US, Taliban to hold first talks since Afghanistan withdrawal
US, Taliban to hold first talks since Afghanistan withdrawal/node/1944306/world
US, Taliban to hold first talks since Afghanistan withdrawal
Men react while they sell Taliban flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in front of a mural with the same flag, in front of the former U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan October 8, 2021. (REUTERS)
US, Taliban to hold first talks since Afghanistan withdrawal
The meeting is expected to focus on a range of issues and will be held in Doha, the capital of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar
US officials emphasize the talks do not imply the US is recognizing the Taliban as legitimate governors of the country
Updated 09 October 2021
AP
ISLAMABAD: Senior Taliban officials and US representatives are to hold talks Saturday and Sunday about containing extremist groups in Afghanistan and easing the evacuation of foreign citizens and Afghans from the country, officials from both sides said.
It's the first such meeting since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in late August, ending a 20-year military presence there, and the Taliban's rise to power in the nation. The talks are to take place in Doha, the capital of the Persian Gulf state of Qatar.
Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is based in Doha, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the talks will also revisit the peace agreement the Taliban signed with Washington in 2020. The agreement had paved the way for the final US withdrawal.
“Yes there is a meeting . . . about bilateral relations and implementation of the Doha agreement,” said Shaheen. “It covers various topics.”
Terrorism will also feature in the talks, said a second official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Since the Taliban took power, Daesh extremists have ramped up attacks on the militant group, as well as ethnic and religious minorities. On Friday, a Daesh suicide bomber killed at least 46 minority Shiite Muslims and wounded dozens in the deadliest attack since the US departure.
Daesh has carried out relentless assaults on the country’s Shiite Muslims since emerging in eastern Afghanistan in 2014. It is also seen as the greatest threat to the United States.
The US-Taliban agreement of 2020, which was negotiated by the Trump administration, demanded the Taliban break ties with terrorist groups and guarantee Afghanistan would not again harbor terrorists who could attack the United States and its allies.
It seems certain the two sides will discuss in the weekend talks how to tackle the growing threat. The Taliban have said they do not want US anti-terrorism assistance and have warned Washington against any so-called “over-the-horizon” strikes on Afghan territory from outside the country's borders.
The United States, meanwhile, would seek to hold Taliban leaders to commitments that they would allow Americans and other foreign nationals to leave Afghanistan, along with Afghans who once worked for the US military or government and other Afghan allies, a US official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak by name about the meetings.
The Biden administration has fielded questions and complaints about the slow pace of US-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the US withdrawal.
State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday that 105 US citizens and 95 green card holders had left since then on flights facilitated by the US. That number had not changed for more than a week.
US veterans and other individuals have helped others leave the country on charter flights, and some Americans and others have gotten out across land borders.
Hundreds of other foreign nationals and Afghans have also left on recent flights.
Dozens of American citizens are still seeking to get out, according to the State Department, along with thousands of green-card holders and Afghans and family members believed eligible for US visas. US officials have cited the difficulty of verifying flight manifests without any American officials on the ground in Afghanistan to help, along with other hold-ups.
Americans also intend to press the Taliban to observe the rights of women and girls, many of whom the Taliban are reportedly blocking from returning to jobs and classrooms, and of Afghans at large, and to form an inclusive government, the official said.
US officials will also encourage Taliban officials to give humanitarian agencies free access to areas in need amid the economic upheaval following the US departure and Taliban takeover.
The official stressed the session did not imply the US was recognizing the Taliban as legitimate governors of the country.
NEW YORK CITY: Saudi Arabia has been on a transformative journey in recent years, particularly when it comes to women’s empowerment, with a range of once-unimaginable opportunities opening up in education, business, the workforce, and social life.
On the sidelines of the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women, or CSW, chaired this year by Saudi Arabia, Princess Lamia bint Majid Al-Saud lauded the Kingdom’s strides toward gender equality and her vision for the future.
In a wide-ranging interview with Arab News, she highlighted the significant progress Saudi women have made, the challenges still on the horizon, and the critical role that the youth, especially young women, play in shaping the nation’s destiny.
“We have momentum. I think it is now our time to shine,” she said.
A key part of this momentum is the growing realization of the vast potential that Saudi women possess. With more than 9 million women in Saudi Arabia, 67 percent of whom are under the age of 30, the Kingdom holds an immense demographic advantage.
Princess Lamia
Princess Lamia said that the opportunities currently available to Saudi women in terms of education, employment, and empowerment were unprecedented.
“Can you imagine the amount of power? Can you imagine, with all the doors open for Saudi women, with all the support, with all the initiatives done, and the educational opportunities, and the training, the jobs, everything that is happening,” she said.
“This is our time. