Marrakesh Erupts in Protest Against Israeli Minister’s Visit

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Agencies

22 Aug 2026 13:41

Pro-Palestine demonstrators gather in Marrakesh as Morocco resumes a direct air route with "Israel" after a three-year suspension.

The Moroccan city of Marrakesh witnessed a large demonstration on Friday evening organized by supporters of the Palestinian people, who gathered to voice their strong opposition to the visit of Israeli occupation Transport Minister Miri Regev.

The protest came as Regev arrived in Marrakesh aboard the first direct flight between “Israel” and Morocco in three years.

Regev, a prominent minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, is visiting Morocco to announce the resumption of the direct air route between Tel Aviv and Marrakesh, operated by Arkia Airlines, following a nearly three-year suspension.

An Israeli delegation is accompanying the minister, who has faced protests over her record of anti-Palestinian positions, as well as her racist and inflammatory rhetoric.

Marrakesh protests expose Morocco’s growing anti-normalization push

Regev drew international attention last May during the detention of activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which included Moroccan participants.

At the time, videos showed her boasting about the interception and detention of the activists. In a similar vein, Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also published a video documenting the mistreatment and mockery of the flotilla activists, prompting widespread international condemnation.

The protests in Marrakesh highlight the growing divide between Morocco’s normalization policies and widespread public opposition to closer ties with “Israel".

While the government has maintained diplomatic and economic relations with “Israel", many Moroccans continue to reject normalization and express solidarity with the Palestinian cause. The demonstrations show that, despite the resumption of direct flights and efforts to deepen official relations, opposition to normalization remains strong and continues to take to the streets.

UNICEF: Somalia's Child Crisis Deepens as 205 Health Facilities Close

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: UNICEF

22 Aug 2026 13:51

UNICEF warns Somalia's child crisis is worsening as aid cuts close 205 health and nutrition facilities and drive a 32% rise in severe malnutrition admissions.

At least 205 health and nutrition facilities have closed in Somalia amid unprecedented cuts to humanitarian aid, leaving children increasingly vulnerable to severe malnutrition, preventable illness, and other risks, UNICEF reported.

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said the closures had already contributed to a sharp deterioration in access to essential services, with the number of children admitted to stabilization centers for severe acute malnutrition and related complications rising by 32% during the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.

"On the back of unprecedented cuts in humanitarian aid, 205 health and nutrition facilities have already closed. The impact on children has been immediate," Elder said during a press briefing in Geneva.

He warned that reduced access to community-based services was forcing mothers and children to travel farther for treatment, increasing the likelihood that severely malnourished children would reach specialized facilities only after their conditions had worsened.

Overlapping humanitarian crises

The aid reductions come as Somalia confronts worsening drought, conflict, displacement, and rising costs for fuel and fertilizer, while a strong El Niño is expected to intensify the country's humanitarian challenges through severe flooding in the coming months.

Elder said the cuts had come at a time when the pressures affecting children were increasing rather than easing.

"This is the wrong moment to retreat," he said, warning of a "brutal contradiction" in which resources for protecting vulnerable children are being reduced as humanitarian needs grow.

He described meeting malnourished children at stabilization centers who had arrived severely ill after community facilities closed. He also recounted the case of Hajio, a mother who lost her cattle and livelihood to drought before fleeing to Burhakaba in southwest Somalia in search of assistance.

According to Elder, Hajio now lives in a makeshift shelter made of plastic and sticks and received clothes and tomatoes from a nearby community but no assistance from the international community.

Nearly one million at risk of losing nutrition services

UNICEF said funding cuts have already contributed to a 30% reduction in health and nutrition service coverage. Under severe funding scenarios, as many as 618 health facilities could eventually close across Somalia.

Nearly one million children under five, adolescent girls and women are also at risk of losing access to nutrition services, according to the agency.

Elder said the 32% increase in admissions to stabilization centres does not necessarily mean more children are becoming malnourished. Instead, he attributed the rise to the loss of preventive and community-based services that would normally identify and treat vulnerable children earlier.

This year, nearly 1.9 million children in Somalia are projected to be affected by malnutrition, including almost half a million suffering from severe acute malnutrition, UNICEF said.

At the same time, funding for the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), which provides air connectivity for UNICEF's humanitarian operations and life-saving cargo, fell by 40% between 2025 and 2026.

Elder highlighted previous results achieved through humanitarian programs, noting that UNICEF supported more than 2.25 million admissions of children with severe acute malnutrition between 2021 and 2025. In 2025, the cure rate reached 97.6%.

Water and education services also under pressure

The funding crisis is also affecting access to clean water. More than 1.6 million people require access to safe water, while more than 800,000 are at risk of losing essential hygiene supplies.

The cost of water in rural and pastoral areas has quadrupled, with a 200-liter barrel rising from around $2 to $8.

Despite the shortages, UNICEF said it has reached more than one million people through emergency and sustainable water services, but warned that those gains are at risk without continued funding.

Education services are also being affected. The sector lost $30 million in funding in 2025, while major donors are expected to reduce contributions by more than half in 2026.

More than 78,000 students have already dropped out of school, with another 660,000 children at risk of leaving education, according to UNICEF.

The agency said its support during the 2022 drought helped more than 130,000 children remain in education.

Child protection services face closures

Funding reductions are also threatening child protection programs in a country that has one of the highest reported rates of violations against children.

At least 65 child protection service points and facilities have closed, while case management, psychological support, family tracing and reintegration programs are also under threat.

Elder highlighted the case of Abdullah, a teenager who was recruited by a non-state armed group after being offered work and training as a mechanic. The group instead sent him to the battlefield, where he was eventually wounded and captured by government forces.

UNICEF supported the training of more than 160 children formerly associated with armed groups in late 2024 and early 2025. Participants received vocational training and starter kits intended to help them establish businesses or find employment.

Elder warned that funding cuts could deprive children such as Abdullah of similar support, reducing their chances of building stable lives and increasing the risk of re-recruitment.

UNICEF warns against retreating from Somalia

UNICEF said the current funding crisis threatens programs that have demonstrated their ability to protect children and reduce humanitarian suffering.

"We have the programmes. We have the partners. What is missing is the funding," Elder said.

He called on the international community to maintain support for Somalia as its humanitarian needs expand, arguing that aid cuts could ultimately carry greater financial, security, and humanitarian costs.

"Protecting children is not a discretionary expense. Preventing suffering is not an inefficiency," Elder said. "And dismantling effective aid at the moment of greatest need is not a saving: it is a decision to pay more later, in money, in security, in lost development and, for some children, in lives."

Federal Judge Vacates Trump Policy that Suspended Processing of Immigration Visas from 75 Countries

By MICHAEL CASEY

11:55 AM EDT, August 22, 2026

A federal judge in New York has vacated a Trump administration policy that suspended the processing of visas from 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration deemed likely to require public assistance in the United States.

U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, set aside the policy Friday as “contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio exceeded his authority by issuing the policy, which “runs afoul” of the Immigration and Nationality Act by mandating “the refusal of visas to eligible applicants without any basis in law,” the judge ruled.

Judge says power lies with consular officers

Vargas said the policy also undermines the congressional requirement that puts consular officers at the forefront of any visa decision.

“Congress imbued these officers with exclusive authority and discretion to determine if an immigrant is eligible for a visa based upon review of specific and detailed criteria set forth in the statute,” she wrote. “The Policy, which categorically prohibits the issuance of immigrant visas based upon the nationality of the applicant, represents a direct abrogation of this statutory scheme.”

The policy was challenged by two nonprofit organizations along with 11 individuals, including six whose family members had been refused visas. The remaining five are outside the country and had filed “employment-based petitions” to come to the United States.

Advocates say keeping families apart is cruel

“We welcome this ruling because, at its heart, this case is about keeping families together,” said Anna Gallagher, the executive director of CLINIC, a national nonprofit that provides training, resources, and support to a network of immigration legal service providers and was one of the plaintiffs.

