7 more dead in Kabul airport mayhem as thousands try to flee Afghanistan

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Afghan evacuees queue before boarding an Italian military aircraft during evacuation at Kabul's airport on August 22, 2021. (Italian Defense Force/Handout via REUTERS)
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Updated 23 August 2021
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7 more dead in Kabul airport mayhem as thousands try to flee Afghanistan

  • Taliban blames US military for airport chaos
  • Family tell Arab News of ‘bullets raining down’

KABUL: At least seven Afghans died in a panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul’s international airport, the British military said Sunday, as thousands were still trying to flee the country a week after the Taliban takeover.
The victims may have been trampled, suffocated or suffered heart attacks as Taliban fighters fired into the air to try to drive back the crowds. Soldiers covered several corpses in white clothing. 
The latest fatalities has brought the death toll from a week of chaos at Kabul airport to more than 20. 
Kabul’s airport, now one of the only routes out of the country, has seen days of chaos since the Taliban entered the capital on Aug. 15. Several Afghans plunged to their deaths after clinging to a US military cargo plane as it took off, some of the seven killed on Aug. 16.
Western troops in full combat gear tried to control the throngs on Sunday. As temperatures rose to 34C, they sprayed water over the crowd, handed out bottled water and removed people who were clearly ill. Other troops stood on concrete barriers, trying to calm the crowd. 

“The situation at Kabul airport remains extremely challenging and unpredictable,” a NATO official said.One family told Arab News of “bullets raining on the tarmac” as they tried to flee. Zarmina, her husband, and their eight-month-old son and five-year-old daughter spent two days trying to get into the airport before giving up and returning home.
“Bullets were landing left and right,” said Zarmina, who works for a Western organization and is eligible to be evacuated.  “They even used tear gas to scatter the crowd, but no use. The baby was screaming, some people got injured before our eyes, we thought to leave before being killed or injured.
“I am too exhausted to speak because of what we went through. It is not worth going this way unless they sort out the growing chaos. You might get killed here at the airport, which is the most violent place in Afghanistan now.”

US military blamed
The Taliban blame the chaotic evacuation on the US military, saying there’s no need for Afghans to fear them, even though their fighters shoot into the air and beat people with batons as they try to control the crowds outside the airport.“The US is responsible for what is going on at the airport,” Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi told Arab News. 
“When it cannot control the situation and the evacuation, why did it create hope for so many people? We have said these people will face no harm as we have announced an amnesty.”

“All Afghanistan is secure, but the airport, which is managed by the Americans, has anarchy,” Amir Khan Motaqi, a senior Taliban official, said Sunday. The US “should not embarrass itself to the world and should not give this mentality to our people that (the Taliban) are a kind of enemy.”
Speaking to an Iranian state television channel Saturday night in a video call, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem also blamed the deaths at the airport on the Americans.
“The Americans announced that ‘we would take you to America with us,’ and people gathered at Kabul airport,” Naeem said. “If it was announced right now in any country in the world, would people not go?”
 

Moderate image
The Taliban have sought to project a more moderate image than when they last ruled the country, from 1996 until the US-led invasion following the 9/11 attacks, which Al-Qaeda carried out while being sheltered by the Taliban. During their earlier rule, women were largely confined to their homes, television and music were banned, and public executions were held — all in accordance with the Taliban’s harsh version of Islamic rule.
This time, the Taliban are holding talks with Afghan officials from previous governments on a political transition and say they will restore peace and security after decades of war. Afghan officials familiar with the talks say the Taliban have said they will not announce a government until after the Aug. 31 deadline for the US troop withdrawal.
But they already face stirrings of resistance.

In Baghlan province, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Kabul, fighters calling themselves the “People’s Uprising” claimed to have seized three districts in the Andarab Valley, nestled in the towering Hindu Kush mountains.
Khair Mohammad Khairkhwa, the former provincial head of intelligence, and Abdul Ahmad Dadgar, another leader in the uprising, said Taliban fighters had burned down homes and kidnapped children. Two other officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, made similar allegations. The Taliban did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the nearby Panjshir province — the only one yet to fall under Taliban control — a group of militia leaders and officials from the ousted government have pledged to defend it against the Taliban, who circulated video showing their fighters heading toward the region.
The province is a stronghold of the Northern Alliance fighters who joined with the US to topple the Taliban in 2001, and Ahmad Massoud, the son of a famous Northern Alliance commander assassinated days before the 9/11 attacks, has appeared in videos from there.
But it appears unlikely a few thousand guerrilla fighters will soon succeed where the Afghan national security forces failed despite 20 years of Western aid, assistance and training.
“If Taliban warlords launch an assault, they will of course face staunch resistance from us,” Massoud said in an interview with the Al-Arabiya news network. But he also expressed openness to dialogue with the Taliban.

