The Taliban hasn't captured all of Afghanistan yet. One province has vowed to resist
Updated 1423 GMT (2223 HKT) August 23, 2021
As the Taliban firms up its grip on Afghanistan, there is one remote region whose resistance to the militant group goes back decades. Now, the last major holdout is under threat.
Where is the Panjshir Valley?
‘Big questions’: New Zealand Covid minister raises doubts about elimination strategy
Chris Hipkins said the Delta variant was ‘like nothing we’ve dealt with so far’
The arrival of the Delta strain in New Zealand has prompted the country’s Covid-19 response minister to question the efficacy of its ambitious elimination strategy – an approach that has been the backbone of the country’s pandemic response.
Chris Hipkins told current affairs programme Q+A on Sunday that Delta raised “big questions about the long-term future of our plans”.
“Delta does raise some big questions that we’re going to have to grapple with, you know less than a 24-hour period for someone getting it and passing it on to others … that’s like nothing we’ve dealt with in this pandemic so far, and it does change everything,” he said.
Poland plans fence on Belarus border, offers aid to migrants
Poland’s Defense Ministry says it plans to build a fence 2.5 meters (8 feet) high along its border with Belarus and deploy more soldiers there to stop migrants seeking to enter the country
Poland plans to build a fence along its border with Belarus and deploy more soldiers there to stop migrants seeking to enter the European Union nation.
The government on Monday also offered to send humanitarian aid to a group stuck at the border for more than two weeks.
Poland and the three Baltic states — Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia — accuse Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of sending migrants — most apparently from Afghanistan and Iraq — across their borders, which are also the EU's external border, in what they call a “hybrid war.”
Between Sputnik V and BioNTech: Caught in vaccine limbo
As Germany begins introducing new restrictions for unvaccinated people, some find themselves in a peculiar situation — being fully vaccinated but not counted as such. DW reporter Natalia Smolentceva is one of them.
Six months ago, while back home in Russia, I did what I thought was the responsible thing: I got vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Russian Sputnik V inoculation. Back in February, Germany did not offer vaccination to my age group, and I wanted to protect myself and those close to me.
Being vaccinated with Sputnik V was potentially problematic, as the jab was not approved in the EU. But the risk of getting COVID-19 while in Russia, where very few people wore masks or respected social distancing rules, was greater. And it felt good to be at least somewhat protected, both in Russia and back in Germany.
Israel struggles with COVID surge despite mass vaccinations
Israelis flouting mask requirements may have been a main contributor to the rapid spread of the Delta variant in Israel, experts say.
In the 32C (89.6F) heat of an Israeli summer, parents and children waited – some patiently and some less so – in a line outside a testing station for their children’s turn to receive the newly approved Sofia COVID-19 test.
Some had plans to go to a water park, others to a museum, and others just out to eat. But the children, aged three to 12, needed to get a coronavirus test first to do so.
As of August 20, “Green Passes” are required to enter restaurants, public pools, museums or any other public place besides parks. The pass is issued to people who have received two vaccine doses or who have recovered from coronavirus. But unlike in the past, children who are not eligible to get vaccinated must have the pass, too.
Wuhan lab leak theory: How Fort Detrick became a centre for Chinese conspiracies
A disinformation campaign claiming that the Covid-19 virus originated from an American military base in Maryland has gained popularity in China ahead of the release of a US intelligence report on the virus origins.
In May, US president Joe Biden ordered a 90-day probe into whether the Covid-19 virus came from a lab accident or emerged from human contact with an infected animal.
Until then, the "Wuhan lab leak" theory had been dismissed by most scientists as a fringe conspiracy theory.
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