- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
- Biden-Netanyahu to talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- France vows to step up drugs fight after police vehicles torched
- Air France says jet flew over Iraq during Iran attack on Israel
- Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- Let 'Emily in Paris' remain in Paris, Macron says
- Global stocks diverge as Chinese shares tumble
- Time runs out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Chad issues warning ahead of more devastating floods
- Record-breaking Root helps England dominate Pakistan in first Test
- German govt sees economy shrinking again in 2024
- Ex-UK soldier denies passing secrets to Iran intelligence
- Creator's death no bar to new 'Dragon Ball' products
- Three Kosovo Serbs on trial over 'secession plot' attack
- Van Gogh museum to launch Impressionism show
- French minister ups ante in Eiffel Tower Olympic rings row
- Japan PM calls snap election to 'create a new Japan'
- German police shut pro-Palestinian camp over Thunberg invite
- Chinese stocks tumble on lack of fresh stimulus
- Trio wins chemistry Nobel for protein design, prediction
- SE Asian summit urges end to Myanmar violence but struggles for solutions
- Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England power to 351-3
- Record-breaking Root hits hundred as England's power to 351-3
- Sabalenka relishes 'much-needed' tennis rivalry with Swiatek
- Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson set for six weeks out
- Taylor Swift got police escort to London gigs after Austria terror plot
- Cook tips Root to break Tendulkar's all-time runs record
- British skull auction sparks Indian demand for return
- Joe Root: England's elegant Test record-breaker
- Braving war: Lebanon's 'badass' airline defies odds
- Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Hezbollah strikes Israel, says it foiled Israeli incursions
- Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- Sinner to face Medvedev in Shanghai Masters quarter-finals
- US weighs Google breakup in landmark trial
- Record-breaking Root guides England to 232-2 in reply to Pakistan's 556
- Japan PM dissolves parliament for 'honeymoon' snap election
- Chinese stocks tumble on stimulus upset, Asia tracks Wall St higher
- 7-Eleven owner confirms new takeover offer from Couche-Tard
- Goodbye Tito? Tomb at risk as Serbs argue over Yugoslav legacy
- Restoration experts piece together silent Sherlock Holmes mystery
- Sinner avoids Shanghai deja vu with assured Shelton win
- Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
RIO | -0.54% | 66.305 | $ | |
BTI | 0.95% | 35.559 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.28% | 24.71 | $ | |
SCS | 2.7% | 13.135 | $ | |
BCC | 0.88% | 143.28 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.01% | 24.85 | $ | |
JRI | 0.36% | 13.208 | $ | |
BP | -0.2% | 31.965 | $ | |
RBGPF | -2.48% | 59.33 | $ | |
NGG | -0.12% | 65.82 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.01% | 6.9 | $ | |
BCE | -0.13% | 33.465 | $ | |
GSK | 0.91% | 38.37 | $ | |
AZN | 0.31% | 77.11 | $ | |
RELX | 0.05% | 46.665 | $ | |
VOD | 0.77% | 9.735 | $ |
Taliban vow to address 'all concerns' of China as Wang visits
The Taliban said Thursday they had assured Beijing's most senior diplomat about any concerns China thinks may "emerge from Afghan soil", ahead of a key meeting with their neighbours next week.
China shares only a sliver of a border with Afghanistan, but Beijing has long feared its conflict-plagued neighbour could become a staging point for Muslim Uyghur separatists from Xinjiang.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Kabul Thursday on his first trip to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power, meeting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Without specifically mentioning the Uyghurs, Baradar's office said in a statement that Wang had been assured over all concerns Beijing "thinks emerge from the soil of Afghanistan".
Since returning to power in August, the Taliban have repeatedly pledged not to allow Afghan soil to be used as a base for foreign terror groups.
Their harbouring of Osama bin Laden and other senior Al-Qaeda figures in the wake of the 9/11 attacks prompted the US-led invasion that ended their first stint in power.
Even before the Taliban seized control of the country in August, they forged ties with China as US-led foreign forces withdrew.
Beijing is hosting a meeting of Afghanistan's neighbours next week on how to assist the hardline Islamist government.
"The Islamic Emirate wants to expand ties further" with China, Baradar's statement said.
Wang and Muttaqi also spoke of expanding "economic and political ties" between the two countries, the foreign ministry said in a tweet.
They also discussed commencing work in Afghanistan's mines sector.
Chinese mining groups are in talks with the Taliban on exploring Afghanistan's mining sector, media reports say.
As Wang visited, Russia's special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, also arrived in Kabul for talks with Taliban officials, the foreign ministry said.
Afghanistan has plunged into financial and humanitarian crises since the exit of US-led foreign forces.
The meeting of Afghanistan's neighbours next week will allow the Taliban to present their own assessment of the latest situation in the country.
Media reports say Chinese and Pakistani officials are expected to discuss new economic projects in Afghanistan.
Maintaining stability after decades of war in Afghanistan is Beijing's main consideration as it seeks to secure its borders and strategic infrastructure investments in neighbouring Pakistan, home to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
For Beijing, a stable and cooperative administration in Kabul would also pave the way for an expansion of its Belt and Road Initiative into Afghanistan and through the Central Asian republics, analysts say.
The Taliban consider China a crucial source of investment and economic support, either directly or via Pakistan.
During the chaotic takeover of power by the hardline Islamists, Beijing kept its embassy open in Kabul even as it evacuated many citizens from the country.
X.Karnes--AMWN