Afghan embassy in India announces ‘permanent closure’

A notice with emergency numbers is seen at the entrance of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi, India, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, on the day the embassy announced its permanently closure due to challenges from the Indian government and a lack of diplomatic support. (AP)
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Updated 24 November 2023
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Afghan embassy in India announces ‘permanent closure’

  • Most foreign nations, including India, do not recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government, but acknowledge them as de facto authority
  • This has left many Afghan embassies and consulates in limbo, with diplomats appointed by former government refusing to cede control

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s embassy in India announced its “permanent closure” Friday, more than two years after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul following the collapse of the Western-backed government. 

Most foreign nations — including India — do not officially recognize Afghanistan’s Taliban government, but acknowledge them as the de facto ruling authority. 

This has left many Afghan embassies and consulates in limbo, with diplomats appointed by the former government refusing to cede control of embassy buildings and property to representatives chosen by the Taliban authorities. 

“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in New Delhi regrets to announce the permanent closure of its diplomatic mission in New Delhi,” it said in a letter it posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 

The Taliban authorities have full control of around a dozen Afghan embassies abroad — including in Pakistan, China, Turkiye and Iran. 

Others operate on a hybrid system, with the ambassador gone but embassy staff still carrying out routine consular work such as issuing visas and other documents. 

The letter said there were no diplomats left from the former government remaining in India, having all “safely reached third countries.” 

“The only individuals present in India are diplomats affiliated with the Taliban,” it said. 

It follows a statement last month that the embassy had suspended operations. 

“We acknowledge the limitations and concerns that govern the realm of realpolitik and the balancing act required at a difficult time in a geo-politically sensitive region,” the letter added. 

“Therefore, we firmly believe that the decision to close the mission in India at this stage and to transfer the custodial authority of the mission to the host country is in the best interests of Afghanistan.” 

New Delhi evacuated its entire mission from Kabul as the Taliban closed in on the Afghan capital in August 2021, but last year sent back a small team to reopen its sprawling embassy. 

Most foreign nations similarly withdrew diplomatic staff at the time and have not returned, although a handful of embassies — including Pakistan, China and Russia — never closed, and still have ambassadors in Kabul.


Russia says it downed hundreds of Ukrainian drones, briefly halts Moscow airports

Updated 7 sec ago
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Russia says it downed hundreds of Ukrainian drones, briefly halts Moscow airports

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that at least 262 Ukrainian drones were intercepted or destroyed
Most were over Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine and central Russia

MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday that its air defenses shot down more than 260 Ukrainian drones including some approaching Moscow, and the capital’s airports were briefly shut down to ensure the safety of flights.

There were no reports of casualties.

As Russia, Ukraine, the United States and European powers discuss ways to end the more than three-year-old conflict in Ukraine, fighting has intensified on some parts of the front and drone warfare has continued.

In a series of announcements, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Telegram that at least 262 Ukrainian drones were intercepted or destroyed on Wednesday. Most were over Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine and central Russia.

But some approached the Moscow region where 21 million people live. The three major airports in the region halted flights briefly then resumed operations.

Ukraine’s military said its drones hit the Bolkhovsky Semiconductor Devices Plant, a supplier in the Oryol region to Russian fighter jet and missile makers.

The war in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, has become a crucible of drone innovation as both sides send the unmanned vehicles far behind the front lines.

Moscow and Kyiv have sought to buy and develop new drones, deploy them innovatively and devise new methods to disable and destroy them, from farmers’ shotguns to electronic jamming.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces were advancing at key points along the front, and pro-Russian war bloggers said Russia had pierced the Ukrainian lines between Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address the heaviest frontline battles were around Pokrovsk and made no reference to any Russian advances.

Zelensky said Ukrainian forces remained active in two Russian regions along the border — Kursk and Belgorod.

Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.