“Catholic social teaching calls us to uphold the dignity of every person and recognize the family as the foundation of society,” she said in a statement. “This decision affirms both those values and the rule of law, allowing families to once again move forward toward reunification.”

Another plaintiff is African Communities Together, a Harlem-based nonprofit. One of its leaders called the ruling “a tremendous victory for the rule of law.”

“This unlawful and racist ban caused immeasurable harm, cruelly keeping families and loved ones apart,” Diana Konate, deputy executive director for policy and advocacy, said in a statement. “Today, we are elated to tell our community members: this ban is no more.”

Trump expands his anti-immigration agenda

President Donald Trump has imposed a growing list of immigration and travel bans mostly for people from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The State Department said Saturday that the Trump administration is “protecting the American people by upholding the highest standards of screening and vetting of visa applicants,” and that it would not comment on pending litigation.

At the time the policy was issued, the State Department said it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the 75 countries in accordance with a broader order in November that tightened rules around potential immigrants who might become “public charges.” Relying on Council of Economic Advisers data, the State Department said that more than 30 percent of households with immigrants from these countries received some form of public assistance.

A separate notice sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates said that non-immigrant visa applicants also should be “fully vetted and screened” for the possibility that they might seek public benefits in the United States.

The cable, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, noted several times that the applicant must prove they won’t apply for public benefits while in the U.S., and that consular officers who suspect the applicant might apply should require them to fill out a form proving their financial bona fides.

The ruling is the latest example of the courts upending Trump’s immigration agenda. In June, a federal judge struck down a Trump administration policy that made it harder for immigrants from dozens of countries to enter and stay in America — affecting elements like asylum, work permits, green cards, and citizenship applications. That judge said the policy threw countless immigrants’ lives “into indeterminate legal limbo,” and accused the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of ignoring the law.

Somalian Pirates Hijack Oil Tanker Off Yemen in Latest Attack

By OMAR FARUK

4:18 AM EDT, August 22, 2026

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali pirates hijacked an oil products tanker off Yemen, a Somali maritime security official said, the latest in a resurgence of piracy that has seen six commercial vessels seized since April across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.

Six armed pirates hijacked the Eritrean-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 136 nautical miles (252 kilometers) east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, and took it toward Somalia’s Puntland coast, the official, who has knowledge of the incident, told The Associated Press on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to discuss the matter publicly.

The Sibu 1, managed by the UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last year for allegedly belonging to an Iranian “shadow fleet” used to transport petroleum products seeking to evade U.S. sanctions.

The tanker had 20 crew members aboard: 16 Indians, one Syrian, one Sudanese, and one Iraqi. The nationality of one crew member was not immediately known. The vessel’s previous port of departure and intended destination remained unclear.

The hijacking came three days after pirates seized the Lutuf, a Cameroon-flagged general cargo vessel, off Somalia’s coast. The vessel had 10 crew aboard, including six Indians, a Turkish national, a Georgian national and two Serbian security guards, according to maritime tracking reports.

The Sibu 1 is the sixth commercial vessel hijacked by Somali pirates since April 21, when the Palau-flagged tanker Honor 25 was seized off Somalia. Pirates later seized the Sward on April 26, the Eureka on May 2, the Asana on July 17 and the Lutuf on Aug. 17.

The attacks have occurred increasingly far from Somalia’s coastline, including the hijacking of the Eureka while anchored off Yemen and the Asana about 65 nautical miles (120 kilometers) southwest of al-Mukalla. The International Maritime Bureau recorded 38 piracy and armed robbery incidents worldwide during the first half of 2026, including five hijackings. Somali pirates accounted for 94% of crew members taken hostage during that period, the bureau said.

Puntland’s Security Ministry said Friday that its investigations indicated that forces beyond Puntland’s control were behind the renewed piracy, but did not identify any group or country. The claim could not be independently verified.

Puntland said it had deployed security forces along its coast and condemned airstrikes that it said struck fishing vessels and property near coastal communities where hijacked ships were being held. It called on the countries involved to explain strikes near Garacad on Aug. 18 and Aug. 20.

The ministry did not identify who carried out the strikes, and the allegations could not be independently confirmed.

DR Congo Receives More Than 16,000 Doses of Ebola Vaccine as it Grapples with Unprecedented Outbreak

Residents and frontline workers embark on Ebola outbreak awareness campaign in Beni, North Kivu province, eastern Congo, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

7:19 AM EDT, August 22, 2026

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Congo has received more than 16,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine as the country grapples with the fastest Ebola outbreak in history, the country’s health minister said.

The 16,250 doses arrived at the N’djili International Airport in the capital, Kinshasa, late Friday, as part of 70,000 doses expected from the World Health Organization and partners that were announced on Thursday. More doses are expected early next week.

The current Ebola outbreak in Congo is caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, which currently has no approved treatment or vaccine. It can spread easily and go undetected because some of its symptoms are similar to other illnesses, such as malaria. The Ervebo vaccine is licensed to treat Ebola and has been effective in past outbreaks. The WHO said it may provide some protection against the Bundibugyo virus.

The latest outbreak, which has recorded 2,557 deaths out of the 5,375 confirmed cases across six affected provinces, is spreading at an unprecedented rate and is on track to surpass the deadliest outbreak on record, which killed over 11,000 people across West Africa between 2014 and 2016. Data from the Africa Centre for Disease Control shows that transmission has not yet peaked and could reach three times its known rate.

Efforts to contain the outbreak have been hampered by armed conflict between the government and rebel groups, which control key cities in the hot spot; attacks on medical personnel and facilities; an itinerant labor population and people displaced by the armed conflict; and a lack of critical infrastructure.

Putin Comments on Kiev’s Provocative Moves and Russia’s Retaliatory Strikes

The enemy is trying to intimidate Russians and disrupt the upcoming parliamentary elections, due in September, but these attempts will fail, the president said

© Mikhail Metzel/Presidential Press Service/TASS

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian enterprises in response to Ukraine’s attacks on civilian targets in Russia, so it was the Kiev regime that opened a ‘Pandora’s box,’ Russian President Vladimir Putin told Vesti journalist Pavel Zarubin in an interview.

In his words, Russian retaliatory strikes are more devastating than Ukraine’s strikes on Russia and produce a most positive effect on the battlefield situation.

He also said that the enemy is trying to intimidate Russians and disrupt the upcoming parliamentary elections, due in September, but these attempts will fail.

Below are the head of the state’s key remarks.

Kiev’s strikes

Ukraine’s attempt to defeat Russia in 40 days by carrying out massive drone and missile attacks is a risky and provocative move: "If we speak about what is happening now, then it is, of course, a result of a yet another provocative and risky move by the Kiev regime and its Western curators, who aimed to deal another strategic defeat to Russia," he said. "This time, as it is known, they wanted to achieve this in 40 days, and with the help of massive missile and drone attacks on our civilian sites and logistical routes."

The goal of Ukraine’s strikes on Russia was to make it collapse by destroying whole economic sectors and undermining the unity of its people: "In short, the goal was to bring Russia to collapse - something they have long dreamed of and something they constantly talk about."

The Kiev regime got an opposite result when it started to deliver drone and missile strikes on Russia: "Of course, no turning point in the confrontation with Russia could have occurred, nor has it occurred. The Kiev regime and its masters cannot gain any advantage; they have not gained it and they never will."

Russia’s response

Russia will always respond to strikes on its territory, including on the logistical infrastructure: "Do you want to disrupt our logistics? Well, our retaliatory measures will not be long in coming."

By deciding to launch strikes on civilian sites in Russia, the Kiev regime has opened a Pandora’s box and got retaliatory attacks on its most sensitive areas in return: "The Kiev regime has set the goal of harming our economy. What did it do? It was the one to open this Pandora’s box. Well, here’s what you get in response - strikes on the most sensitive areas of your economy, which, frankly speaking, are already struggling."

