The Taliban are aiming to reach a withdrawal agreement with the US by the end of January and are prepared to “scale down” military operations ahead of signing the deal, according to their chief spokesman.

The Afghanistan government has demanded a complete ceasefire as a way forward for peace talks in response to a reported 10-day truce offer by the Taliban.

The Taliban’s offer to reduce violence for several days ahead of fresh talks with the U.S. would not bring the war-torn nation any closer to peace when the majority of the country remained excluded from the negotiations, a senior Afghan official said.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab has announced the formation of the country’s new government, saying his cabinet will try to meet the demands of protesters.

Libya has been torn by civil war since longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011 following a NATO-led bombing campaign.

The Indian Navy currently has 15 submarines including one INS Chakra (Akula class nuclear sub) from Russia. Last week, Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh, speaking at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi he said that New Delhi is keeping a close watch on the growing presence of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean Region.

Afghanistan’s military says a Taliban customs house was destroyed during an operation in the southwestern part of the country.

The identities of two U.S. service members killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Saturday have been released. Two others were injured in the attack.

The United States unintentionally aided the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan because of its alliances with corrupt warlords, the government’s top Afghanistan watchdog said on Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Defense suppressed a press release that would have announced the death of Asim Umar, the emir of Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, because it “would complicate future negotiations with the Taliban,” military officials have told FDD’s Long War Journal.