Timeline: Afghanistan provincial capitals captured by Taliban - Al Jazeera English

The provincial capitals that have fallen to or are being attacked by the armed group as it advances across the nation.

Taliban fighters have made rapid advances across Afghanistan in recent months as the United States and other foreign forces withdraw from the nation 20 years after they invaded.

Here are the provincial capitals that have fallen to or are being attacked by the armed group, which is fighting to reimpose its rule after its government was toppled in 2001.

Afghanistan has 34 provinces in total. To date, nine capitals have fallen:

Zaranj, August 6: The Taliban take over the capital of Nimruz province in the south, the first provincial capital to fall to the group since it stepped up attacks on Afghan forces in early May.

Afghans in Zaranj, the first provincial capital to fall to the Taliban since launching its offensive, August 7 [AFP]

Sheberghan, August 7: The Taliban declare they have captured the entire northern province of Jawzjan, including its capital Sheberghan.

Heavy fighting is reported in the city, and government buildings are taken over by the Taliban. Afghan security forces say they are still fighting there.

Sar-e-Pul, August 8: The Taliban take control of Sar-e-Pul, capital of the eponymous northern province. It is the first of three provincial centres that fell on the same day.

An Afghan man on a horse crosses a river in Dah Mard, Sangcharak, Sar-e Pul, 2012 [Qais Usyan/AFP]

Kunduz, August 8: Taliban fighters seize control of the northern city of 270,000 people, regarded as a strategic prize as it lies at the gateway to mineral-rich northern provinces and Central Asia.

Government forces say they are resisting the Taliban from an army base and the airport.

A man cycles past a booth with a Taliban flag in the main square of Kunduz [AFP]

Taluqan, August 8: The capital of Takhar province, also in the north, falls to the Taliban in the evening. They freed prisoners and force government officials to flee.

Aybak, August 9: The capital of the northern province of Samangan is overrun by Taliban fighters.

Farah, August 10: Local sources confirmed the fall of the capital of the western province of the same name.

Pul-e-Khumri, August 10: The capital of the central province of Baghlan falls to the Taliban, according to officials and residents.

Afghan security forces conducting a poppy eradication operation in Baghlan in 2012 [Jawed Dehsabzi/AP]

Faizabad, August 11: The capital of the northeastern province of Badakhshan is under Taliban control, a provincial council member says.

Fighting for these capitals is ongoing as of August 11:

Herat: Capital of Herat province in the west

Lashkar Gah: Capital of Helmand in the south

Kandahar: Capital of Kandahar in the south

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2021-08-11 09:30:56Z
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Briton suspected of spying for Russia arrested in Germany - BBC News

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A British man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia.

German federal prosecutors said the man - named only as David S - worked at the British embassy in Berlin.

He allegedly passed documents to Russian intelligence "at least once" in exchange for an "unknown amount" of money.

He was arrested in Potsdam outside Berlin on Tuesday and his home and workplace have been searched.

The arrest was the result of a joint UK-German investigation, the statement read.

The man will appear before a judge on Wednesday.

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2021-08-11 08:49:31Z
CBMiMGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWV1cm9wZS01ODE3MDg3MtIBNGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWV1cm9wZS01ODE3MDg3Mi5hbXA

Afghanistan: Biden has no regrets over withdrawal as three more provinces fall to Taliban - Sky News

US President Joe Biden has said he does not regret his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, as officials say three more provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban.

Nine out of the country's 34 provinces are now in the insurgents' hands as US troops continue their withdrawal.

The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and Baghlan provinces to the northeast and Farah province to the west put increasing pressure on the country's central government to stem the tide of the Taliban's advance.

Image: Thousands of people have fled the northern provinces

While Kabul itself has not been directly threatened in the advance, the offensive continues to stretch Afghan security forces now largely fighting against the insurgents on their own.

President Biden has ordered all US troops out of the country by the end of the month.