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian enterprises in response to Ukraine’s attacks on civilian targets in Russia: "We started to respond to the enemy’s actions regarding our civilian production sites and logistical network."

"At the same time, measures taken by the Russian armed forces are way more painful and way more devastating."

Wheat is among the main items of Ukrainian exports, but logistical problems caused by Russia’s retaliatory strikes, will not lead to a shortage on global markets: "As far as global problems are concerned, hardly anything will change, because, first of all, we have great export potential. Our agriculture minister [Oksana Lut] reported just yesterday that [the export potential] is no less than 60 million metric tons. This is a very good cushion. Yes, we do face certain difficulties related to the export of our goods, but we are resolving them, which means that there will be no deficit on the global market."

Situation in the special op zone

Russia’s strikes on targets in Ukraine have a direct positive effect on the battlefield: "Certanly, this has the most direct and the most positive effect on the battlefield from the point of view of achieving military goals."

"Of course these strikes are effective. They are timely. And, undoubtedly, they help our fighters, our heroes to resolve their combat missions. Why? Because they disrupt [the enemy’s] ability to deliver equipment and ammunition, to rotate personnel on the line of combat. They disrupt the capacity of defense enterprises to improve their products, which is exactly what they do with the direct involvement and support of their Western sponsors."

Russian troops have accelerated their offensive operations and continue to successfully attain the goals of the special military operation: "The adversary’s actions have had no effect on the situation on the battlefield. Moreover, not only our troops continue to advance in all directions, they have also accelerated the pace of their offensive operations."

In his words, the Russian armed forces keep successfully coping with their tasks until the goals of the special military operation are achieved.

Kiev’s unacceptable and exotic proposals

Russia’s response to Ukraine’s provocative actions are painful for Kiev, and so the enemy is trying to prevent possible catastrophic developments through mediators: "Russia’s response to a yet another provocative act by the Kiev regime is apparently quite painful, leading to serious consequences and bringing the situation in certain crucial areas to critical levels. That is why now the Kiev government is trying to find a way out from the situation that they themselves provoked, by seeking help from mediators, whose opinions we undoubtedly value."

According to the president, the Kiev regime is trying to prevent the current situation from escalating into catastrophic scenarios, and, apparently "they are already realizing the possibility of such a scenario."

Putin described the latest proposals received by Russia from Kiev as "exotic" and unacceptable: "We are always ready for dialogue, but only based on realities on the ground."

The Kiev regime "is probing various directions of possible agreements."

"It would be premature to get ahead of ourselves and speculate on what possible agreements could be based on."

Russia will not be intimidated

Kiev’s strikes on de-facto unprotected civilians and civilian infrastructure: "The loss of a human life is always a tragedy - for the family, for friends and for the whole country."

Russia needs to improve its air defense network, enhance coordination between its security agencies and civilian authorities, engage state enterprises and private companies into the effort, which is "of particular importance in the run-up to elections to the State Duma."

"The enemy is trying to intimidate us and to disrupt the vote. We will not let them do this. I’m sure that this attempt to exert psychological pressure and psychologically impact the Russian society is doomed to fail. We will certainly continue to strengthen the Russian statehood and the legitimacy of its authorities.".

West May Replace Zelensky with ‘Cheaper Character’ — Expert

According to Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries, Vladimir Zelensky puts too much into his pocket

MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky, although he largely suits the West, puts too much into his pocket and may be replaced, Alexander Dudchak, a leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries and an expert with the Other Ukraine movement, told TASS.

"It’s quite possible that he could be replaced by a cheaper candidate. I mean they might install someone who would be like a clown or a puppet from a puppet theater because Zelensky is pocketing too much for himself," he noted.

For example, he said, they might appoint a hired manager, and in this case, someone like former Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov would be quite a suitable option - he would take less money for himself than Zelensky, but would perform his duties more effectively.

"Besides, his image in the West would be more acceptable. It’s like the difference between a rat and a squirrel. In principle, they’re both rats, but the squirrel has better marketing, as they say," Dudchak concluded.

West's War on Russia, Russian Flag as Symbol of Justice — Lavrov’s Remarks

The foreign minister emphasized that the West will try to disrupt the September elections to the State Duma, but "these plans will be thwarted"

© Sergey Karpukhin/TASS

MOSCOW, August 22. /TASS/. The West, which is trying to wage a war on Russia with the hands of Ukrainians, will try to disrupt the September elections to the Russian parliament, the State Duma, but will fail, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has told reporters.

He said that despite multiple attempts to target the Russian flag in the West, it has become a symbol of the struggle for justice for many.

Below are the top Russian diplomat’s key remarks made during an interview to Vesti and a media stakeout during the 23rd United Russia party congress.

Attempts to disrupt elections

The West’s attempts to disrupt the upcoming parliamentary elections will intensify as the voting day approaches, but they all will fail: "Our law enforcement agencies, our security services are doing their best to nip these attempts in the bud."

"The Foreign Intelligence Service and the Federal Security Service are receiving timely information about which country is plotting what, and I can assure you that these plans will thwarted."

"[Vladimir] Zelensky and his circle are being weaponized and incited against Russia. Increasingly malicious tactics of inflicting as much damage as possible to Russian civilians are receiving support in an attempt to sow panic, fuel dissent and undermine peaceful life, particularly in the run-up to the State Duma elections. This is obvious."

West’s war

Russia will continue to develop and attain its ambitious social and economic development goals: "We will seek to achieve all of this regardless of the war declared against us, which is aimed at destroying and dismembering Russia, or as they are vaguely putting it now, to inflict a strategic defeat."

Moscow will not approach the West for negotiations as the latter hopes: "All Western countries that declared a war on us with the hands and bodies of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev have hoped for many years that we will approach them to negotiate. We will not. There is no one to negotiate with in today’s Europe."

Western countries never gave up their dream of a weaker Russia: "When it became necessary for them to punish Russia, those who preached a free market, globalization, and the sanctity of private property suddenly overnight <…> imposed sanctions that crossed out the core principles of globalization, which the West has promoted for long, long decades."

Lately, the collective West unleashed a campaign against Russia’s tricolor flag, but it is already becoming a thing of the past: "More and more Olympic federations are lifting these bans."

Special operation and Ukraine

The Russian society is united like never before because the majority of citizens understand why Russia launched its special military operation. "Undoubtedly, this can be felt on the frontline."

By a twist of fate, Russia managed to get rid of a large number of people who consider the special military operation "someone else’s war": "They are in other countries now, going about their business, although many still try to do nasty things to Russia."

Allowing the "metastases of Nazism" to remain in Ukraine would be a betrayal of the ancestors who defeated Nazi Germany.

The idea of creating a "stabilization force" in Ukraine in case of a ceasefire will imply that Russia "consents to a truce, while the neo-Nazi regime, the only regime in the world that has legally banned an entire language, continues to exist on the other side of the line of contact."

If Russia stops at the engagement line right now, the same thing will happen than during the signing of the Minsk Accords: "Just like the Minsk Accords were signed to pump Ukraine with weapons, as was admitted by the German chancellor and the French president who signed them, the exact same thing will happen [if Russia agrees to freeze the conflict]."

Eurasian security

In its effort to ensure security of the Eurasian continent, Russia is not isolating itself from unfriendly countries: "I would like to particularly emphasize that on this Eurasian space, we are not trying to cut ourselves off from unfriendly countries. Geography commands us to look at the problem more broadly."

All Eurasian countries are invited to participate in the work to build security architecture on the continent.

Russia will be happy if countries in western Eurasia can join the work to ensure the continent’s security, but only if Europe refuses connivance with the interests of bureaucrats in Brussels alone: "When the western part of the continent <…> opts for those who care for national interests, rather than the interests of bureaucrats in Brussels, we will certainly be happy if they can join the processes that I mentioned."