Irish rapper charged over Hezbollah flag at London concert: police

Updated 7 min 15 sec ago
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Irish rapper charged over Hezbollah flag at London concert: police

  • Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, is accused of showing support for a proscribed group

LONDON: A member of Irish rap group Kneecap has been charged with a terror offense for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a London concert, police said on Wednesday.
Liam O’Hanna, 27, known by his stage name Mo Chara, is accused of showing support for a proscribed group during a performance on November 21.
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers from its Counter Terrorism Command launched an investigation after a video of the event surfaced online in April.

Early in May, the British counter-terrorism police launched an investigation into online videos of Irish rappers Kneecap after the band denied supporting Hamas and Hezbollah or inciting violence against UK politicians.

The announcement came as nearly 40 other groups and artists, among them Pulp, Paul Weller and Primal Scream, rallied around the band amid an escalating row about political messaging at its concerts.


Japan flexes defense ambitions at arms show

Updated 36 min 10 sec ago
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Japan flexes defense ambitions at arms show

  • Japan has been gradually stepping back from the pacifism that was the cornerstone of decades of defense planning after the country’s defeat in World War Two

TOKYO: Japan opened one of its largest-ever arms shows on Wednesday in a display that Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said marked the pacifist nation’s deepening push for overseas defence cooperation and weapons exports.

The DSEI Japan exhibition near Tokyo showcased Japanese missiles, warships and research into lasers and electromagnetic railguns. 

The event, double the size of the 2023 show, drew 471 firms from 33 countries, including 169 from Japan — twice as many as two years ago, according to organizer Clarion Defense & Security.

“I sincerely hope that this exhibition will provide a new opportunity for cooperation and exchange between national delegations and companies, help sustain defense industry development, drive innovation and promote peace and stability,” Nakatani said during a speech at the event.

Japan has been gradually stepping back from the pacifism that was the cornerstone of decades of defense planning after the country’s defeat in World War Two.

It lifted a military export ban in 2014, and is taking its first steps into global defense cooperation encouraged by the United States and European partners eager to share development costs and tap Japan’s industrial base.

“Strength comes from expanding and elevating the alliance’s capabilities and capacity, which means leveraging our respective skills and our specialties in co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment,” US Ambassador to Japan George Glass said as he opened the DSEI US pavilion.


Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region for first time since Moscow said it drove out Ukrainian forces

Updated 34 min 3 sec ago
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Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region for first time since Moscow said it drove out Ukrainian forces

  • Putin’s unannounced visit appeared to be an effort to show Russia is in control of the conflict
  • Video broadcast by Russian state media showed that Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2

MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region for the first time since Moscow claimed that it drove Ukrainian forces out of the area last month, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

Putin visited the region bordering Ukraine the previous day, according to the Kremlin.

Ukrainian forces made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024 in one of their biggest battlefield successes in the more than three-year war. The incursion was the first time Russian territory was occupied by an invader since World War II and dealt a humiliating blow to the Kremlin.

Since the end of 2023, Russia has mostly had the advantage on the battlefield, with the exception of Kursk.


Putin has effectively rejected recent US and European proposals for a ceasefire. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday accused Kyiv’s allies of seeking a truce “so that they can calmly arm Ukraine, so that Ukraine can strengthen its defensive positions.”

North Korea sent up to 12,000 troops to help the Russian army take back control of Kursk, according to Ukraine, the US and South Korea. Russia announced on April 26 that its forces had pushed out the Ukrainian army. Kyiv officials denied the claim.

Ukraine says it stopped Russian attacks in Kursk

The Ukrainian Army General Staff said Wednesday that its forces repelled 13 Russian assaults in Kursk. Its map of military activity showed Ukrainian troops holding a thin line of land hard against the border but still inside Russia.

Putin’s unannounced visit appeared to be an effort to show Russia is in control of the conflict, even though its full-scale invasion of its neighbor has been slow and costly in terms of casualties and equipment.

Video broadcast by Russian state media showed that Putin visited Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2, which is still under construction, and met with selected volunteers.

Many of the volunteers wore clothes emblazoned with the Russian flag, some had the Latin letters “V” on them, one of the symbols of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“What you are doing now during this difficult situation for this region, for this area, and for the country, will remain with you for the rest of your life as, perhaps, the most meaningful thing with which you were ever involved,” Putin said as he drank tea with the volunteers.

