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Trump aid freeze strands Afghan visa holders in Albania

Shengjin, Albania Reuters Ali Amini was just days from starting a new life in the United States when President Donald Trump halted aid for resettling Afghan refugees last week, a move that Amini worries could put his life in danger if forced to return home.  After processing in Albania, he had a flight booked for […]

Biden spoke with families of Americans detained in Afghanistan, White House says

Washington DC, US Reuters US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with the families of three Americans detained in Afghanistan by its Taliban rulers since 2022, and emphasised his commitment to bringing home Americans wrongfully held overseas, the White House said. Biden’s administration has been negotiating with the Taliban since at least July about a […]

Taliban marks three years of rule and sharia law in Afghanistan

Kabul, Afghanistan Reuters The Taliban’s supreme spiritual leader said the group had transformed Afghanistan into an Islamic sharia-based country, as the former insurgents marked three years of rule with a huge military parade at the Bagram Air Base near Kabul. “The system is Islamic and sharia-based, sharia is being implemented,” said supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, […]

US to lift Afghan visa limit under Biden, Congress deal

Washington DC, US Reuters US President Joe Biden’s administration has reached a compromise deal with Republicans in House of Representatives to lift the number of resettlement visas for Afghans who worked for the United States, US lawmakers said on Tuesday. The congressionally-authorised limit of 38,500 Special Immigration Visas (SIVs), which offer a path to US […]

State Department review of 2021 Afghanistan evacuation critical of Biden, Trump

US Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit process evacuees as they go through the Evacuation Control Center during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, on 28th August, 2021.

Washington DC, US Reuters A US State Department report on Friday criticised the handling of the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan, saying decisions by President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump to withdraw troops had “serious consequences for the viability” and security of the former US-backed government. Adverse findings in the report also reflected badly […]

Biden Afghanistan report mostly blames Trump for chaotic US withdrawal

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks to US troops, with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani standing behind him, during an unannounced visit to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on 28th November, 2019

Washington DC, US Reuters President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday released a summary of classified reports that mostly blamed the chaotic August, 2021, US pullout from Afghanistan on his predecessor, Donald Trump, for failing to plan for the withdrawal he had agreed on with the Taliban. The Democratic administration’s summary, drawn from top-secret State Department […]