Presidency of Donald Trump

U.S. troops were sent to Afghanistan by George W. Bush in 2001, with the aim of destroying the training camps for al-Qaeda terrorists after the terrorist attacks on September 11.
Since leaving the White House in 2009 after two terms, Bush has rarely commented on the moves of three later presidents, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and now Joe Biden, the Voice of America reported.

The highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading fast in Turkey, the country's Health Minister has warned, adding that overall cases are also on the rise.

The Taliban claimed on July 9 to be in control of 85 percent of Afghanistan after seizing key border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan, part of a sweeping offensive launched as US troops pull out of the war-torn nation.

Israel's top diplomat Yair Lapid on June 29 began the first-ever official visit by an Israeli minister to the United Arab Emirates, after the two nations normalized ties in September.

President Joe Biden on June 25 promised Afghanistan's top leaders a "sustained" partnership even as he moves to accelerate winding down the United States' longest war amid escalating Taliban violence.

Former President Donald Trump's struggle with COVID-19 was "far more serious" than the public knew, and officials leapfrogged protocol for an experimental drug treatment not available to other Americans, according to a new book by Washington Post reporters.

A technical delegation from the United States Department of Defense will visit Turkey on June 24 to discuss the activities for keeping the Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan operational.

Turkey proposed to secure and manage the airport in Kabul after the NATO troops end its mission as a Resolute Support Mission.

Highly contagious coronavirus variants are fuelling a surge in infections in Africa, the World Health Organization warned on June 17, while in Europe more governments eased their pandemic restrictions.

US President Joe Biden is due to meet top EU officials on Tuesday as they try to set common goals for global challenges such as the pandemic and what they see as China's more assertive stance, dpa reported. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel will welcome Biden in Brussels, with a tight agenda scheduled for their talks.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased travel recommendations for more than 110 countries and territories, including Japan just ahead of the Olympics.