Britain’s Middle East relations crucial for trade, security – UK PM

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has moved to reassure allies of US commitment to the region and said Washington would look at all other options if Iran didn't engage "seriously."

Kabul residents on Tuesday said the first 100 days after the Taliban takeover had been difficult, expressing ongoing concerns about security and girls' education.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said it was time to reassess Western policy vis-à-vis Syria and that the approach followed in recent years had failed. “The only end to the crisis is a political solution,” he added. The Jordanian minister also hinted that his country was favourable to bringing Syria back into the Arab League.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Friday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣

For years, Vietnamese children and teenagers have been disappearing in Germany. Those responsible are unscrupulous human traffickers whose networks span continents. The young Vietnamese are smuggled into Germany via Russia and Eastern Europe. Many end up in the world of crime, working as slaves for the Vietnamese mafia. This film tells their story. One high-ranking investigator describes the phenomenon as "modern slavery". This is how many children and young people are brought from Vietnam to Germany: They are crammed into vans, loaded into refrigerated trucks, on the road for months, held along the way in abandoned warehouses or apartments. They are beaten, raped, exploited, they fear for their lives. They are lured by the prospect of a better life, as promised to their families by the criminals.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Saturday

More Afghans facing extreme poverty are turning to opium production as a means of survival. Despite promises to the contrary, the Taliban are unlikely to oppose cultivation of the narcotic cash crop.

Since China imposed a security law on Hong Kong, more than 100,000 people have left. The UK has offered a special visa to its former colony, and 70% of Hong Kong's population is eligible. But for those who've fled, it's difficult to leave home behind.

Greece's new high-security refugee center on the island of Samos promises improved living conditions for asylum-seekers. But human rights organizations have reacted with dismay to a facility that so closely resembles a prison.

Doctors have accused security forces of firing live rounds at pro-democracy demonstrators and killing four of them.

Africa's free trade area started a year ago amid much fanfare. But its impact has been low amid the coronavirus pandemic and an economic downturn on the continent.

The Doctors Committee said two people have been killed by authorities. Sudan's military leader has vowed to crack down on protesters demanding civilian rule, saying they "would not achieve a political solution."