It is almost a year since the world watched with a mix of astonishment and trepidation as Western forces withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban swiftly returned to power. At the time, US president Joe Biden justified the move by explaining that a permanent occupation of the country was simply not possible or desirable in the long term. He also made it clear that US operations to attack terrorist groups could continue, using intelligence agencies and drones.
This week saw a dramatic example of that as Ayman al-Zawahri, leader of al-Qaida and a plotter of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was killed in a drone strike. Here, three academics explain who he was, what the death means for the group, and what the move tells us about US counter-terror tactics.
We also look at what this might tell us about the picture within the Taliban, and consider the consequences for human rights, in particular for women, since its takeover last August.
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Tension in Kabul: a Taliban fighter stands guard over the building in which Ayman al-Zawahiri was assassinated.
EPA-EFE/stringer
Michele Groppi, King's College London
The assassination of the leader of al-Qaida in Kabul raises some important questions about divisions among the Taliban leadership.
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AAP/EPA/Taiwan Presidential Palace handout
Tony Walker, La Trobe University
The US speak of the house’s visit to Taiwan has provoked more sabre-rattling from China, but neither China nor the US will want tensions to escalate further.
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Collection Christophel/Alamy
Freya Jarman, University of Liverpool
Marilyn Monroe endures as an icon thanks to a perfect storm of biography and cultural context.
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Daniel N. Hebert, UMass Amherst; Lila Gierasch, UMass Amherst
Gene therapies and vaccines are often injected into muscle cells that are inefficient at producing desired proteins. Making them work more like liver cells could lead to better treatment outcomes.
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Thomas Fraise, Sciences Po ; Austin R. Cooper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
The unprecedented declassification of French nuclear archives sheds light upon the nuclear tests in Algeria circa 1960.
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David Drake, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Bret Shaw, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Mary Magnuson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Urban coyotes prey on rodents and spread plant seeds. It’s OK to observe them from a distance, but then you should chase them off.
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Tracy-Lynn Field, University of the Witwatersrand
Artisanal gold mining is highly organised and rule-bound. Men, women and even children participate a hierarchy sustained by a web of buyers, sponsors and customers.
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Karen Tranberg Hansen, Northwestern University
Used clothes are being repurposed but with fresh fashionable spins.
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Christine Berberich, University of Portsmouth
A city of contrasts, these books represent the heart and the violence of this Italian city.
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