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"Afghan leaders have to come together," Mr Biden told reporters at the White House, saying the Afghan troops outnumber the Taliban and must want to fight.

More on Afghanistan

"They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation."

The US president said he does not regret his decision to withdraw, noting that Washington has spent more than $1trn over 20 years and lost thousands of troops.

He said the US continues to provide significant air support, food, equipment and salaries to Afghan forces.

In Kabul, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was seeking help from regional militias he has squabbled with for years.

Image: President Biden says Afghan leaders have to 'come together'

He appealed to civilians to defend Afghanistan's "democratic fabric".

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in northern Afghanistan to escape battles that have overwhelmed their towns and villages.

Families have flowed into the capital, Kabul, living in parks and streets with little food or water.

At least 60,000 people, more than half of them children, have fled their homes in Kunduz alone since the weekend, Save the Children said

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Taliban takes control over much of Kunduz

On Tuesday, residents described bombardment, gunfire and airstrikes pounding their neighbourhoods in multiple parts of the north, with civilians caught in the crossfire.

Some said that as the Taliban captured towns, it hunted down and killed male relatives of members of the police forces and quickly started imposing new restrictions on women.

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2021-08-11 06:45:40Z
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Michael Spavor: Canadian jailed for 11 years in China on spying charges - BBC News

Reuters

A court in China has convicted a Canadian businessman of espionage and sentenced him to 11 years in prison.

Michael Spavor has been detained since 2018, after being arrested with fellow Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig.

The verdict will test a strained relationship between the Canadian and Chinese governments.

It comes as an extradition battle involving Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive at Chinese tech giant Huawei, takes place in Canada.

Critics have accused China of treating both Spavor and Kovrig as political bargaining chips, held as part of what is known as "hostage diplomacy".

In a statement published on Wednesday, the Dandong court said: "For the crime of spying and illegal provision of state secrets abroad [Spavor] has been sentenced to 11 years in jail, confiscation of 50,000 yuan ($7715: £5578) worth of personal property and deportation."

The statement did not explicitly state when the deportation would take place but China typically deports convicted foreigners only after they have completed their prison sentence.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the conviction was "absolutely unacceptable and unjust".

"The verdict for Spavor comes after more than two-and-a-half years of arbitrary detention, a lack of transparency in the legal process, and a trial that did not satisfy even the minimum standards required by international law," he said in a statement, according to a Reuters report.

Closed-door proceedings

Spavor was first arrested in 2018, just days after Ms Meng was detained - and was later charged with espionage. His first trial, which took place in March, ended with no verdict.

Canadian diplomats including the charge d'affaires to China were then denied entry to the court. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the closed-door proceedings "completely unacceptable".

Spavor is a founding member of the Paektu Cultural Exchange, an organisation which facilitates international business and cultural ties with North Korea.

Canadian ambassador to China Dominic Barton said he "condemned" the conviction.

"There is the opportunity for an appeal," he told reporters outside the court, according to a report by AFP.

Separately, Michael Kovrig - who faces the same charges - also went to trial in March, though no verdict has been announced.

• Canadian loses appeal against China death penalty
• Meng Wanzhou: Final arguments in extradition battle

On Tuesday, another Canadian citizen lost his appeal against a death sentence for drug smuggling in China.

The court said it upheld Robert Lloyd Schellenberg's sentence because evidence against him was "sufficient".

Schellenberg was initially sentenced to 15 years in jail, but a few days later, Canada detained Ms Meng on a US extradition warrant.

China at the time warned of unspecified consequences unless Ms Meng was released.

Schellenberg later appealed against the 15-year prison term, but instead of reducing his sentence, judges ruled that his previous sentence had been too light and instead sentenced him to death.

At his hearing, the judges said that evidence proved he was more seriously involved in international drug smuggling.

At the time, Zhang Dongshuo, Schellenberg's lawyer, told Reuters that the sentence should not have been increased because no new evidence was presented at the trial.

