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New on DVD: ‘Zappa’ strikes the right chord in exploring life of iconoclast
“Zappa”: This two-hour, nine-minute documentary is a sprawling look at the iconic musical multi-hyphenate and activist Frank Zappa, helmed by actor and filmmaker Alex Winter. Authorized by Zappa’s estate, the film features interviews with both family members and former collaborators and an abundance of archival footage in a way that encapsulates the iconoclast’s style, with media, genre, tone and mood shifting throughout, wrote Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh in her review. “If the outsize legacy of his work bears any consistency, it's in the purest expression of his vision, whatever t...
Tribune News Service
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Relief scarce at camps for Afghans displaced by unending conflict
In the eastern part of Kabul, just a few kilometres away from the Afghan capital's fancy coffee shops and luxurious hotels, there are families who have known only poverty, deprivation and misery for most of their lives. Tens of thousands of them have sought shelter in Kabul, fleeing fighting between the government and Taliban in the north and south of the country, or running from the increasing threat posed by the Islamic State terrorist militia in the east. Displaced by ongoing conflicts that have gripped Afghanistan for years, with no end in sight, there's not much hope in the enclosures tha...
DPA
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NATO defers decision on keeping May troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
NATO defence ministers have not yet decided whether they will withdraw troops from Afghanistan by May, as per an agreement with the Taliban, according to the alliance's secretary general. "We have made no final decision on the future of our presence. But as the first of May deadline is approaching, NATO allies will continue to closely consult and coordinate in the coming weeks," Jens Stoltenberg announced after ministers' talks. The radical Islamist group must negotiate in good faith, reduce levels of bloodshed and live up to their commitments to stop cooperating with international terrorists,...
DPA
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NATO to boost Iraq mission from 500 to 4,000 troops
NATO countries are to boost the number of personnel they deploy to their training mission in Iraq from 500 to some 4,000, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced. The idea is to expand training activities for the Iraqi security forces and also to roll them out outside of Baghdad, the alliance chief said. The aim is to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State group. "Our mission is at the request of the Iraqi government," Stoltenberg told reporters after defence ministers' talks. "It is carried out it with full respect for Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
DPA
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Nearly six centuries after his birth, who owns Alisher Navoiy, the ‘father of Uzbek literature?’
Alisher Navoiy metro station in Tashkent decorated with art evoking the 15th-century culture of the poet. Photo by Filip Noubel, used with permission. February 9 marks the 580th anniversary of the birth of Alisher Navoiy, a 15th-century poet, linguist and thinker who has come to play a central role in the nation-building process of Uzbekistan. The concept of nations is relatively young in Central Asia, a region that for centuries identified more around religion, important urban centers and language. People defined themselves as being Sunni, Shia, Jewish, or as coming from regions gravitating a...
Global Voices
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Afghan journalists in cross hairs in 'undeclared war' on free press
Half a dozen mobile phones sit on Bilal Sarwary's desk; one of them is ringing at any given time. Hardly any other journalist in Afghanistan is as well-connected as 37-year-old Sarwary - and it's precisely for this reason that he's become a target for violence. "Nowhere in Kabul is safe," the journalist says from his home office in a basement. "I can't think of a place where you can go." Sarwary says that many Afghan journalists can't go anywhere to film or conduct interviews because of the pervasive threat of violence. The biggest threat is actually holding a camera, he says. For four decades...
DPA
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German foreign minister ties troop withdrawal to Afghan peace process
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Tuesday said international troops should not be withdrawn from Afghanistan before the end of the peace process in the country, countering claims made by the United States. "We have to link both processes - the withdrawal of foreign troops and the peace negotiations," Mass said during a digital conference hosted by different German media. Maas said the ongoing peace talks were "very, very cumbersome" and would not be concluded by April, the time by which former US president Donald Trump had committed to withdraw all troops. "When the peace talks are conclud...
DPA
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Taliban have 'not met their commitments' in Afghan peace deal: Pentagon
Washington (AFP) - The Taliban are not meeting the promises they made in the peace agreement with the United States, including reducing violence and cutting ties with Al-Qaeda, the Pentagon said Thursday. "We are still involved in trying to get a negotiated settlement. The Taliban have not met their commitments," said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. Kirby said the new administration of President Joe Biden remains committed to the February 2020 peace agreement set in Qatar between the United States and the Afghan insurgent group. That agreement required the Taliban to halt attacks on US forces, ...
AFP
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Biden administration to review US-Taliban withdrawal deal
Washington (AFP) - The Biden administration said it will review a landmark US deal with the Taliban, focusing on whether the insurgent group has reduced attacks in Afghanistan, in keeping with its side of the agreement. Washington struck a deal with the Taliban in Qatar last year, to begin withdrawing its troops in return for security guarantees from the militants and a commitment to kickstart peace talks with the Afghan government. But violence across Afghanistan has surged despite the two sides engaging in those talks since September. President Joe Biden's newly appointed national security a...
AFP
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US troop levels cut to 2,500 each in Afghanistan and Iraq
Washington (AFP) - The US military has cut troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq to 2,500 each, their lowest levels in the nearly two decades since the wars began, the Pentagon announced Friday. Outgoing President Donald Trump, seeking to fulfill a campaign promise to end the two wars launched after the 9/11 attacks, had ordered force levels slashed in both countries to that level by January 15 -- despite initial pushback from the Pentagon. Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller said progress towards peace in both countries permits the cuts without a decrease in security for Americans and the...
AFP
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