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In palmier times, the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, appeared at a Russian cultural center in the capital of the Central African Republic, sitting with schoolchildren and promising them free laptops. But Mr. Prigozhin’s death in August has rattled the mercenary group’s once-cozy relations with the Central African Republic, which is now weighing offers from Russia and Western countries, including the United States, to replace Wagner as its primary security guarantor. The outcome of this struggle could be a bellwether for the group’s future on the continent, where the Central African Republic is perhaps the most deeply enmeshed among the handful of African nations partnering with Wagner. The Russian Defense Ministry has sought to absorb some of Wagner’s activities, while preserving its influence and maintaining its wealth of knowledge about the continent. But a senior Western diplomat said that the uncertainty around Wagner in the Central African Republic provided a “window of opportunity” for the United States and France to counter Russian influence.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin’s, group’s, ” Organizations: Central African, Russian Defense Ministry Locations: Russian, Central African Republic, Russia, Western, United States, France

Seven generations of its men before him had trained as Islamic scholars, known as Mawlawis. But his father, Mawlawi Mohammed Rafiq Habibi, was a conflicted man. He dressed in suits and ties and was open to debating theological questions with his son about the existence of God. On a bus ride from Kandahar to Karachi, the conductor softly sang the song. “All these distances in the world — the threads, the ropes are in God’s hand,” she told him.

Persons: Mohammed Sadiq Habibi, Kandahar “, Mawlawi Mohammed Rafiq Habibi, Bibi Hazrata, “, ”, tugged Organizations: Radio Afghanistan Locations: Afghan, Kandahar, Karachi, India, Arghandab

As a child studying in a madrasa in Afghanistan, Mohammad Khalid Tahir dreamed of waging jihad. By the time he was a teenager, he had joined the Taliban and celebrated when they seized power from the U.S.-backed government two years ago. So this spring, he did — but across the border in Pakistan. “Our only expectation is to be martyred,” Mr. Tahir says in a video of him en route to Pakistan that was viewed by The New York Times. As a generation of fighters raised in war now finds itself stuck in a country at peace, hundredsof young Taliban soldiers have crossed illegally into Pakistan to battle alongside an insurgent group, according to Taliban members, local leaders and security analysts.

Persons: Mohammad Khalid Tahir, ” Mr, Tahir, hundredsof Organizations: “, The New York Times Locations: Afghanistan, U.S, Pakistan

☆ In These Corners of Kabul, Western Influences Live On
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Christina Goldbaum | Jim Huylebroek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There’s a glimmer of the old Kabul hiding in the new one — if you know where to look. It’s there in the crowded snooker halls where young men in jeans hover around velvet tables and yell “nice shot” in English. It’s in coffee shops where women sip on cappuccinos, their robe-like abayas concealing skinny jeans, as a Taylor Swift tune softly radiates from the speakers. Since the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government nearly two years ago, the group has erased most obvious vestiges of the American nation-building project in Afghanistan. Religious scholars and strict interpretations of Shariah law replaced judges and state penal codes.

Persons: Taylor Swift Organizations: FIFA Locations: Kabul, American, Afghanistan

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

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