Gaining Control of Kudiyevka, Russia Advances on Two Settlements at Once — Expert

Andrey Marochko says Russian troops are advancing towards Bugayevka and Goptovka

LUGANSK, August 23. /TASS/. Russian troops, having taken control of Kudiyevka in the Kharkov Region, are advancing towards the two settlements closest to it - Bugayevka and Goptovka, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"After the liberation of the settlement of Kudiyevka by our troops, we are now building on our success in the direction of the settlements of Bugayevka and Goptovka," he said.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry said that assault units of the 11th Army Corps of the Sever battlegroup had established control over the village of Kudiyevka.

Russia Expands Control Zone in Novogrigorovka in DPR with Drones — Expert

Andrey Marochko says almost all Ukrainian units have retreated from the settlement

© Alexander Polegenko/TASS

LUGANSK, August 23. /TASS/. Russia is expanding with the help of drone strikes its control zone in Novogrigorovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, from where almost all Ukrainian units retreated, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"The settlement of Novogrigorovka remains in the so-called gray zone. Our troops are systematically expanding their zone of control thanks to the operations of unmanned aerial vehicles. Currently, our guys and drones are actively operating in this sector. In fact, it is the UAVs that are expanding the zone of control in this area - both in the northern direction from Novogrigorovka, as well as in the eastern and western directions," he said.

Earlier, Marochko told TASS that the Russian military almost completely drove the Ukrainian army out of Raiskoye; the neighboring Novogrigorovka is also "under close scrutiny" by the Russian forces.

Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Featured on 1+1 with Youri Smouter, Discussing the Africa Series

Watch this interview with Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, conducted by Youri Smouter of 1+1. 

To view the program in its entirety, just go to the following URL: 1+1 E406 Youri & Abayomi Azikiwe reflect on Africa series & how will Africa unite & advance itself? - YouTube

The discussion reflects on the 1+1 Africa Series over the last year where Youri and Abayomi Azikiwe reviewed the history and contemporary affairs of all African states. 

In this program we examine the role of the socialist countries in their support of the African Liberation Movements and progressive states on the continent. 

We then delve into the objective reasons behind the disunity and underdevelopment in Africa as well as comparing these realities with similar problems in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific. 

The interview was conducted on Fri. Aug. 21, 2026.

Rescuers Recover More Bodies After Central African Republic Mine Collapse Kills over 100

More than 100 people have died in a gold mine collapse in the western Central African Republic, with others still missing or trapped, officials said. The artisanal mine caved in Tuesday in the village of Zamboye near the Cameroon border.

By JEAN FERNAND KOENA and NALOVA AKUA

4:26 PM EDT, August 20, 2026

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Hopes of finding survivors at a collapsed gold mine in Central African Republic were fading Thursday, two days after the disaster killed more than 100 people and left others buried under debris.

Rescuers continued recovering bodies from the artisanal mining site in Zamboye, near the border with Cameroon, but local workers said that the response lacked the equipment and expertise needed for a disaster of this scale.

“The rescue effort is being organized, but it is not up to the task,” said Jérémie Ngbiri, a miner at the site who lost his brother and a friend in the collapse.

Death toll expected to rise

Ngbiri said that he saw some victims suffocate as people tried to rescue them.

The local Red Cross was helping with the search, but couldn’t say how many people remained buried, volunteer Gervais Ganagoro said.

“We continue to find bodies,” he said, adding that more than 10 were recovered on Thursday morning alone. “Every hour, bodies are being discovered, increasing the number of victims.”

Local officials and the Red Cross said Wednesday that more than 100 people had died in the collapse and warned the toll was likely to rise.

Investigation underway over why tunnels collapsed

The Baboua subprefecture court said in a statement that several underground tunnels in which the miners were working had collapsed, causing a landslide.

An investigation has been opened to determine why the tunnels collapsed, identify the victims and those responsible for operating the site, as well as establish any potential criminal liability, the statement said.

Mines Minister Rufin Benam Beltoungou expressed condolences to victims’ families and warned miners about the dangers of unsafe mining practices, according to a statement posted by the ministry.

Gold mining expands despite safety risks

Artisanal mine collapses are common in Central African Republic, where thousands of people work in small-scale mining, often with little protection. Pits are frequently dug by hand and can reach several meters deep.

“Safety conditions are not ensured at these sites,” said Chekoua Justin Landry, a program manager with Forests and Rural Development, a Cameroonian nonprofit group that works on natural-resource governance and rural communities. “The walls of these pits are not stabilized, and with the rains, landslides can happen easily.”

Abdon Adamou, the mayor of Garoua-Boulai, a Cameroonian town near the mining site, said that heavy rainfall had weakened the soils in the area.

Four Cameroonians and two Chadians were among the dead, Adamou told The Associated Press. He said that he’s working with Central African authorities to repatriate injured Cameroonians and the bodies of those killed in the collapse.

Hamadou Abba, 50, said that his 32-year-old nephew, Doudou Marcel, was among the Cameroonian miners killed in the collapse.

Marcel, a father of two, had worked at the Zamboye mining site for about five years after leaving school and unsuccessfully trying to join the public service, he said.

“At first, I didn’t believe he was dead, and had to call other contacts to confirm,” Abba said. “His corpse and his friend’s who also died in the incident were brought back the same day,” he added.

Marcel’s body was buried Wednesday at the family compound in eastern Cameroon, Abba said.

Researchers and local media reported earlier this year on unsafe and unregulated mining associated with a rapidly expanding gold rush around Zamboye.

“Artisanal mining has been practiced there for decades, passed down from one generation to the next,” Landry said. “But with the arrival of mechanization, gold mining expanded considerably, bringing major environmental damage as well as accidents in mining pits,” he added.

A 2025 report by U.N. experts documented illicit mining in the area, including the involvement of armed groups and the use of extraction methods that posed health and environmental risks.

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Nalova Akua reported from Yaoundé, Cameroon. Emmanuel Tumanjong and Ngala Killian Chimtom also contributed to this report from Yaoundé.

Here’s Data Showing Congo’s Ebola Outbreak is on Track to Surpass History’s Largest

Health workers tend to an Ebola patient at the Rwampara Treatment Center in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

By CHINEDU ASADU

8:06 PM EDT, August 21, 2026

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Ebola outbreak that is spreading at unprecedented speed in Congo has not peaked yet and could be three times the current known size, according to data from authorities and Africa’s top public health agency.

It is history’s fastest Ebola outbreak, and the World Health Organization says it is on track to surpass the deadliest on record, which was between 2014 and 2016, with over 11,000 deaths across West Africa.

This latest outbreak has recorded 2,516 deaths out of the 5,290 confirmed cases as it rages in Congo’s vast eastern region, exacerbated by an intensely mobile population, including those displaced by armed conflicts, and distrust of medical authorities.

Less than 10% of cases are currently coming from known contacts, far below the 90-95% rate when the outbreak can be said to be under control, according to Yap Boum, head of emergency preparedness and response at the Africa CDC.

Boum told reporters Thursday that under current estimates only 30% to 40% of cases have been detected.

Here’s what the data shows about the outbreak:

At this stage, it’s recorded 10 times more cases than history’s largest

Compared to the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak that ended with over 28,000 cases, including more than 11,000 deaths, this outbreak has recorded 10 times more cases and seven times more deaths by the 13th week from when it was declared, data from the Africa CDC shows.

Congo’s deadliest Ebola outbreak before now had been that of 2018-2020 with 3,400 cases and more than 2,200 deaths. This is moving 18 times faster in terms of the confirmed cases and 13 times faster regarding the deaths.

One key source of concern is that experts believe the outbreak began spreading from the mining town of Mongbwalu as early as February, months before authorities declared the outbreak on May 15.

Responders have traced only 16% of expected contacts

Africa CDC data from the past three weeks shows the contact tracing rate of those exposed to patients is 82% out of 19,630 contacts in total.

But that doesn’t give the full picture. The agency said with an average of 60 contacts per confirmed case, it was expecting 99,780 contacts to be recorded for the 1,663 cases it said it confirmed in that three-week period.

