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Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan September 17, 2021. (Photo by Reuters)

Call for inclusive Afghan govt.

Iran and Tajikistan have called for the formation of an all-inclusive government in Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover of that country last month. The presidents of the two countries issued the call during a joint press conference in the Tajik capital Dushanbe. Iran’s Ebrahim Raeisi said a government comprised of one political or ethnic group cannot resolve problems in Afghanistan. He also said that terrorist groups in Afghanistan must be taken out as they pose a threat to the whole region. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said peace and stability should be restored in the war-stricken nation for the sake of regional security. He warned that an escalation of violence could lead to a humanitarian disaster for Afghanistan and turn it into a hub for terrorism in the region.

Fury at Indo-Pacific pact

France has recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia amid anger over Canberra’s new security pact with Washington and London that scrapped a submarine deal with Paris. The French foreign minister says President Emmanuel Macron recalled the envoys due to the exceptional seriousness of the recent event. Washington has regretted Paris’s decision, saying it will try to resolve the differences in the coming days. Meanwhile, a French diplomatic source has criticized London for acting in a 'opportunistic manner'. The row followed Australia’s announcement on Thursday that it would ditch a deal to buy French submarines worth 40-billion dollars in favor of a new arrangement with the US and the UK to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, dubbed AUKUS. France had already called the abandonment of the deal a stab in the back.

Bouteflika dies at 84

Algeria’s former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has died at the age of 84. Bouteflika served as President for almost 20 years from 1999 until his resignation in 2019. Afterwards, he spent the rest of his days in a medicalised residence in a suburb of Algiers. During the Algerian war for independence from France in the 1950s, he served as a member of Algeria’s National Liberation Front. After Algeria gained its independence, Bouteflika served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1963 to 1979. He also served as President of the UN General Assembly during the 1974–1975 session.


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