Mr Barton said it was "no coincidence" that Schellenberg's verdict came as Ms Meng's extradition battle was taking place.

Ms Meng's court hearings mark the culmination of two-and-a-half years of legal battles.

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2021-08-11 06:03:13Z
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Algeria wildfires: At least 32 people killed as blazes ravage forest and villages east of the capital - Sky News

At least 32 people have been killed in wildfires that erupted in Algeria, including 25 soldiers trying to save residents from the blazes, the country's officials have said.

The fires have been ravaging forests and villages east of the capital, Algiers, in the Kabyle region.

Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane said the blazes appeared to be "highly synchronised," saying that "leads one to believe these were criminal acts".

Image: Smoke rises from a forest fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province, east of the Algerian capital, Algiers

He called on the international community to help and said the government was in talks with partners to hire planes to extinguish fires. The region has no water-dumping aircraft.

Algeria's president Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Twitter that soldiers have saved more than 100 citizens from the blazes in the two areas of the mountainous region.

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The fires happened in the Kabyle region, 100km (60 miles) east of Algeria's capital of Algiers and it is dotted with difficult-to-access villages.

Some villagers were fleeing, while others tried to hold back the flames themselves, using buckets, branches and rudimentary tools.

More on Algeria

Image: A civil protection rescue worker walks near smoke rising from a forest fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province

The deaths and injuries occurred around Kabyle capital of Tizi-Ouzou, which is flanked by mountains and in Bejaia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, the president said.

Mr Benabderrahmane told state television that initial reports from security services showed the fires in Kabyle were "highly synchronized".

Earlier, Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud travelled to Kabyle to assess the situation and also blamed the fires there on arson.

"Thirty fires at the same time in the same region can't be by chance," Mr Beldjoud said on national television, although no arrests have been announced.

Image: The president has said the fires were "highly synchronized" and could be arson. Pic AP

A 92-year-old woman who lives in the Kabyle mountain village of Ait Saada said on Monday night the scene looked like "the end of the world".

"We were afraid," Fatima Aoudia said.

"The entire hill was transformed into a giant blaze."

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Ms Aoudia compared the scene to bombings by French troops during Algeria's independence war, which ended in 1962.

"These burned down forests. It's a part of me that is gone," Aoudia said. "

"It's a drama for humanity, for nature. It's a disaster."

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2021-08-10 20:48:45Z
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Algeria wildfires: At least 32 people killed as blazes ravage forest and villages east of the capital - Sky News

At least 32 people have been killed in wildfires that erupted in Algeria, including 25 soldiers trying to save residents from the blazes, the country's officials have said.

The fires have been ravaging forests and villages east of the capital, Algiers, in the Kabyle region.

Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane said the blazes appeared to be "highly synchronised," saying that "leads one to believe these were criminal acts".

Image: Smoke rises from a forest fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province, east of the Algerian capital, Algiers

He called on the international community to help and said the government was in talks with partners to hire planes to extinguish fires. The region has no water-dumping aircraft.

Algeria's president Abdelmadjid Tebboune said on Twitter that soldiers have saved more than 100 citizens from the blazes in the two areas of the mountainous region.

Advertisement

The fires happened in the Kabyle region, 100km (60 miles) east of Algeria's capital of Algiers and it is dotted with difficult-to-access villages.

Some villagers were fleeing, while others tried to hold back the flames themselves, using buckets, branches and rudimentary tools.

More on Algeria

Image: A civil protection rescue worker walks near smoke rising from a forest fire in the mountainous Tizi Ouzou province

The deaths and injuries occurred around Kabyle capital of Tizi-Ouzou, which is flanked by mountains and in Bejaia, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, the president said.

Mr Benabderrahmane told state television that initial reports from security services showed the fires in Kabyle were "highly synchronized".

Earlier, Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud travelled to Kabyle to assess the situation and also blamed the fires there on arson.

"Thirty fires at the same time in the same region can't be by chance," Mr Beldjoud said on national television, although no arrests have been announced.

