Newsclick’s Prabir Purkayastha discusses the firing of US National Security Advisor John Bolton and the future of US policy with respect to West Asia and other parts of the world.

Nearly 15 years after the first presidential election, there are very few national political parties in Afghanistan, a structural weakness that prevents democracy from taking root in the country

Manning was released after the 62-day term of the grand jury expired. She has been summoned again to testify against Assange.

The attack took place in the western Bakwa district and the most of the civilians were daily wage laborers. Pro-government forces killed more civilians than the Taliban in the first three months of the year

A UN report documented that pro-government and international forces were responsible for 305 of the 581 deaths recorded so far this year. This is a 39% increase from the same period last year

The attack on the city of Kunduz was condemned by the UN assistance mission, which said it deliberately targeted civilian officials.

A report by the UNAMA and UN Human Rights Office states that 3,804 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2018, the highest ever, and a majority of the killings were by the anti-government forces, including the Taliban and the Islamic State

Soldiers also engaged in cover-ups by disguising civilians as militants to make operations appear legitimate. The Middle East Eye report revealed how junior officers in the British army were taught to specifically shoot such civilians during their training