The fall of Kabul last month led to a chaotic evacuation of Western civilians, but apparently could have been avoided. Khalilzad said it was agreed at the last minute that the Taliban would not enter the city yet. The agreement provided for a two-week transition period, according to the diplomat. President Ashraf Ghani would remain in his post temporarily. Meanwhile, …
Read More »World
Chernobyl ‘forbidden zone’ is being re-mapped
35 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Ukrainian and German specialists are again mapping the radioactivity in the “forbidden zone”. A full measurement like this was last taken in the 1980s. The exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant covers more than 2,500 square kilometers. Experts measure radiation from a height of 100 meters using two helicopters and drones. They …
Read More »“Never before have so many dolphins and pilot whales been killed in the Faroe Islands massacre”
The Danish Faroe Islands may never have seen so many dolphins and pilot whales killed in the annual massacre. More than 1,400 marine mammals were killed last weekend, according to the Sea Shepherd animal welfare organization. The previous record was in 1940, when more than 1,200 pilot whales and dolphins were shot in the waters around the islands. On average, …
Read More »Chinese ambassador unwelcome in UK House of Commons due to sanctions
The Chinese Ambassador to the UK has been told he is not welcome in the UK House of Commons until China ends sanctions against some members of the House of Commons. Beijing has imposed sanctions on British parliamentarians for criticizing the human rights situation in China. Ambassador Zheng Zeguang is said to be attending a reception in the parliament building …
Read More »Trump-suspicious US general swore to China: I’ll call before I attack
The senior US military officer has twice called his Chinese counterpart to ensure that the US military does not attack China, even if President Trump orders it. He also promised to warn the Chinese if an attack was imminent. It is according to the American media in the book to be published next week Danger by reporters Bob Woodward and …
Read More »More than 50 degrees? It happens more often, more often and more often
These are extreme temperatures, which also occurred before 2010, but much less. Between 1980 and 2009, there were an average of 14 such days per year, according to a BBC analysis. Between 2010 and 2019, there were on average 26. Not just in the desert So you may think that this only happens in the desert, or in places where …
Read More »Petition for change of name New Zealand: still named after the Netherlands
The Maori party has launched a petition to officially change New Zealand’s name to Aotearoa, which means “land of the long white cloud”. The party writes that in a statement where The Guardian about the message. “It’s time for the name to do justice to this country’s first and official language, we are a Polynesian island.” Explorers Also the Cook …
Read More »More evacuations on the Costa del Sol on the fifth day of the Spanish forest fires | Abroad
Earlier in the week, some 1,000 people in the area were displaced from their homes by suffocating clouds of smoke created by the forest fires. An aid worker has been killed since the fires started on Wednesday in the low mountains of the Sierra Bermeja. Andalusia’s regional fire service said on Sunday that 365 firefighters, supported by 41 planes and …
Read More »UN commissioner says former government officials may have been killed by Taliban
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet accused the Taliban of murdering former Afghan government employees and their families. Her office received credible information that they were arrested without charge, she said. “In some cases they were released, others were found dead.” The Taliban are reportedly going door-to-door to locate employees of the previous government. In doing so, …
Read More »French bury hatchet in champagne riot with Russia abroad
French champagne houses are burying the hatchet with Russia and will resume exporting champagne to Russia from September 15. The French embargo was introduced in response to a new Russian law. This prescribes that the name of champagne – shampanskoye in Russian – will henceforth be reserved for locally produced champagne. Foreign sparkling wines – including French champagne – must …
Read More »