However, many of those contacts are not known, and therefore cannot be contacted for follow-up. Therefore, the “actual contact tracing rate is only 16% of the expected,” the Africa CDC said in its update.

It is caused by Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved vaccines or treatments, unlike the most common Ebola virus type. Its symptoms also are milder, which could mean that many patients feel less immediate need to alert responders or seek treatment.

A previously unaffected province has now recorded 2 cases

The health zones affected in the outbreak have grown from three at the onset to 56 across six provinces.

In the previously unaffected Bas-Uele province, two cases have been reported over the past week and a half in two separate parts of the province, data from Congo’s government has shown.

However, the spread is slowing down in some places, such as in South Kivu province, which has not recorded any case for 79 days.

Most people are dying without medical attention

Deaths in the community — that is outside Ebola treatment centers — have been on a steady rise in recent days, and constituted an overwhelming 97% of the deaths reported on Aug. 17, the Africa CDC data shows.

Despite this, only 20% of health alerts are coming from within the community, underscoring the need to engage more communities.

And although the overall case fatality rate is 46.7%, it is quite high in some places such as North Kivu, one of the country’s most populous, where the rate is 68.2%.

The data suggests most people are still not reporting symptoms early or at all for various reasons: misinformation that the outbreak isn’t real, initial preference for traditional medicine, fear of being kept in isolation especially in the event that initial symptoms are of something else, or the lack of severe symptoms.

Ceuta Begins Burials for Migrants Who Died Attempting to Cross into the Spanish Territory

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and ANTONIO SEMPERE

3:47 PM EDT, August 21, 2026

CEUTA, Spain (AP) — Against the murmur of prayers, body bags were lowered into graves marked only with numbers. Gravediggers placed the first four victims in cinderblock plots while a small group of locals watched at a cemetery on the tip of North Africa.

The dead, whose identities are unknown, were among the more than 90 migrants who lost their lives during Spain’s deadliest border crisis three weeks ago. Fueled by misinformation, poverty and a lack of opportunities, more than 72,000 people poured into Ceuta, a Spanish territory that neighbors Morocco.

At a Muslim cemetery in Ceuta, 18 migrants were laid to rest on Friday. An Islamic cleric read prayers and chants praising God while funeral workers worked quickly to lower the white body bags and cover them with soil. More migrants are expected to be buried soon.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, a left-leaning nongovernmental organization, called for the burials in Ceuta to be halted until every effort had been made to identify the bodies and repatriate them to Morocco, the country of origin for most of the migrants who made the perilous journey.

Many of those who died drowned or were killed in a stampede to cross a breakwater barrier near a border checkpoint.

In a statement, the NGO asked Morocco’s foreign ministry to ensure that “the bodies are returned to the families so they can be buried with dignity.”

It called the burials in Ceuta a “new human tragedy,” adding to the “disaster of displacement and missing persons.”

A spokesperson for Ceuta’s city government said last week the paperwork to repatriate the bodies of the deceased was complete, but that Morocco’s government hadn’t accepted it.

Morocco’s foreign ministry didn’t respond to questions from The Associated Press about the burials that started on Friday in Ceuta or suggestions that Morocco is blocking the repatriation of identified migrant bodies.

While most of those who crossed into Ceuta in late July returned to Morocco almost immediately, local authorities say that up to 10,000 migrants — including women and children — could still be in the small Spanish city, prolonging a humanitarian crisis as authorities and locals struggle to shelter and attend to them. Spain’s national government cites a lower figure of around 5,000 people.

Moroccan and Spanish authorities have blamed social media rumors and human smuggling networks for the deadly event, while migrants cited unemployment and low wages as reasons for why they made the journey.

All of those buried on Friday were men, said Said Mohammed, the cemetery’s acting manager. The graves were marked with numbered stones in case families claim the bodies in the future, he said.

Under Islamic custom, a body is placed in a grave facing Mecca, as was the case with the migrants buried in Ceuta. Just across the sea lay mainland Europe — their desired destination.

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Suman Naishadham reported from Madrid. Akram Oubachir contributed to this report from Casablanca, Morocco.

Thousands of Migrants in Ceuta Wait in Limbo While Spain Figures Out What to Do With Them

By ANTONIO SEMPERE and SUMAN NAISHADHAM

3:48 AM EDT, August 21, 2026

CEUTA, Spain (AP) — For weeks, migrants in the Spanish territory of Ceuta had gathered on a beach away from the city center, sleeping on cardboard sheets, under reed huts and guarding their few possessions in tattered plastic bags.

They were gone by Thursday morning after Spanish police escorted them to makeshift shelters. But an hour later, other migrants were combing through the trash they had left behind for anything useful: an abandoned mattress, plastic chairs, sheets, a scrap of tarp.

The scene exemplified the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, where up to 10,000 migrants remain in the city weeks after more than 72,000 people poured into the small Spanish territory neighboring Morocco. Three weeks later, Spanish authorities were struggling to shelter and attend to those who refused to leave — or even determine how many migrants were still in the city of 84,000.

Within days of the initial border rush, in which at least 90 people died, most migrants went back to Morocco, realizing the difficulties of staying in Ceuta and their slim chances of reaching mainland Europe. But thousands remained, hiding in the woods, on beaches and outside a migrant reception center.

City officials estimate that 9,000 to 10,000 migrants — including about 2,000 minors — could still be in the city, based on the number of daily food rations handed out by aid groups. Spain’s interior ministry puts the figure at roughly 5,000 people.

Shelter for some migrants while others roam the streets

The U.N. refugee agency highlighted large humanitarian and operational challenges in Ceuta in an interview with The Associated Press, specifically around access to shelter, basic services and food. While most of those who crossed in late July are from Morocco, people from war-torn Sudan, Mali and Yemen also reached the Spanish exclave.

The U.N. refugee agency urged Spanish authorities to start processing their asylum claims as soon as possible, estimating that about 1,200 migrants in Ceuta could be eligible for international protection, according to Paula Barrachina, a spokesperson for the agency in Spain.

The Spanish government says it is working to house the remaining migrants in the city, and return a sense of normalcy to Ceuta. On Thursday, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration Elma Saiz said the government had secured space to accommodate 1,800 migrants in a parking lot and a military facility sometimes used for religious events. It is looking for more space.

Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain gather their belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

Migrants who crossed from Morocco into Spain gather their belongings after being cleared from the beach in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Sempere)

Even so, an Associated Press photographer on Thursday saw migrants still roaming the streets. Elsewhere, hundreds of women and minors were sheltering in makeshift centers run by locals.

Khadija Rifai, a 20-year-old woman from Morocco, acknowledged that some people were receiving help, but didn’t know what Spain planned to do with adults like her.

“They help the minors and the youngsters, but they haven’t found any solutions for us,” she said Wednesday.

Rifai said her life in Morocco was “normal” but in late July, she and her husband swam to the Spanish territory in search of better opportunities and healthcare. Rifai’s husband was sent back to Morocco, but she hid from authorities and stayed on. She now hopes to reunite with him and eventually move to mainland Spain, where she wants to have children.

“Even though we suffered here in Ceuta, we hope that once we reach the mainland, life will be good and we will have a house, a car, and everything we dreamed of,” Rifai said.

Discontent grows in Ceuta

Ceuta Mayor Juan Jesús Vivas accused the national government, led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, of not doing enough to control the situation.

On Thursday, Spanish police escorted several hundred people, mostly men, through the city’s streets to a shelter. Hours later, Vivas, a member of the center-right Popular Party, said the government’s decision to move migrants from the beach to other locations in the city did not demonstrate “a will to fix the problem.”

Spain’s migration ministry said the government has allocated 6.5 million euros ($7.6 million) in emergency funds to help the city cope with the new arrivals. Speaking in Ceuta this week, Migration Minister Saiz praised the work of local organizations in Ceuta and said 4,000 meals had been distributed every day since Aug. 3.

