KABUL: An air strike in Afghanistan on Friday killed at least eight people — all believed to be civilians, residents said — following US statements that there had been a breakthrough in peace talks.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement with the Taliban on a reduction of US troops in Afghanistan.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said an important breakthrough had been made in peace talks with the Taliban in recent days, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper said they had negotiated a proposal for a week-long reduction in violence.
But on Friday a vehicle carrying civilians was targeted in an air strike in the eastern province of Nangarhar, according to residents, who added that among the eight killed was a child. Taliban insurgents have a strong presence in the region.
A spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar confirmed the incident but did not say who the victims were.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said 11 civilians were killed in the incident.
Afghan, Taliban and US sources said over the last 48 hours that a deal to curb violence was on the verge of implementation. Details about when that was set to begin were not immediately clear but a Taliban official said it would be this week.
While US and Taliban negotiators pressed on with meetings in Doha, Qatar, the Taliban and the Afghan government also reported fighting on the ground over the last 24 hours.
An air strike on Thursday evening killed a senior Taliban commander and eight others in northern Balkh province, the Afghan defense ministry said.
The Taliban’s Mujahid said the insurgents had killed six Afghan soldiers, including two officers, in an attack on a checkpoint in northern Kunduz province.
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Air strike in Afghanistan kills eight civilians
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Air strike in Afghanistan kills eight civilians
- US President Donald Trump said on Thursday there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement with the Taliban on a reduction of US troops in Afghanistan
- A vehicle carrying civilians was targeted in an air strike in the eastern province of Nangarhar, according to residents
Australia’s Liberals elect net zero opponent as new leader
- The Liberals have endured an agonizing existential crisis since their second consecutive defeat by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor
SYDNEY: Australia’s opposition Liberal Party elected as leader on Friday a conservative who lobbied to drop its commitment to net zero emissions, as it seeks to counter an insurgent populist right and rebuild support after a disastrous election loss last year.
The Liberals have endured an agonizing existential crisis since their second consecutive defeat by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor, torn between centrist factions and right-wingers skeptical of climate legislation and multiculturalism.
Angus Taylor — a former energy minister — replaced Sussan Ley, the party’s first female leader who had been in office for just nine months.
Speaking following his election, Taylor said his party faced a choice: “Change or die.”
He struck a hardline on immigration, claiming “our borders have been open to people who hate our way of life.”
And he said the party would stand against “Labor’s net zero ideology.”
Ley was ousted after a leadership challenge was called on Thursday, leading multiple members of her team to resign.
Opinion polling showing it falling behind the right-wing populist One Nation had spooked her party’s leadership.
Far-right One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has long been a fixture on the fringes of Australian politics, sparking outrage last year wearing a burqa in parliament in a stunt condemned as racist.
In an upbeat statement after she was ousted, Ley thanked her supporters and said she would quit politics.
Last month she endured a public spat with longtime coalition partners the Nationals, with whom the Liberal Party has governed Australia for much of the past century.
And in November the party dropped its commitment to net zero emissions, introduced in 2021 by former leader Scott Morrison when he was prime minister.
New leader Taylor was seen as a key proponent of the decision to drop the commitment to zero emissions.
The son of a sheep farmer, he is seen as part of the Liberal’s conservative faction.
He attracted online ridicule in 2019 when he replied to his own social media post with: “Fantastic. Great move. Well done Angus.”
‘Best qualified idiot’
“Angus Taylor has just taken on the hardest job in politics,” Zareh Ghazarian at the Monash School of Social Sciences said.
“Angus Taylor now has to demonstrate what his vision is for the party, and what approach he will take to unite the party and galvanize support from the broader community,” he said.
Former Liberal leader and prime minister Malcolm Turnbull warned the party against further drifting to the right.
“That will condemn the Liberal Party to further irrelevance,” Turnbull, a prominent centrist, told national broadcaster ABC.
“A lot of people say about Angus Taylor is he has been the best qualified idiot they’ve ever met,” he said.
“He has this hugely qualified resume but then when you look at what done in politics so far it has been disappointing.”
Australia’s next general election must be held by May 2028.
The Liberals have endured an agonizing existential crisis since their second consecutive defeat by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor, torn between centrist factions and right-wingers skeptical of climate legislation and multiculturalism.
Angus Taylor — a former energy minister — replaced Sussan Ley, the party’s first female leader who had been in office for just nine months.
Speaking following his election, Taylor said his party faced a choice: “Change or die.”
He struck a hardline on immigration, claiming “our borders have been open to people who hate our way of life.”
And he said the party would stand against “Labor’s net zero ideology.”
Ley was ousted after a leadership challenge was called on Thursday, leading multiple members of her team to resign.
Opinion polling showing it falling behind the right-wing populist One Nation had spooked her party’s leadership.
Far-right One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has long been a fixture on the fringes of Australian politics, sparking outrage last year wearing a burqa in parliament in a stunt condemned as racist.
In an upbeat statement after she was ousted, Ley thanked her supporters and said she would quit politics.
Last month she endured a public spat with longtime coalition partners the Nationals, with whom the Liberal Party has governed Australia for much of the past century.
And in November the party dropped its commitment to net zero emissions, introduced in 2021 by former leader Scott Morrison when he was prime minister.
New leader Taylor was seen as a key proponent of the decision to drop the commitment to zero emissions.
The son of a sheep farmer, he is seen as part of the Liberal’s conservative faction.
He attracted online ridicule in 2019 when he replied to his own social media post with: “Fantastic. Great move. Well done Angus.”
‘Best qualified idiot’
“Angus Taylor has just taken on the hardest job in politics,” Zareh Ghazarian at the Monash School of Social Sciences said.
“Angus Taylor now has to demonstrate what his vision is for the party, and what approach he will take to unite the party and galvanize support from the broader community,” he said.
Former Liberal leader and prime minister Malcolm Turnbull warned the party against further drifting to the right.
“That will condemn the Liberal Party to further irrelevance,” Turnbull, a prominent centrist, told national broadcaster ABC.
“A lot of people say about Angus Taylor is he has been the best qualified idiot they’ve ever met,” he said.
“He has this hugely qualified resume but then when you look at what done in politics so far it has been disappointing.”
Australia’s next general election must be held by May 2028.
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