Ukraine’s surprise thrust into Kursk and its ability to hold land there was a logistical feat, carried out in secrecy, that countered months of gloomy news from the front about Ukrainian forces being pushed backward by the bigger Russian army.

Kyiv’s strategy aimed to show that Russia has weaknesses and that the war isn’t lost. It also sought to distract Russian forces from their onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.

The move was fraught with risk. Analysts noted that it could backfire and open a door for Russian advances in Ukraine by further stretching Ukrainian forces that are short-handed along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.

The incursion didn’t significantly change the dynamics of the war.

Putin told acting Kursk Gov. Alexander Khinshtein that the Kremlin supported the idea of continuing monthly payments to displaced families that still couldn’t return to their homes.

Putin said that he would back a proposal to build a museum in the region to celebrate what acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein described as “the heroism of our defenders and the heroism of the region’s residents.”

Disgruntled residents had previously shown their disapproval over a lack of compensation in rare organized protests.

Putin last visited the Kursk region in March, when Ukrainian troops still controlled some parts of the area. He wore military fatigues – a rarely seen sight for the Russian leader, who usually wears a suit – and visited the area’s military headquarters where he was filmed with top generals.

Russia and Ukraine continue deep strikes with drones

Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday repeatedly reported its air defenses shot down dozens of drones over multiple Russian regions. In total, between 8 p.m. on Tuesday and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the ministry said 262 drones were shot down.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported a total of 16 drones downed on their way toward Moscow, and during the day flights were briefly halted in and out of Moscow’s Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukosky airports, according to Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya. Flights were also temporarily grounded in the cities of Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kostroma, Vladimir and Yaroslavl.

Local authorities in the regions of Tula, Lipetsk and Vladimir also announced blocking cell phone Internet in the wake of the drone attacks.

In Ukraine, Russian drone attacks killed two people and wounded five others in the northern Sumy region, the regional administration said.

In the Kyiv region, four members of a family were injured when debris from a downed drone hit their home, according to the regional administration.

Russia launched 76 Shahed and decoy drones overnight at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said.

The Ukrainian army said that its drones struck a semiconductor plant overnight in Russia’s Oryol region, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) northeast of Ukraine. According to the General Staff, 10 drones hit the Bolkhov Semiconductor Devices Plant, one of Russia’s key producers of microelectronics for the military-industrial complex.

It wasn’t possible to independently verify the claim.


Trump plays video in Ramaphosa meeting to back ‘genocide’ claims

Updated 4 min 32 sec ago
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Trump plays video in Ramaphosa meeting to back ‘genocide’ claims

  • Julius Malema was shown singing ‘Kill the Boer, kill the farmer’ — an infamous chant dating back to the apartheid-era fight against white-minority rule
  • Another clip showed former South African president Jacob Zuma singing an anti-apartheid song that threatens white people

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump surprised his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa during an White House meeting Wednesday by playing him a video designed to back baseless claims of a white “genocide.”

Trump asked staff members to play a video on a screen set up in the Oval Office showing Ramaphosa — and the gathered global media — what he said were clips of Black South Africans talking about the issue, including images of what the US president called “burial sites.”

In the video, firebrand far-left opposition lawmaker Julius Malema was shown singing “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” — an infamous chant dating back to the apartheid-era fight against white-minority rule.

Malema has been a loud and radical voice in South African politics for several years, but his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party came only fourth in last year’s elections with less than 10 percent of the vote.

The 4:30-minute video showed clips of Malema telling dancing supporters that “we are cutting the throat of whiteness,” and “to shoot to kill.”

“We have not called for the killing of white people, at least for now,” Malema said in one archive clip.

Another clip showed former South African president Jacob Zuma singing an anti-apartheid song that threatens white people with being shot by machine gun.

The video finished with images of a protest in South Africa where white crosses were placed along a rural roadside to represent murdered farmers.