A ministry spokesperson said the Spanish government has to process every case on an individual basis. Before that can happen, police must identify those who entered the city illegally, verify every migrant’s nationality and background, determine who qualifies for international protection and establish who must leave, either voluntarily or by force, he said.

Those who crossed await a path forward

Migrants in Ceuta say they are willing to wait out the uncertainty. Hundreds had gathered earlier in the week in protest on a beach in Ceuta, carrying signs reading “Asylum” alongside Spanish flags.

Mohamed Yaqoub, 18, a migrant from Chad hid for days in the woods after Spanish soldiers chased him in late July, he said. He managed to stay and wishes to someday study in France.

Getting there will not be easy. Travelers leaving Ceuta and Melilla, Spain’s other territory in North Africa, are subject to exit checks at ports and airports, an obstacle for those who enter the territories illegally and hope to reach the European continent.

“We ask them to allow us entry and give us the necessary papers and documents,” Yaqoub told an AP photographer in a cellphone note. “The most important thing for us is to get the papers.”

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Naishadham reported from Madrid.

In Benin, Malnutrition and Misinformed Views Contribute to Widespread Stunting in Children

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA

4:13 AM EDT, August 21, 2026

N’DALI, Benin (AP) — Sabi Bera Zakari didn’t appear to care much how tall his children would grow. The farmer said he only sometimes wished they could gain more weight.

“For me, height is not a problem,” Zakari said. “It’s mainly their weight that sometimes worries me.”

Aboudou Salamatou, the farmer’s wife, seemed to disagree, as did development sociologist Boris Gloni, who shook his head as he listened. He believed two of the family’s young daughters suffered from stunted growth.

As a former representative of The Hunger Project, an international organization working to combat hunger across Benin, Gloni spent years trying to convince men like Zakari that stunting in children was a rampant issue that needed to be addressed by families first and foremost.

Despite the abundance of natural resources and widespread subsistence agriculture, stunting — impaired growth and lower than average height-for-age caused by malnutrition — affects over 30% of children younger than 5 in Benin, according to factsheets by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, a Geneva-based nonprofit that tracks stunting figures.

Children who are not achieving the average height for their age may otherwise seem healthy to their parents. But experts believe stunting is mostly irreversible in those afflicted during their first 1,000 days of life, with lasting effects on brain development and general health later in life.

Gloni, who now works as an agricultural adviser, said he knows people who wrongly believe that regularly giving children milk and eggs is bad because it risks making them so rapacious that they might want to steal more of that protein. In many homes, the goats tethered to poles and the chickens that scratched the dirt compounds are kept for commercial reasons, to be sold for cash when needed in an emergency.

“Our perception is wrong,” Gloni said. “People don’t have knowledge.”

Lack of knowledge and poor diets exacerbated by drought

Beninese authorities want to bring the prevalence of stunting to under 30% by 2030. To achieve that target, the government needs the help of volunteers such as Douro Wonkourou Idrissou, who moves from house to house with the color-coded tape that he uses to gauge wasting in children.

Idrissou, who described himself as a nutrition support member of his pastoral community in N’dali, a commune in the Borgou area of northern Benin, uses his tape to measure the circumferences of the children’s upper arms. While he doesn’t have the equipment to measure height, he said he feels “sad” when he sees children he knows should be taller than they are.

Idrissou said the children’s parents are to be blamed — though they are also in need of help. The diet of most families here is heavy on starchy foods, from yams to cassava. And many mothers who rise early to cultivate their gardens usually don’t return home until late afternoon, exposing their children to hunger and what he described as a general loss of appetite.

“If it is maize season, they are doing only maize,” he said. “We are saying, ‘No, you can’t do only maize.’ It is this knowledge that we are sharing with the women in the households.”

Stunting is more widespread in the north of this west African nation, with its dry savannah landscape. The region faces sporadic drought conditions, forcing some to move in search of pasture for their cherished herds. In the worst of times, families feed on a soup of vegetables pulled from the bush.

Despite efforts to reduce stunting rates in northern Benin, the situation has more or less “stagnated,” said Rolland Essou, who helps look after northern Benin for The Hunger Project.

He said some statistics appeared to show stunting rates across Benin going up, not down, despite projects such as the World Bank-funded “1,000 Days” program to support children in their first two years of life.

Launched in 2024 and run by the National Agency for Food and Nutrition, the pilot program has helped provide micronutrient supplements for mothers and their babies and set up school canteens providing hot meals.

Still, stunting in Benin will remain a challenge for years to come because many families lack knowledge and have many mouths to feed, Essou said.

“When we look at the profile of the household suffering from malnutrition, we notice that the head of the household is very young,” he said. “Secondly, the head of the household is illiterate. Thirdly, it is a household with many children.”

Zakari, the farmer who isn’t worried about stunting, wasn’t sure how old his children were — and even had to look at an ID card to confirm his own age.

His neighbor Fati Aboubacar, a mother of five, said some in her community are too busy or poor to properly look after their children. Her own family could only afford to eat eggs once a week.

Health volunteers say efforts need to start from pregnancy

Razak Kotchoni, a project manager in Borgou with CASCADE Benin, a nongovernmental organization, said efforts to combat stunting in children need to start before children are born.

Social customs against the widespread consumption of eggs among children also apply to pregnant woman, who are discouraged from drinking nutrient-rich cornmeal porridge because it is thought to instigate a ravenous appetite, he said.

“These standards are contributing factors to malnutrition,” he said. “We have facilitators in the field who conduct reflective dialogues with elders, mothers and others in order to challenge the practices there.”

One strategy, he said, has been to identify and support exemplary mothers so that they can raise awareness among others.

Idrissou said that while some parents call him when they get concerned their children are not growing normally, seeking a remedy, many others “don’t care.”

Aboudou, Zakari’s wife, said that her family didn’t have the means to feed their kids better. When a chicken pecked at the dirt near her feet, she said the bird was one of many kept as money “in the bank,” not for eating. Even the eggs the chickens lay may be sold for cash.

“We would like to vary our food, but we don’t have the means,” she said. “When we have a little money, we invest it in the field, in health and in other problems.”

Afghanistan Marks Five Years of Liberation from US-NATO Occupation

Two decades of war waged by the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies resulted in the victory of the Taliban. Today the country is still suffering as a result of the war while facing growing tensions with neighboring Pakistan and the lack of humanitarian assistance.

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Wednesday August 19, 2026

Geostrategic Review

During August of 2021, just seven months into the tenure of then President Joe Biden, the United States was rushing to withdraw its last military troops and aids out of the Central Asian state of Afghanistan.

On August 26 of that same year, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive which killed 13 US military personnel and wounded 45 others.

This attack also resulted in the deaths of approximately 170 Afghan nationals waiting in line among thousands of others at the international airport in an effort to board US aircrafts leaving the country and heading to the West. These events were a clear reflection of the failure of the imperialist occupation which was solely responsible for the destabilization, deaths and destruction of the country. 

Under the guise of fighting terrorism by capturing the former leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, the US administration of then President George W. Bush, Jr. ordered the invasion of Afghanistan along with signing legislation such as the Patriot Act which enhanced the repressive apparatus of the state. Less than two years after the bombing and intervention in Afghanistan, another war against the people of Iraq was launched in March 2023. 

If this was not enough, the US military along with its NATO allies from Canada and France then invaded the Caribbean island-nation of Haiti as well. Therefore, within two-and-one-half years, the White House had launched three wars in various geo-political regions around the world. 

Fifth Anniversary Celebrations

With specific reference to the commemorations of the fifth anniversary of its liberation from the US-NATO occupation, thousands of Afghans took to the streets in parades and car caravans waving flags as a sign of victory. The leaders of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have much to reflect upon in light of the two decades of war and the last five years of their attempts to rebuild the country devastated by military occupation and economic underdevelopment. 