Image: The president has said the fires were "highly synchronized" and could be arson. Pic AP

A 92-year-old woman who lives in the Kabyle mountain village of Ait Saada said on Monday night the scene looked like "the end of the world".

"We were afraid," Fatima Aoudia said.

"The entire hill was transformed into a giant blaze."

Subscribe to ClimateCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Spreaker

Ms Aoudia compared the scene to bombings by French troops during Algeria's independence war, which ended in 1962.

"These burned down forests. It's a part of me that is gone," Aoudia said. "

"It's a drama for humanity, for nature. It's a disaster."

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2021-08-10 20:46:02Z
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Andrew Cuomo resigns after sexual harassment report - Financial Times

Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday resigned as New York governor following devastating claims of sexual harassment that shredded his reputation and engulfed his administration.

In a video address, an emotional Cuomo said he was inclined to fight impeachment proceedings but feared that doing so would consume the state’s government at a perilous moment.

“Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing,” said Cuomo, 63.

His resignation will become effective in 14 days, after which Kathy Hochul, the state’s lieutenant-governor, will take charge.

It comes a week after a 168-page report released by New York attorney-general Letitia James concluded he had violated state and federal laws by sexually harassing 11 women, most current and former state employees.

The Democratic governor’s alleged transgressions ranged from suggestive comments to a young assistant about her sex life to reaching under a woman’s blouse and cupping her breast.

Cuomo has repeatedly denied touching anyone inappropriately. In Tuesday’s roughly 20-minute address, Cuomo apologised for insensitivity and insisted his greatest mistake had been failing to grasp how behavioural norms had changed over the years.

“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone. But I didn’t realise the extent to which the line has been redrawn,” he said. “There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate — and I should have.”

At the same time, the governor blasted James’s report as “unfair and untruthful”. Just before he spoke, Rita Glavin, his attorney, said the report was “designed and meant to devastate Governor Cuomo”.

Tuesday’s resignation marks the end of an epic American political career that soared over the past year — with talk of a possible White House bid — and then came crashing down.

Cuomo, now in his third term, was celebrated for his inspiring and resolute leadership during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when New York City was hit hard. The governor’s daily briefings became appointment viewing for people across the country, and fans even mused about drafting him to replace Joe Biden as the Democratic party’s presidential nominee.

But Cuomo, son of another three-term New York governor, Mario Cuomo, began to face questions about his executive order in March 2020 requiring nursing homes to accept patients with Covid-19.

A report by James’s office released in January found that his administration had undercounted Covid deaths of nursing home residents by as much as 50 per cent, which critics said was intended to protect his reputation.

Around the same time, former aides began to come forward with accounts of sexual harassment and a toxic work environment where deference to Cuomo was enforced by an inner circle of “mean girls”.

Cuomo’s fate appeared to be sealed as longtime allies, particularly in the black community, abandoned him following James’s coruscating report and the New York State Assembly began preparations to try to impeach him. His top aide, Melissa DeRosa, resigned on Sunday.

In a statement, the US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, also a New York Democrat, said Cuomo’s resignation was “the right decision for the good of the people of New York”. James said Cuomo’s resignation “closes a sad chapter for all of New York, but it’s an important step towards justice”.

US president Joe Biden, who had called on Cuomo to step down after the report was released, said on Tuesday that he respected the decision. Asked for his view on Cuomo’s time as governor, the president responded: “He has done a hell of a job. I mean, both on everything from access to voting to infrastructure to a whole range of things. That is why it is so sad.”

Hochul, a former US representative from Buffalo, will become the state’s first female governor. She was not close to Cuomo, and barely visible during his reign, attributes that may now help her to govern until next year’s elections.

As he signed off, Cuomo reminded voters of all he had accomplished for them over the years — from infrastructure projects to legalising same-sex marriage and battling Covid.

“Thank you for the honour of serving you,” he said. “It has been the honour of a lifetime.”

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2021-08-10 19:57:45Z
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