Following a slew of deadly terror attacks this week, peace in Afghanistan looks increasingly implausible. And four years after Nato troops departed, the country – which is contending with a bloody two-pronged insurgency – finds itself at a watershed moment. Since last Friday, attacks have struck the city of Ghazni, a military base in Faryab province, a school in Kabul and most recently a training facility overseen by Afghanistan's intelligence agency.
Overall hundreds have died, among them dozens of students, offering a grim reminder that education and extremism are fundamentally at odds with one another.
And while the nature and perpetrators of the attacks might be different – the school attack bore all the hallmarks of an ISIS bombing, while the Taliban has claimed the Ghazni offensive – they all hint at a further deterioration of Afghanistan’s fragile security apparatus. And what hope is there for lasting peace when the architecture of the state appears so compromised by those who kill with impunity?
The timing of these attacks is not aleatory. The Afghan state and the Taliban are lurching towards a potential ceasefire to coincide with Eid next week. It follows a unilateral truce observed by both sides in June, which sparked genuine jubilation; the sight of rival fighters embracing one another raised hopes of a lasting resolution. But today, after a week of gratuitous bloodshed, a second Eid ceasefire seems unlikely.
And with ISIS and the Taliban vying for violent supremacy, the situation has rarely seemed so precarious.
Some suggest the Taliban's Ghazni onslaught, which lasted five days before US and Nato airstrikes repelled them, was an exercise merely in exerting dominance. Their intention, the theory goes, is to perpetrate large attacks, demonstrate their power, sow fear and discord and depart. It could imply that the group hopes to enter talks from a position of strength, suggesting a ceasefire could yet arise.
But that is of little consolation to the residents of Ghazni, where communications and electricity networks were dismantled and where local hospitals ran out of body bags. Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN’s special representative for Afghanistan, appealed on Wednesday for an end to the violence. Meanwhile, the UAE has “called upon the international community to close ranks and uproot the evil of terrorism”. When it comes to global mobilisation, Abu Dhabi’s pleas should be heeded.
But hope is quickly dissipating among Afghans. Their president Ashraf Ghani – studious and well-intentioned – has tried his utmost to instil a sense of order. But even his most ardent supporters would acknowledge he has struggled to fulfil that core responsibility.
Today, recriminations are of little use. Instead we mourn the victims of this senseless cruelty and hope, still, that the essence of Eid – a time for rejoice and affection, rather than pain and mourning – can bring a semblance of stability to Afghanistan.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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Day 4, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage appeared to have been hard done by when he had his dismissal of Sami Aslam chalked off for a no-ball. Replays suggested he had not overstepped. No matter. Two balls later, the exact same combination – Gamage the bowler and Kusal Mendis at second slip – combined again to send Aslam back.
Stat of the day Haris Sohail took three wickets for one run in the only over he bowled, to end the Sri Lanka second innings in a hurry. That was as many as he had managed in total in his 10-year, 58-match first-class career to date. It was also the first time a bowler had taken three wickets having bowled just one over in an innings in Tests.
The verdict Just 119 more and with five wickets remaining seems like a perfectly attainable target for Pakistan. Factor in the fact the pitch is worn, is turning prodigiously, and that Sri Lanka’s seam bowlers have also been finding the strip to their liking, it is apparent the task is still a tough one. Still, though, thanks to Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed, it is possible.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Naga
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Greatest Royal Rumble match listing
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Rusev
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
Specs
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