Among the masses of Afghan people there is relief from the US-NATO occupation yet ongoing distress from the lack of employment and food deficits persist. There have also been some security concerns as a grenade attack on August 18 was carried out against an elementary school in the capital of Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi which injured dozens of students. 

The school was located in an area populated by the minority Shia Hazara area in western Kabul. This neighborhood does have a history of attacks by extremist Sunni groupings against the Hazara people.

In addition to the attack on the school, over the years there have been some targeted assassinations of government officials. In late July assassins killed a high-ranking Taliban leader in the northwestern province of Badakhshan. These assassinations are rare and have not impeded the Taliban from implementing its policies. 

In a report published by the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the five-year anniversary of the departure of Pentagon troops, it emphasized:

“Inside and around Kabul's Loya Jirga Hall, the Taliban is staging a highly choreographed display of its military and political authority. The event is intended to project the image of a government firmly in command, while reinforcing the Taliban's narrative of a country that has finally broken free from foreign military intervention, corruption, narcotics and feudalism.” (https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-08-17/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDkxOTIw/index.html)

Although the current administration of President Donald Trump has criticized the Biden administration for the chaos which characterized the US withdrawal, it was this same Republican leader which had conducted the negotiations which led to the evacuation. Trump when running for presidential office in 2016, 2020 and 2024 claimed he was not going to enter into another war in West Asia or other geo-political regions. 

However, the war in Ukraine has continued under his leadership. The US and its Israeli ally initiated two wars against the Islamic Republic of Iran in June 2025 and again on February 28, 2026. The attacks by Tel Aviv and Washington since June 2025 have failed to overthrow the Iranian government and has resulted in a deepening economic crisis within the capitalist states prompted by the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz and the destruction of Pentagon bases and equipment in several satellite states in West Asia.

The same CGTN article noted above also quoted officials on the celebrations in Afghanistan:

“Abdul Salam Hanafi, Afghanistan Deputy Prime Minister, said ‘following twenty years of relentless war, the people of Afghanistan succeeded in driving the invaders from their country, ended the imposed conflict and restored peace and stability across the nation.’”

Over the last five years nonetheless the Afghanistan government has been impacted by the diplomatic isolation fostered by the US and its NATO allies. Western states have refused to recognize the government in Kabul or make any significant contributions to its continuing humanitarian crisis resulting from the economic difficulties.

In another quote from the Afghan foreign ministry, CGTN reported:

“Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Afghan Foreign Minister, said of the international diplomatic situation that ‘the countries that have had no interaction with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan should tell us what they have achieved, what benefits they have gained, and what the results of their negative policies have been regarding Afghanistan.’"

The diplomatic isolation of Afghanistan has had an impact on providing humanitarian relief to the people. Over the last four years several earthquakes have struck Afghanistan.

In 2022, a magnitude 5.96 earthquake hit Khost and Paktika provinces which killed more than 1,000 people. During the following year of 2023, another powerful earthquake at a 6.3 level in Heret province, killing an estimated 1,400 others. 

On August 18, a 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Hindu Kush region. The impact of the seismic event could be felt as far away as Islamabad in neighboring Pakistan. No injuries or deaths were reported in the immediate aftermath.

If there were normalized relations between Kabul and other states, adequate humanitarian assistance could be facilitated. However, the hostility towards Afghanistan remains over the defeat of the US and NATO during the two decades war. 

Tensions Remain Between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of the diplomatic isolation of Afghanistan is the rising tensions between Kabul and the government in Pakistan. News report indicate that around 500 civilians have died during clashes between the two neighboring states.

Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of supporting groups which are hostile to Islamabad. Pakistan has carried out bombing operations against Afghanistan even in the capital of Kabul.

The Afghan government has welcomed offers from the People’s Republic of China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to mediate the conflict. Nonetheless, these efforts have not brought about an improvement in relations.

A report published by Afghanistan International on August 5 highlighted the diplomatic dispute between Kabul and Pakistan, saying:

“Pakistan’s UN envoy Asim Iftikhar urged member states to confront what he called the growing terrorist threat from Afghanistan, saying multiple groups had expanded their operations since the Taliban’s return. Speaking at the Security Council on Wednesday, 5 August, Iftikhar said the situation in Afghanistan was deeply concerning. He claimed that safe havens were currently available in Afghanistan to groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Balochistan Liberation Army, Islamic State Khorasan Province, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and al-Qaeda. The UN Security Council meeting was held under the title ‘Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts’. Pakistan’s representative said many of these groups recruited and trained members inside Afghanistan and planned terrorist attacks in Pakistan with complete impunity. He also alleged that some of the groups received financial support from Pakistan’s eastern neighbor, referring to India.” (https://www.afintl.com/en/202608068482)

As the tensions continue, the US and its closest allies have failed to intervene diplomatically to resolve the issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The US does not want any normalized diplomatic relations between Afghanistan and its neighbors.

The situation in Afghanistan and the Central Asian region as a whole will remain tense due to the role of Washington. After a twenty-year occupation which was preceded by direct US interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan going back to the late 1970s and early 1980s, these imposed destabilization efforts and genocidal war will continue to impact the area for years to come.

More Evidence Revealed on the Role of the UAE in the Sudanese War

Britain and the United States have close ties with the Emirates which is fueling the ongoing horrendous intra-military carnage taking place in the Republic of Sudan

By Abayomi Azikiwe

Editor, Pan-African News Wire

Tuesday August 18, 2026

Geostrategic Analysis

Since April 15, 2023, the serious disruptions in the military structures and high command within the Republic of Sudan has resulted in the deaths of untold numbers of people, the injury of many more and the displacement several million. 

There has been discussions and debates at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over the role of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Accusations that the UAE is funding, arming and helping to coordinate the military actions of the RSF have been made by numerous entities including the Sudanese government under the leadership of General Abdel Fattah El-Burhan, the Chairman of the Sovereign Council. The trafficking in gold as a strategic metal partially underlines the interests of the UAE and the rebel grouping, the RSF, and its allies in Sudan. 

However, the link extends further into European markets, particularly Britain, as connections between the government of the United Kingdom and the UAE regarding the gold trade has been further exposed by Sky News. Apparently, the British Foreign Office is aware of the ties between the UAE monarchy, the war in Sudan and UK business interests. 

The current war in Sudan has been described as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. An estimated hundreds of thousands have died through warfare and forced depravation. Other have reported serious allegations of assault along with internal as well as external displacement of Sudanese inside and outside the country. 

The internal war within the military has deflected international attention away from the mass democratic movement which had swept the country during the early months of 2019. These efforts by the youth, professional groupings and the working class was immediately attacked by the military apparatus backed by the United States, the Persian Gulf monarchies and other allied states such as the UK and members of the European Union. 

Sudan People Suffering Immensely Due to Imperialist Machination

The period between mid-2019 through April 2023 was characterized by the deliberate betrayal of the aspirations of the Sudanese masses by the military in conjunction with imperialism and its operatives throughout the Horn of Africa and West Asia. This set of circumstances was typified by the former Interim Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok when he colluded with US President Donald Trump during the closing months of his first term to “normalize” relations with the State of Israel in exchange for Sudan being taken off the list of sponsors of “state terrorism.” 

Sudan in its early independence phase in 1958 passed the “Israeli Boycott Act” prohibiting trade between the country and the apartheid state. Consequently, even during this recent phase of a purported transition towards democracy the US and its allies were working feverishly to prevent a genuine political revolution in Sudan. 