Continuing evacuation
The US Embassy, which has relocated to the military side of the airport, has told American citizens and others not to come to the airport until they receive precise instructions.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that 3,900 people had been airlifted out of Kabul on US military flights in the past 24 hours, up from 1,600 the previous day. That’s in addition to about 3,900 people airlifted on non-US military flights over the past 24 hours. It remains far below the 5,000 to 9,000 that the military says it has the capacity to airlift daily.
Britain said it had airlifted more than 5,000 people, including 1,000 in the last 14 hours.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, requesting 18 aircraft from US carriers to assist in transporting Afghan refugees after they are evacuated to other countries. The voluntary program, born in the wake of the Berlin airlift, adds to the military’s capabilities during crises.
President Joe Biden has vowed to bring home all Americans from Afghanistan and to evacuate Afghans who aided the US war effort. US military helicopters have been used to collect 169 Americans from outside the airport. Tens of thousands of Americans and others are still hoping to fly out.
In Riyadh, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation said it would seek to help achieve peace in Afghanistan and to facilitate evacuation operations.
During an emergency meeting called by Saudi Arabia, Secretary-General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen called on the Taliban to respect international humanitarian law and the right to life and security.


 


Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire

Updated 4 sec ago
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Trump calls for ‘unconditional’ 30-day Russia-Ukraine ceasefire

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump called Thursday for a month-long unconditional ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, with any breaches punishable by sanctions.
“Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire,” Trump said on his Truth Social network shortly after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions.”
Trump said that “both countries will be held accountable for respecting the sanctity of these direct negotiations” to halt the conflict that started when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The US president said he wanted any ceasefire to then build to a “lasting peace.”
“It can all be done very quickly, and I will be available on a moment’s notice if my services are needed.”
Trump opened talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in February in a bid to end the war that he had previously pledged to end within 24 hours of starting his second term.
But he has shown growing impatience, first with Zelensky and more recently with Putin as the fighting has continued.
Trump and other top US officials have stepped up warnings in recent weeks that Washington is prepared to walk away from its role as a broker if there is no progress soon.
Zelensky said on social media that he had told Trump Thursday that Ukraine was ready for talks on the war with Russia “in any format” but insisted that there first had to be a full ceasefire.


US VP Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘fundamentally none of our business’

Updated 5 min 26 sec ago
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US VP Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘fundamentally none of our business’

WASHINGTON: US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday said Washington wanted to see a “de-escalation” in a worsening conflict between India and Pakistan, but that it was “fundamentally none of our business.”
“What we can do is try to encourage these folks to de-escalate a little bit, but we’re not going to get involved in the middle of a war that’s fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America’s ability to control it,” said Vance, who has been a proponent of US disengagement from international conflicts, in an interview with Fox News.


Senegalese lawmakers weigh corruption cases against former ministers

Updated 58 min 10 sec ago
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Senegalese lawmakers weigh corruption cases against former ministers

DAKAR: Senegalese lawmakers on Thursday began debating whether to allow several former ministers to face charges before a special court over accusations they embezzled funds meant for the country’s fight against COVID-19.

Senegal’s National Assembly is controlled mainly by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s party, elected in March last year on a promise to change how the West African country is run compared to his predecessors.

Faye has made the fight against corruption a policy priority and has launched investigations into the administration of Macky Sall, president from 2012 for 12 years.

But the opposition has slammed the moves as a “witch hunt.”

Last Friday, lawmakers lifted parliamentary immunity from prosecution for two opposition MPs caught up in the allegations while serving in Sall’s administration.

Proceedings of this type are rare in Senegal, and lawmakers must authorize cases against former ministers in the exercise of their duties.

Moustapha Diop was the industrial development minister while Salimata Diop was the women’s affairs minister under Sall when the fund to fight the spread of Covid-19 was established in 2020-21.

Both have rejected accusations that they misappropriated any of the money, totaling one trillion CFA francs ($1.7 billion).

The funds were intended to reinforce the health care system, support households and the private sector, and protect jobs during the pandemic.

However, a December 2022 Court of Auditors report revealed irregularities, such as 2.7 billion CFA francs in over-invoicing of rice purchased for disadvantaged households and some 42 million CFA francs for sanitiser.

Three other former ministers accused are Amadou Mansour Faye, the former president’s brother-in-law, Aissatou Sophie Gladima, and Ismaila Madior Fall.

Several prominent figures, including artists, broadcasters, fashion designers, and senior officials, have been questioned during an investigation.

Parliament lifted immunity for Moustapha Diop and Salimata Diop last Friday as they were elected lawmakers in November after Sall left office.

A three-fifths majority of the 165 lawmakers is required to adopt each draft resolution, with voting by secret ballot.

The High Court’s investigative committee could then question the accused, who will decide whether or not to commit them for trial.

The court’s final decision is not subject to appeal.


