WORLD

Swiss daily NZZ am Sonntag reached out to the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) to ask about how the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan might affect security in the mountainous Central European country – but the response they received pointed to a different threat.  The Taliban’s return to power doesn’t fundamentally change …

The United Russia party, which backs President Vladimir Putin and holds 334 of the State Duma’s 450 seats, is likely to come out on top. That said, there is still a lot to play for at the margins and the possibility of some major upsets remains. In the last parliamentary …

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced details of the strike on Sunday, shortly after US officials told Reuters that the American military had launched a “military strike” on suspected Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) militants. Mujahid said that the strike targeted a vehicle used by the would-be bombers, and US Central Command …

Checkpoints were installed at Wellington’s Pauatahanui wildlife reserve this weekend, after a pod of orcas were sighted in the waters nearby, local media reported.  Police have warned people not to travel to the area, currently under lockdown because of Covid, and blocked a state highway in the area so non-residents …

“The markets are slowing. Since Covid-19 has begun its fourth wave in some areas, we must be careful and reconsider this increase. There may be a halt to the 400,000 [barrels per day] increase,” Mohammad Abdulatif al-Fares told Reuters at a state-sponsored event in Kuwait City. Fares noted that the …

Images shared on Twitter show a cloud of black smoke rising from the supposed site of the blast, which looks to be in a residential area. The explosion was caused by a rocket striking a house near the airport, BBC journalist Secunder Kermani reported, citing a source in the Afghan …

“This is an important step towards enhancing the high-level openness of the Chinese [international trade] system, and is essential for the intensive development of the Hainan Free Trade Port,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated with regard to the new regulation. The region’s authorities on Saturday published a list of …

The National Cyberspace Administration of China on Friday launched a “special rectification” action targeting illegal procurement and misinterpretation of financial information. The agency called on social media platforms to carry out checks to cleanse finance-related content that “violates China’s regulations.” China’s major regulatory agencies will supervise and guide the moves, …

Attorneys for five defendants charged with attempting to kidnap the Democratic governor are seeking information about special agent Jayson Chambers, after a BuzzFeed report claimed that the FBI agent may have published tweets about the undercover operation before it was made public. The foiled kidnapping plot – allegedly hatched in …

The return leg of Benjamin Glynn’s daily commute turned his life upside down. Violent arrests, a prison sentence and time in a mental institution followed, but he vowed, “I would do it all again, I don’t regret anything.” Living in Singapore, the Brit and his partner decided to return home …