Morning Brief: Panic in Kabul

Top Story Kabul was thrown into panic today as gunmen attacked Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice and another government building in an apparent suicide attack. Nineteen people were killed and over 50 injured in the attack, for which the Taliban have claimed responsibility. Police have managed to kill most of the attackers, but one gunman wearing ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
588625_090211_kabul6.jpg
588625_090211_kabul6.jpg

Top Story

Top Story

Kabul was thrown into panic today as gunmen attacked Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice and another government building in an apparent suicide attack. Nineteen people were killed and over 50 injured in the attack, for which the Taliban have claimed responsibility.

Police have managed to kill most of the attackers, but one gunman wearing a suicide vest is still apparently holed up inside the Justice Ministry. Several children are also trapped at a kindergarten inside the building. A number of suicide bombers may still be at large throughout the city, the Taliban has warned.

The attacks come on the eve of U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke’s visit to Afghanistan. A bomb also killed six people, including a secular politician in Peshawar, as Holbrooke visited northwest Pakistan.

Middle East

Israel’s political drama appears set to continue with the centrist Kadima Party winning the most votes in yesterday’s election but lacking the support to form a coalition. President Shimon Peres must decide whether to ask Kadima’s Tzipi Livni or Likud’s Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government. Both parties are claiming victory.

An Iraqi suicide bomber killed four U.S. soldiers near Mosul.

Americas

Barack Obama and Timothy Geithner’s bailout plan will likely cost as much as than $2.5 trillion.

A shootout between police and drug traffickers in Chihuahua, Mexico, left 21 dead.

Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez is using massive government resources in his term limit referendum campaign.

Africa

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in as Zimbabwe’s prime minister.

Ethiopia has arrested a suspect in the murder of a 25-year-old U.S. diplomat.

Five Somali pirates were extradited to the Netherlands for trial.

Asia and Pacific

China’s exports fell 17.5 percent in January, the biggest drop in 10 years.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has accepted responsibility for the deadly fire at its headquarters.

Arsonists have been setting new brush fires in Australia.

Europe

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia might allow the U.S. to ship weapons to Afghanistan across its territory.

The head of Azerbaijan’s air force was shot to death.

Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, the current president of the European Union, accused member states of protectionism.

World Economy

Stock markets fell around the world today due to skepticism about the U.S. bailout plan.

SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.