Albania votes in election test for EU accession

Updated 08 May 2025
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Albania votes in election test for EU accession

  • Vote — a first of its kind, as Albanians abroad can take part — pits outgoing Prime Minister Edi Rama against his arch-rival Sali Berisha
  • Doors to Brussels, he says, are the key to ‘being able to give Albanians a European passport’ and allowing them to ‘benefit from the same rights as citizens of all other European countries’

TIRANA: Albanians go to the polls on Sunday for legislative elections seen as crucial to gauge the country’s democratic development and determine its widely held goal of a European future.
The vote — a first of its kind, as Albanians abroad can take part — pits outgoing Prime Minister Edi Rama against his arch-rival Sali Berisha, a right-winger who heads an alliance of opposition parties.
Rama, 60, has been Socialist Party leader since 2005 and is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term on a promise of European Union membership by 2030.
The doors to Brussels, he says, are the key to “being able to give Albanians a European passport” and allowing them to “benefit from the same rights as citizens of all other European countries.”

Trying to stop Rama is Berisha, 80, who is eager to return to power after 12 years in opposition.
The former president heads an opposition coalition that has adopted a Donald Trump-like slogan, “Great Albania,” based on economic revival.
“We are the only ones who can relaunch the country’s economy, the only ones able to take Albania forward. Edi Rama is counting the last days of his regime,” said Berisha.
The campaign also gives him a chance to reburnish his image as a strong leader, despite being under the spotlight of Albanian justice, where he is suspected of being implicated in a corruption case that allegedly benefited his family.

Shortly before the end of a campaign marked by verbal excesses, particularly on social media, the latest polls indicated a win for Rama’s party.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meanwhile said there was “extreme political polarization” in the Balkan nation of 2.8 million.
Berisha accuses the socialists of “vote-buying, voter intimidation, pressure, use of public funds by ministers and majority candidates for their election campaign.”
Rama has dismissed the claims as “nothing but an excuse for defeat.”

For the first time in the history of elections in Albania, the diaspora is able to vote from abroad by post, in a test for the development of democratic processes and institutions, especially in the context of EU accession negotiations, which began in 2022.
According to official data from the central electoral commission, 245,935 Albanians not resident in Albania are registered to vote.
“Albania has made significant process on the path to EU accession, demonstrating its perseverance in implementing ambitious reforms for the benefit of its citizens,” Silvio Gonzato, the EU delegation’s ambassador in Albania, told AFP.

The losers have challenged the results of every election since the end of communism at the start of the 1990s on the grounds of fraud.
But this time round the vote is being closely watched and in another first, civil servants and justice officials will be deployed alongside the electoral commission and some 300 international observers.
The special prosecutor against corruption and organized crime has meanwhile just opened a verification procedure over a $6-million contract signed in April between an Albanian-American community foundation in the United States and the US lobbying firm Continental Strategy.
Continental Strategy was founded by Carlos Trujillo, a top adviser to Trump.
“The contract aims to strengthen relations between the United States and the Democratic Party, the main opposition force,” according to the party.

For Brussels, Sunday’s vote is a major new test for Albania, which has been a member of NATO since 2009.
“The organization of free and fair elections, in line with democratic norms and democratic values, will be an essential step to reinforce Albanian democracy, boost citizens’ trust in their elected representatives and advance the country’s European integration,” said Gonzato.
Just five days after the elections, Tirana will be the venue for the next European Political Community summit.


Portugal police arrest crime ring over fraudulent permits for 10,000 foreigners

Updated 08 May 2025
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Portugal police arrest crime ring over fraudulent permits for 10,000 foreigners

  • The foreigners paid to obtain bogus labor contracts that allowed them to stay in the
  • Portugal’s center-right government has toughened some immigration rules in the past year

LISBON: Portuguese police have arrested 13 people they believe provided an estimated more than 10,000 foreigners with residence permits and documents allowing them to stay in Portugal and the European Union in exchange for bribes, police said on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the Judicial Police force said the bribes paid to the group, which included a foreign ministry employee, a lawyer and several entrepreneurs, averaged 15,000 euros ($16,950) per person.
The foreigners paid to obtain bogus labor contracts that allowed them to stay in the country and then get residence permits, open bank accounts and access the social security system. Many of them have since left for other EU member states, police said.
Portugal’s center-right government has toughened some immigration rules in the past year, reflecting attempts elsewhere in Europe to fend off the rise of the far-right, and on Saturday vowed to deport 18,000 illegal migrants in the coming months.
It was not immediately clear if those who benefited from the illegal scheme counted among those.
Still, the country remains relatively open to migrants, particularly from Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and from Brazil. Many experts argue that growing immigration has stoked economic growth.
While anti-immigration sentiment is expected to play a role in an early election on May 18, far-right party Chega has been steady or declining in opinion polls after a surge in the previous election last year. The center-right Democratic Alliance of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro looks set to win the most votes.