In a report by Sky News published on August 18, it notes that:

“The role of the United Arab Emirates and its American and British allies is under increasing scrutiny. The UAE claims it is not involved in any military sense in the war in Sudan, but fewer and fewer people believe them, and evidence is stacking up against those claims. Nathaniel A. Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, said, ‘The UK has not once called on the United Arab Emirates to stop arming the [paramilitary Rapid Support Forces] RSF with extremely advanced weapons, including a tier one drone system, including electronic jamming, missile launch and suicide drones. It was those drone systems and artillery systems that we know US intelligence concurs came from the United Arab Emirates, which allowed Rapid Support Forces to take out Al Fashir. And slaughter tens of thousands of civilians.’ Al Fashir witnessed a genocidal massacre a year ago.” (https://news.sky.com/story/sudan-war-the-uaes-role-in-this-conflict-is-under-increasing-scrutiny-and-so-is-britains-13572327)

Direct military support from the UK to the UAE, which is being transferred to the RSF in Sudan, is perpetuating the atrocities being committed in Darfur and North Kordofan. RSF soldiers have been driven out of some previously held areas such as the capital of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman. Reports from the frontlines in North Kordofan indicate that the SAF have recaptured territory from the RSF. 

However, there has been a reluctance on the part of the British government to cut ties with the UAE over the Sudan question. The Sky News investigation charged that refined gold products originating in Sudan are being sold in retail outlets in Britain. 

Despite the fact that a few people have been cited in their illegal dealing in Sudanese gold in Britain, much more could be done. Overall Sudan produced over 70 metric tons of gold during 2025. The British government, even according to Sky News, values its relations with the UAE more than addressing its role in the Sudanese war. 

Another source monitoring the situation in Sudan and the involvement of imperialist-allied forces says:

“This latest horrific news coincides with the revelation that documents seen by the UN show that UK military equipment exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found in the hands of the RSF. The equipment includes military training equipment produced by Militec in Mid Glamorgan, and engines for UAE-made Nimr armoured vehicles, manufactured by the UK subsidiary of US company Cummins Inc. There has been overwhelming evidence over the past two years of UAE arms supplies to the RSF, but this marks the first time UK equipment has been found in Sudan. (https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/12/british-weapons-are-fuelling-genocide-in-sudan)

Sudan is a former British colony acquired during the so-called “scramble for Africa” in the late 19th century. The current post-colonial turmoil in Sudan cannot be properly understood without examining the history of British colonialism in the North African states of Egypt and Sudan. 

The character of British imperialism laid the groundwork for two civil wars in Sudan. The first between 1955 to 1972, reinforced the divisions which were orchestrated in the colonial period. Later, between 1983 and 2011, the second civil war in Sudan created the conditions for the partition of the continent’s largest geographic nation-state. 

Since 2011, when the Republic of South Sudan was created, both states have suffered economic, political and security crises. Internal fighting and a steep decline in the legitimacy of state institutions has hampered the capacity for rebuilding. 

The Role of the US

Since President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House in January 2025, his administration has often boasted about resolving conflicts around the world. Nonetheless, the reality of the international situation is quite different.

The US and Israel have launched two wars against the Islamic Republic of Iran which remain unresolved. In Palestine, the genocide against the people continues on a daily basis. Lebanon is routinely bombed and occupied by the settler-colonial Israeli state particularly in the southern region of the country. In Ukraine the war proceeds unabated irrespective of the statements by Trump that he could end the Russian Special Military Operation inside this Eastern European state.

Tribune Magazine published in the UK has said of the involvement of Washington in the Sudan genocide:

“The US has been the UAE’s main arms supplier over the years, providing 55 percent of major weapons deliveries according to SIPRI, followed by France at 14 percent. France has major orders from the UAE for Rafale combat aircraft and A-330 MRTT transport/tanker aircraft. But the UAE has also imported drones from Turkey, radar systems from Sweden, and various weapons from 15 other countries over the past decade. The UAE has also been developing its own domestic arms industry, and the state-owned EDGE Group is among the Top 100 arms companies worldwide.” (https://tribunemag.co.uk/2025/12/british-weapons-are-fuelling-genocide-in-sudan)

Resistance to imperialism and zionism by the Islamic Republic of Iran has been devastating to the UAE. These states such as the UAE, Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia serve as bases for US imperialism and zionism in the entire West Asia region. 

Drones and long-range ballistic missiles from Iran have done severe damage to Pentagon bases in the Gulf states. In addition, multinational corporations which operate businesses in these satellite states in West Asia have lost enormous profits since the initiation of the war on February 28. 

Therefore, when the US and UK attempt to make it appear that they want to end the war in Sudan, these claims are only designed to obfuscate their role in the ongoing destabilization and underdevelopment of Africa. The imperialist states only want to maintain the exploitation of African resources and labor which has gone on for centuries much to the detriment of the majority of workers, farmers and youth in Sudan and across the continent. 

Ghalibaf Urges Iraq to Preserve its Sources of Power

By Al Mayadeen English

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf urges Iraq to preserve its internal sources of power as he holds talks with senior officials in Baghdad.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf held an extended meeting in Baghdad with Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan, according to Mehdi Rahimi, head of the Iranian Parliament’s news agency.

Rahimi said Ghalibaf conveyed to Iraqi officials Iran’s experiences in relying on domestic capabilities while facing what he described as the world’s most powerful armies. He stressed that Iraq should not abandon its sources of strength and emphasized the importance of maintaining its internal leverage.

According to Rahimi, Ghalibaf told Iraqi officials that Iran had relied on its domestic capabilities in confronting major external challenges, and highlighted the importance of Iraq drawing on its own internal resources.

“Ghalibaf confirmed that the elements of Iraq’s strength should not be abandoned and stressed the need to hold on to its internal sources of power,” Rahimi said.

Rahimi also described Iran as a “faithful adviser” to Iraq, saying this had been demonstrated during the confrontation with the ISIS terrorist organization. He added that Iraqi officials had received Ghalibaf’s proposals during his visit with openness.

Ghalibaf delegation to visit Popular Mobilization Forces HQs

Rahimi said another stop on Ghalibaf’s visit would be a visit to the headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces.

The visit comes as Ghalibaf’s delegation holds meetings with senior Iraqi officials as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Kian Abdollahi said that the United States had included provisions benefiting Iran in a memorandum of understanding, but that these later gave way to economic sanctions and a blockade following the failure of its war.

Abdollahi’s remarks came alongside the discussion of Ghalibaf’s visit and Iran’s broader positions on regional developments and relations with Iraq.

Wednesday's meetings, remarks

Ghalibaf arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday at the head of a parliamentary delegation, meeting with Iraqi President Nizar Amedi, Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi, and Parliament Speaker Haibet al-Halbousi.

During his meeting with al-Zaidi, Ghalibaf expressed Iran's determination to continue developing relations with Iraq in a manner serving the shared interests of both peoples, and praised the Iraqi government's efforts assisting Iranian pilgrims during Arbaeen. With al-Halbousi, he stressed the need to expand economic relations between the two countries to match the strength of their political and cultural ties.

Meeting with Amedi, Ghalibaf said Iran and Iraq have recognized that the United States and its policies are a principal factor behind the region's problems, linking Washington's posture in the Gulf to its reliance on military intervention and war. He said the US had suffered military and political defeat in its latest war on Iran, adding that Washington failed to achieve any of its objectives. Amedi described the war as inhumane and a violation of international rules, saying Iraq would support Iran as part of comprehensive regional security.

Ghalibaf described relations between Iran and Iraq as deeply rooted in a shared destiny between two neighboring countries, saying "past experiences will guide us toward a bright future," and expressed hope the visit would lay the groundwork for deepening bilateral relations across sectors.

A visit set against a fraught security backdrop

Ghalibaf's visit is unfolding as Iraq's government pushes toward a September 30 deadline for armed factions operating outside the official security forces to hand over their weapons or face prosecution under the country's anti-terrorism law, a deadline Kataib Hezbollah, part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, has so far refused to accept.

In a statement this week, Kataib Hezbollah security official Abu Mujahid al-Assaf warned Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi against continuing "provocative raids" on the families of Resistance fighters, martyrs and the wounded, saying the group's patience was wearing thin.

He set out conditions for any government engagement on the Resistance's weapons: the complete withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi land and airspace with guarantees against their return, the withdrawal of Turkish forces occupying northern Iraq, and the dissolution of the Peshmerga, which he accused of maintaining ties to "the Zionist-American enemy."