Afghanistan: Troop departures endanger those left behind
Those who were fired from their jobs worked at the Bawar Media Center (BMC), which is funded by the German military in the northwestern Balkh province. Most of these people had been directly contracted by Bundeswehr until 2016, however, their contracts have been altered since then. If the Taliban catch me, they will not care about the changes to my contract. To them, I am a person who worked for Bundeswehr, and who continues to do so, one of the persons who got fired from his job told DW on condition of anonymity due to security reasons.
Former Bundeswehr employees in Afghanistan are finding it difficult to apply for asylum in Germany. They're facing increased threats from the Taliban, who consider them "traitors" for working with foreign forces.
UK government members supported the move, including the home secretary, who called it a "moral obligation." All NATO troops are expected to leave Afghanistan in just over three months.
Tensions in the South China Sea continue to grow due to the increasing military presence from both Chinese forces and the surrounding countries and their allies in the west. The European Union recently called out Chinese President Xi Jinping for the attempts to disturb the peace in the hotly contested waters.
The European Union has now urged everyone involved in the dispute to adhere to the 2016 arbitration rejecting China’s claim of having sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea. Beijing has since rejected the ruling and has continued to insist it has sovereignty over the waters. At the same time, Brussels has also issued a new policy that seeks to increase the EU’s presence in the South China Sea to counter Chinese forces.