Briefly

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban seize 3 more provincial capitals

Afghan officials said on Wednesday that three more provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban, putting nine out of the country's 34 in the insurgents' hands amid withdrawal of the United States forces. Officials said the capitals of Badakhshan, Baghlan and Farah provinces have all fallen to the Taliban. The Afghan government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. President Ashraf Ghani flew to the besieged northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Wednesday to rally his beleaguered forces. Despite the Taliban gains, US President Joe Biden gave no hint of delaying his deadline to withdraw all US troops by Aug 31, but instead urged Afghan leaders to "fight for themselves" on Tuesday.

DPRK

Retaliation warned over joint military drills

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea slammed the Republic of Korea on Wednesday for pushing ahead with planned military drills with the United States and warned of a "serious security crisis". In a press statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yong-chol, department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said: "As we have already clarified, we will make them realize by the minute what a dangerous choice they made and what a serious security crisis they will face because of their wrong choice." He made the remarks one day after Kim Yo-jong, vice-department director of the Central Committee, issued a similar warning. "The choice of hope or despair is totally up to the ROK authorities," she said.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Dubai airport sees 40% passenger drop

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airport for international travel, handled some 40 percent less passenger traffic in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period last year, said its chief executive on Wednesday. The decline came as more contagious coronavirus variants cut off the hub's biggest source markets and continue to clobber the global aviation industry. However, CEO Paul Griffiths remains optimistic for the crucial east-west transit point as authorities gradually reopen Dubai's key routes to the Indian subcontinent and Britain. The airport, which saw 86.4 million people pass through before the pandemic hit in 2019, has held the title of the world's busiest since it beat London's Heathrow Airport seven years ago.

Agencies - Xinhua