These are some of the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:
Taliban-China alliance
The Taliban say their delegation visited China earlier this month to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The delegation led by the head of the group’s political office in Qatar visited Beijing at the invitation of the Chinese government. The move brought harsh reaction from the Afghan government, saying Beijing should not provide a platform to groups that are involved in the killing of Afghans. China, however, has shown interest in boosting ties with the Taliban, both politically and economically. China is concerned about the threat of local separatist movements. Beijing has also been concerned that instability in Afghanistan will spill over into the violence-prone far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have died in recent years. It is believed that China is holding talks with the Taliban to prevent any uprising in the district which is home to many ethnic minority groups.
Arms continue flowing into Syria
A new media report shows weapons in huge quantities are continuing to flow into Syria where they are given to foreign-backed militants fighting to topple the country’s President Bashar al-Assad. The weapons are purchased from eastern and central European countries with the money of Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf Arab states who seek to bring down Assad. The arms identified from videos and photos posted on social media are being used by many armed groups ranging from Ahrar al-Sham, al-Qaeda franchise Nusra Front, which has rebranded itself recently, Daesh and other groups. Supplying these groups with arms is seen by many as a breach of EU and international conventions.
US destruction of Syria
Escalation and deterioration: The war in Syria appears to be moving toward escalation, while the humanitarian crisis is heading toward deterioration. The downing of a Russian military helicopter by the terrorists near the flashpoint city of Aleppo came with a heavy-handed response from Russia. The Syrian army, backed by Russian air power, killed 800 terrorists.The United States is preparing to welcome a new president in the White House within the next few months. Now a new revelation shows one of the hopefuls already has dangerous plans for Syria. WikiLeaks has released a classified email by Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton when she was the secretary of state. In it, she has called for the destruction of Syria to help Israel.