Rory Stewart: Afghanistan is a betrayal and catastrophic failure

Rory Stewart: Afghanistan is a betrayal and catastrophic failure

The advance of the Taliban across Afghanistan represents a betrayal and catastrophic failure by the US, UK and Nato, says Rory Stewart, a former UK International Development Secretary. He told BBC World News that Western involvement in Afghanistan had involved around 2,500 troops supporting Afghan forces and air support. That support had confined the Taliban…

‘Not an Afghanistan problem but a humanity problem’ – Gen McMaster

‘Not an Afghanistan problem but a humanity problem’ – Gen McMaster

It is unfair to say Afghans need to fight against Taliban militants by themselves, the former US national security adviser Gen HR McMaster has said. The militants are “the enemies of all civilisation, of all humanity,” he told BBC World News. The Taliban have taken 10 provincial capitals in less than a week. Almost a…

Afghanistan war: Do the Taliban want to conquer or compromise?

Afghanistan war: Do the Taliban want to conquer or compromise?

Tens of thousands of ordinary people have had to flee their homes – with hundreds killed or injured in recent weeks – as Taliban insurgents continue to gain ground in Afghanistan. As foreign troops withdraw, many Afghans fear a brutal return to the regime of the 1990s, which was characterised by public executions, stonings and…

Afghanistan: Fracture may lead to violent extremism says Gen Sir Nick Carter

Afghanistan: Fracture may lead to violent extremism says Gen Sir Nick Carter

The country could become an ideal place for international terrorism and violent extremism should the state fracture, the UK Chief of the Defence Staff Gen Sir Nick Carter has said. It was important to see what happened in the longer term, Gen Carter told BBC World News. “I think that we need to be really…

Classic Bentleys and Rolls-Royce adapted to fully electric

Classic Bentleys and Rolls-Royce adapted to fully electric

Vintage petrol-powered Bentleys and Rolls-Royce cars are being re-engineered to fully electric vehicles by a company based at Silverstone, the home of UK motorsport. In a world-first, Lunaz adapts the cars in a process which takes about 26 weeks and starts at £350,000 ($478,000, 405,000 euros). BBC Click’s Jen Copestake finds out more. See more…

Afghanistan: Taliban seizure will challenge West – Gen Sir Nick Carter

Afghanistan: Taliban seizure will challenge West – Gen Sir Nick Carter

Western governments will face difficult questions about whether to support Afghanistan if the Taliban seize control in a way that is illegitimate, the UK Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sir Nick Carter has said. But he told BBC World News that if the Taliban did take control of the country he did not believe they…

Climate change: ‘Sea levels will rise even if carbon emissions are cut’

Climate change: ‘Sea levels will rise even if carbon emissions are cut’

Sea levels will continue to rise for years to come even if the world cuts emissions of greenhouse gases, Prof Ed Hawkins, the lead author of the UN’s climate change report, has warned. He told BBC World News that if the world achieved net zero emissions it would stop extreme weather events getting worse, but…