and “persistent” threat to the continuing evacuations from the Afghan capital from ISKP – which takes its name Khorasan from that used by a series of Muslim imperial rulers for a swath of land stretching from Iran to the…

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U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

U.S. officials provided Taliban with names of Americans, Afghan allies to evacuate

Politico reports: U.S. officials in Kabul gave the Taliban a list of names of American citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies to grant entry into the militant-controlled outer perimeter of the city’s airport, a choice that’s prompted outrage behind the scenes from lawmakers and military officials. The move, detailed to POLITICO by three U.S. and congressional officials, was designed to expedite the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan as chaos erupted in Afghanistan’s capital city last…

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The history of the Taliban is crucial in understanding their success now – and also what might happen next

The history of the Taliban is crucial in understanding their success now – and also what might happen next

The Taliban came to the fore during Afghanistan’s civil war that followed the Soviet pullout of 1989. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images By Ali A. Olomi, Penn State The rapid takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban left many surprised. To Ali Olomi, a historian of the Middle East and Islam at Penn State University, a key to understanding what is happening now – and what might take place next – is looking at the past and how the Taliban came to prominence….

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Vaccinated Democratic counties are leading the U.S. economic recovery

Vaccinated Democratic counties are leading the U.S. economic recovery

Joshua Green writes: With Covid-19 cases once again rising across the country, the U.S. is struggling to curb the latest, delta-driven surge, as hospitalizations and deaths have steadily climbed. But at least so far, the economy has proved highly resilient. There are many reasons for this, ranging from generous stimulus checks to the Federal Reserve’s commitment to buying bonds and holding interest rates low. But some interesting new data on the overlap of electoral politics and economic dynamism suggest another…

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Capitol Police officers sue Trump and allies over election lies and Jan. 6

Capitol Police officers sue Trump and allies over election lies and Jan. 6

The New York Times reports: A group of seven Capitol Police officers filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing former President Donald J. Trump and nearly 20 members of far-right extremist groups and political organizations of a plot to disrupt the peaceful transition of power during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. The suit, which implicated members of the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers militia and Trump associates like Roger J. Stone Jr., was arguably the most expansive civil effort to…

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Life in a Virginia town with a government-approved armed militia

Life in a Virginia town with a government-approved armed militia

Mother Jones reports: On a dry, bright afternoon in late June, members of the Bedford Militia lined up on a grassy lot on the property of Bryan Buchanan Auto Auction, right off the county highway in Montvale, Virginia. The group of about a few dozen stood in formation still as water, a US flag on one side and the squad’s guidon bearer holding up the militia’s flag on the other, the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. All were dressed…

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Biden close to backing G20 peace talks on Afghanistan, Italian PM believes

Biden close to backing G20 peace talks on Afghanistan, Italian PM believes

The Guardian reports: The Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, believes he is close to gaining Joe Biden’s support to stage a special G20 peace conference on Afghanistan next month that will include key players with close contact with the Taliban, including China, Russia and Turkey. Draghi, the chair of the G20 group of nations, has been working on the plan for days, holding talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The Italian prime minister is also expected to hold a…

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UN Security Council should authorize the U.S. and allies to enforce a safe zone for evacuations from Kabul

UN Security Council should authorize the U.S. and allies to enforce a safe zone for evacuations from Kabul

Paula J. Dobriansky and Paul Saunders write: President Biden seems to have set a trap for himself—and for Americans, allied personnel and Afghans seeking to leave Afghanistan. Those civilians were stranded after Mr. Biden withdrew U.S. troops only to be surprised by the Taliban’s quick takeover. Mr. Biden promised to evacuate them by Aug. 31, and the Taliban said they’d hold him to that deadline. On Monday the administration signaled that it intends to abide by it. It won’t be…

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