Jay Bhattacharya to Continue Leading CDC as White House Searches for Permanent Director 
G7 Summit 2026: South Africa Excluded Amid U.S. Pressure, Kenya Invited Instead 
FEMA Reinstates $1 Billion Disaster Prevention Grant Program After Court Order 
Ukraine-Russia War: Frontline Updates as Spring Offensive Looms 
Russia-Iran Military Alliance Deepens With Drone Shipments Amid Middle East Tensions 
Trump Seeks Quick End to U.S.-Iran Conflict Amid Ongoing Middle East Tensions 
Iran Allows Oil Tankers Through Strait of Hormuz Amid U.S. Negotiations 
Maduro Faces Rare Narcoterrorism Charges in U.S. Court 
What does China’s host bid mean for the High Seas Treaty? 
US Military Eyes 10,000 Troop Surge to Middle East Amid Iran Nuclear Tensions 
God on their side: how the US, Israel and Iran are all using religion to garner support 
Iran Demands Lebanon Be Part of Any Ceasefire Deal With Israel and the U.S. 
WTO Reform Talks Begin in Cameroon Amid Global Trade Tensions 
Israeli Airstrike Targets Building in Beirut's Southern Suburbs Amid Ongoing Hezbollah Conflict 
Taiwan Arms Deal on Track Despite U.S.-China Summit Uncertainty 
Trump's Signature to Appear on U.S. Currency Starting Summer 2025 
Russia Accused of Helping Iran Target U.S. Forces, European Powers Tell G7 
The United States has reportedly assured the Taliban government in Afghanistan that it will not back any armed groups or non-state actors in the country. This follows a known Western-backed armed group’s continued challenge to the insurgent group’s rule.
Taliban sources told Al Jazeera this week that Washington has assured the insurgent group that it will not be backing any armed groups or non-state actors in Afghanistan. The insurgent group welcomed the assurance in the midst of Western-backed Tajik armed groups’ continued to challenge the Taliban.
This is despite the Taliban being able to contain the predominantly Tajik National Resistance Front and other groups that are aligned with Afghanistan’s western-backed government.
The assurance from Washington came from a meeting held last month between the Taliban and officials from the US State Department, including the CIA deputy director in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month. This was the first meeting since July when the United States said it killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri who was hiding in Kabul.
The presence of al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan has given the impression that the Taliban breached the 2020 Doha agreement, which stated that the Taliban agreed not to provide a safe haven to al Qaeda and other armed extremist groups.
During the meeting, the Taliban also rejected Washington’s announcement that it would be transferring $3.5 billion of frozen Afghan central bank assets to a Switzerland-based trust, according to people familiar with the matter.
The insurgent group said last month that the US decision to put a portion of nearly $10 billion in Afghan assets into the trust was “unacceptable and a violation of international norms.”
Meanwhile, the German government has begun a new admission program to admit Afghans who are the most vulnerable following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last year, according to the German interior and foreign ministries Monday.
Berlin has pledged to take in around 38,000 Afghans at risk of reprisals from the Taliban, and around 26,000 have already arrived in Germany.
The new program will admit 1,000 Afghans a month and their family members. It will target Afghans who are especially exposed as active in women’s rights, human rights, and advocates for those at risk for working in justice, politics, media, education, culture, sport, and science.
