Europe

LONDON (AP) — Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the U.S. decision to withdraw from the country has “every Jihadist group round the world cheering.”

In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, Blair said the sudden and chaotic pullout that allowed the Taliban to reclaim power undermined everything that had been achieved in Afghanistan over the past two decades, including advances in living standards and the education of girls.

AGDINES, Greece (AP) — For generations, residents in the north of the Greek island of Evia have made their living from the dense pine forests surrounding their villages. Tapping the ubiquitous Aleppo pines for their resin, the viscous, sticky substance the trees use to protect themselves from insects and disease, provided a key source of income for hundreds of families.

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/: Researchers at Russia’s Gamaleya Center have completed pre-clinical trials of a nasal spray coronavirus vaccine and are ready to launch clinical trials, the center’s Director Alexander Gintsburg told TASS.

"There has been serious progress made in terms of the nasal spray vaccine, pre-clinical trials are over. We are ready to move on to clinical trials," he said. According to Gintsburg, the nasal spray vaccine consists of the second component of the Sputnik V vaccine.

PARIS, August 21. /TASS/: The Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket and 34 British OneWeb satellites whose launch has been rescheduled for August 22, are in stable and safe conditions, launch service provider Arianespace said.

"Upon the request of OneWeb, Arianespace has decided to postpone the launch for 24 hours to allow for additional time for mission planning preparation linked to the updated lift-off. The Soyuz launch vehicle and the 34 OneWeb spacecraft are in stable and safe conditions," Arianespace pointed out.

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/: Around 12,000 foreigners and Afghans who worked in embassies and international humanitarian groups have left Afghanistan since the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) captured Kabul on August 15, Reuters news agency reported on Saturday, citing a NATO representative.

"The evacuation process is slow, as it is risky, for we don't want any form of clashes with Taliban members or civilians outside the airport," a NATO representative told the agency on the condition of anonymity.

ELISTA, August 21. /TASS/: The medical community has approved the use of Russia’s Sputnik Light single-dose coronavirus jab for people aged over 60, particularly for revaccination purposes, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko told reporters on Saturday.

"The experts issued a permit to use the Sputnik Light shot for people aged over 60. It is primarily used to get revaccinated. For people over 60 years of age, it is used to sustain and save lives. Sputnik Light can be recommended by the medical community today for those who was ill earlier," he said.

MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases rose by 21,000 to reach 6,726,523 in the past 24 hours, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Saturday. According to data from the crisis center, Russia’s coronavirus growth rate was 0.31%.

In particular, Moscow recorded 1,852 new cases, followed by St. Petersburg (1,665), the Moscow Region (1,119), the Sverdlovsk Region (519) and the Nizhny Novgorod Region (502). Russia currently has 547,189 active COVID-19 cases.

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Uzbekistan has accepted about 400 more refugees from Afghanistan and put them up in temporary accommodation near the Afghan border, the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

It is unclear how many Afghans have crossed into the former Soviet republic as Taliban insurgents overran Afghanistan. The Tashkent government has denied that senior Afghan figures such as ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dustum were among them.

BERLIN, Aug 21 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday conceded that the Afghan army's resistance against Taliban militants had been misjudged.

"The army collapsed at a breathtaking pace," Merkel said at an election event. "We had expected the resistance to be stronger."

Merkel said the focus now was on rescuing people from Afghanistan, but later there would need to be a discussion on what had or had not been achieved.

BRUSSELS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The European Union has not recognised the Taliban, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday, nor is it holding political talks with the militants, a week after they seized control of Afghanistan.

The Taliban completed a lightning takeover of Afghanistan on Sunday, walking into the capital Kabul without firing a shot.

The head of the EU executive spoke after visiting a reception centre in Madrid for Afghan employees of EU institutions evacuated from Kabul.