Exclusive: Before Afghan collapse, Biden pressed Ghani to ‘change perception’ https://t.co/3DWuM26JdF
— RealClearDefense (@RCDefense) September 1, 2021
UK and Taliban in talks over further evacuations https://t.co/Or6OpMBu6v
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 1, 2021
MAP BREAK
— Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 1, 2021
Thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing through the high desert across Pakistan into Iran pic.twitter.com/Yk7hg2uTZ6
Female news anchor Beheshta Arghand made headlines when she interviewed the Taliban, days after they took control of Afghanistan
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 1, 2021
Two weeks later, she fled the country amid fears for her life https://t.co/JejQSNhiHn pic.twitter.com/vw5vMyHrTc
NEW: Biden National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says the US may deliver aid & economic assistance directly to the Taliban pic.twitter.com/sb4dzpTzxx
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 31, 2021
President Joe Biden has defended his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden said that 5,500 Americans got out before the airlift ended Monday, and that “arrangements” would be made to get the remaining 100 to 200 out if they so choose. https://t.co/dymbubc2Cv
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 31, 2021
29 Sacramento students remain in Afghanistan after the U.S. evacuation ended earlier this week, school district says. https://t.co/K0NSk2Qffp
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 1, 2021
#UPDATE A Qatari aircraft landed in #Kabul Wednesday carrying a technical team to discuss the resumption of airport operations after the Taliban takeover of #Afghanistan, according to a source with knowledge of the matter #KabulAirport pic.twitter.com/rKYGau1NZS
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 1, 2021
Another video of the Taliban flying a captured heli this time in Kandahar : https://t.co/Uc4LD9HOGB pic.twitter.com/1btJMioHu8
— Benjamin (@hengenahm) August 31, 2021
ReplyDeletePresident Vladimir Putin told the congress of the United Russia Party (UR) that in the September 19 parliamentary elections he expects United Russia to retain its position as the majority party in parliament. UR's chair, former president Dmitry Medvedev addressing party members said "We are obliged to win honestly and unconditionally, leaving no chance for our opponents. But the victory of United Russia will depend not only on bright and worthy candidates, we have enough of them. Success in many respects is a specific electoral program that is close and understandable to citizens," Despite the confidence voiced by Putin and Medvedev, the state-owned public opinion research organization VTsIOM [Russian Public Opinion Research Center] showed United Russia polling at 27.3 percent. Its closest rival, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was on 16%. The 11% polling gap between the Communist Party and the United Russia is significantly smaller than on the eve of the previous 2016 Duma elections, when at the beginning of August, United Russia polled 44%, and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - 10.1%.
No one doubts that given their control of the electoral machinery the authorities will be able to engineer the desired result for United Russia. However, too large a disparity between the poll figures and the election results will make the claim of an honest and unconditional victory sound hollow. It is much better if the general reaction is yes there was manipulation, but United Russia would have won in any case. Therefore, in these elections Vladimir Putin is abandoning his above party presidential role and wading in to the fray to promote United Russia. It is worth mentioning that Putin featured prominently in the first part of the party's congress in June, but since then the polling needle hasn't moved and since Putin's June 19. 2021, intervention, United Russia's percentage in the polls actually declined.
Vladimir Putin therefore made another try at the second stage of the party's congress. He sought to mobilize the voters on behalf of United Russia and met personally with its leading candidates. In particular, he expressed his strong support for the head of the ticket Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the point that some analysts believed that Putin was grooming Shoigu for bigger things.