The one clear advantage of the Taliban sweeping into power last month essentially unopposed was they seemed to spare Afghanistan more unnecessary bloodshed. But just as the Taliban ceased their own fighting, another brutal jihadi group began to unleash mayhem across the country. The Islamic State-Khorasan, the Islamic State’s Afghan …

KOSOVO-SERBIA NATO peacekeepers stepped up patrols along the Kosovo-Serbia border amid heightened tensions between the two countries. Belgrade, which does not recognise Kosovo’s independence, is angered at Pristina’s new requirement that Serbian drivers travelling into Kosovo buy temporary licence plates. Pristina calls the regulation “reciprocity”, as cars with Kosovo registrations …

Russia is delaying the appointment of panels of independent experts to monitor violations of U.N. sanctions on South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic (CAR)and Mali, diplomats said on Wednesday, leaving their work in limbo. Russia is unhappy with the number of experts appointed from Western countries, …