International
Afghanistan, a risky tourist destination but on the rise since the arrival of the Taliban
The promise of authentic adventure through the less traveled corners of the planet has been attracting tourists to the violent Afghanistan, which received about 5,000 foreign tourists between March 2023 and March 2024, despite being under the Taliban regime and the international warning not to visit the country for any reason.
Most of the tourists last year come from neighboring China, the result of good diplomatic relations between Beijing and the de facto Taliban government. But there were also visits by tourists from European countries, the Deputy Minister of Information and Culture of the Fundamentalist Government, Muhajir Farahi, told EFE recently.
The Taliban have strived to accentuate the security condition that the country has been experiencing since its arrival in August 2021, and although the attacks have decreased because they were the ones who committed most of the attacks before taking power, the presence of the jihadist group Islamic State has become their biggest challenge.
The attack last Friday on a group of foreign tourists in a bazaar in the city of Bamiyán, in the center of the country, a popular tourist destination for its archaeological heritage, put the focus on this flow of visitors.
In addition to three Afghans, three tourists of Spanish nationality died and four others – a Spanish, a Lithuanian, a Norwegian and an Australian – were injured, according to the Spanish Government.
According to the Taliban, the attack was perpetrated by unidentified armed men who opened fire on tourists from a vehicle.
The 5,000 visitors of the last year is a number that is very far from the almost 90,000 foreigners who traveled the Asian nation in 1970, decades before the emergence of the Taliban.
Insecurity, added to instability, placed it as one of the least visited in the world, according to World Bank international tourism income statistics, which date back to 2020.
The country has beautiful landscapes especially thanks to its mountainous regions, and was part of the famous ‘hippie path’ between Europe and South Asia in the 60s and 70s, before the Soviet invasions, in 1979, and American invasions, in 2001.
Although the return to power of the Taliban, after their victory in the war in August 2021, meant the total paralysis of tourism, the country is increasingly trying to be an attractive destination, especially promoted by the fundamentalists.
An online travel agency based in the United Kingdom offers visitors “the hidden gems and the rich cultural tapestry of Afghanistan; a land that has captivated hearts for centuries,” with trips starting at $2,858 per person for about nine days departing from Kabul.
The provinces of Kandahar, Gazni, Mazar e Sharif, Herat, Bamiyan and Kabul are the most attractive and exotic.
In addition to its lakes and caves, the huge stone sculptures of Buddha that were once destroyed by the Taliban for considering them an example of idolatry were what made Bamiyan famous, long considered one of the safest areas of a country devastated since then by decades of war and conflict.
International
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
President Donald Trump issued an executive order this Monday for the immediate construction of two new warships that will bear his name. These vessels will be the pioneers of what he described as the “Golden Fleet,” a future generation of “Trump-class” battleships that he claimed would be “100 times more powerful” than those currently in service.
The announcement took place at his private residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida. The President indicated that following the initial two ships, the administration aims to commission up to 25 additional vessels. He is scheduled to meet with Florida-based contractors next week to expedite production, criticizing existing defense firms for failing to deliver results efficiently.
This naval expansion is a cornerstone of Trump’s goal to revitalized the American shipbuilding industry and address the strategic gap between the U.S. and competitors like China.
The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tension. Just last week, Trump ordered the seizure of all sanctioned tankers involved with Venezuela’s “ghost fleet” to cripple the country’s crude oil industry. Since December 10, the U.S. military—deployed in the Caribbean under the guise of counter-narcotics operations—has already detained two tankers linked to Venezuelan oil transport.
International
U.S. Judge Blocks ICE from Re-detaining Salvadoran Erroneously Deported Under Trump Administration
A U.S. federal judge ruled this Monday, December 22, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is prohibited from re-detaining Salvadoran national Kilmar Ábrego García, who was erroneously deported to El Salvador earlier this year during the administration of President Donald Trump.
During a hearing in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ruled that Ábrego García must remain free on bail through the Christmas holidays, concluding that his initial detention lacked a legal basis. The ruling follows a request from his legal team for a temporary restraining order to prevent ICE from carrying out a new arrest.
Earlier this month, on December 11, Judge Xinis ordered his release from a Pennsylvania migrant detention center after determining that the government had detained him without a formal deportation order. In 2019, an immigration judge had already ruled that Ábrego could not be returned to El Salvador because his life was in danger.
Despite that protection, Ábrego García was deported in March 2025 following a raid by the Trump administration. Officials argued at the time that he was a gang member, and he was sent directly to the Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT) in El Salvador. In June, he was returned to the United States to face a new trial for alleged human smuggling—a charge he denies.
On Monday, Judge Xinis also temporarily invalidated a new deportation order issued by an immigration judge following Ábrego’s recent release, granting him legal protection through the coming weeks. His trial is scheduled to begin in Tennessee in January 2026.
International
Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
The U.S. city of San Francisco was plunged into darkness Saturday night after a power outage left about 130,000 customers without electricity, although the utility company said service was restored to most users within hours.
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) said in a statement posted on X that nearly 90,000 homes had their power restored by 9:00 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT on Sunday), while the remaining 40,000 customers were expected to have service restored overnight.
Large areas of the city, a major technology hub with a population of around 800,000, were affected by the blackout, which disrupted public transportation and left traffic lights out of service during the busy weekend before Christmas, a crucial period for retail businesses.
“I know it’s been a difficult day,” San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a video posted on social media from the city’s emergency operations center. “There has been progress, but for those still without power, we want to make sure they are safe and checking in on their neighbors,” he added.
Lurie said police officers and firefighters advised residents to stay home as much as possible. He also noted that officers and traffic inspectors were deployed to manage intersections where traffic lights were not functioning.
The mayor confirmed that the outage was caused by a fire at an electrical substation. Parts of the city were also covered in fog, further complicating conditions during the incident.
As a result of the blackout, many businesses were forced to close despite it being the weekend before Christmas. The sudden drop in shopper traffic ahead of the holiday is “devastating” for retailers, the manager of home goods store Black & Gold told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Trump Orders Construction of New ‘Golden Fleet’ to Revitalize U.S. Naval Superiority
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Fire at substation triggers major blackout in San Francisco
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