Totalitarianism

Talibshah Hosini played some tough roles as an actor in Afghanistan before he fled. None was as hard as his real-life fight for survival in a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos.

The United States and the Taliban have agreed to a temporary truce that, if successful, would open the way for a deal that would bring American troops home from Afghanistan and end 18 years of war.

For those who did not experience it, however, it is hard to imagine the levels of fear and oppression generated by an army of secret police agents that peaked at 500,000 informants out of a population of 22 million.

Parliament adopted on Monday in a joint plenary solemn session a Declaration devoted to marking 30 years since the Revolution of December 1989, highlighting that the fight of the Romanian people against communism must further represent a source of moral and political inspiration to deal with the challenges of the world today.

The Taliban's chief negotiator has said their "doors are open" to resuming talks with Washington, hours after two attacks by the insurgents killed at least 48 people in war-weary Afghanistan.    

Increasing Taliban attacks on foreigners serving in Afghanistan have raised questions about the safety of soldiers from Balkan countries - but, apart from Croatia, the region's governments aren't changing tack.

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has subpoenaed President Donald Trump's top diplomat charged with negotiating with the Taliban the terms of an Afghan peace plan.

President Donald Trump said he canceled a secret weekend meeting at Camp David with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders after a bombing in the past week in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier, and has called off peace negotiations with the insurgent group.

A massive blast in a residential area of Kabul killed at least 16 people, officials said Sept. 3, following yet another Taliban attack that came as the insurgents and Washington try to finalize a peace deal.

Is Humour the Best Antidote to Tyranny?

British-American author Andrew Keen has been travelling the globe to investigate what he calls "the contemporary crisis of democracy" for his Keen On Democracy podcast series.

In this episode, he talks to Michael Zantovksy, a Czech diplomat, writer and human rights activist, on how to fight authoritarianism with humour.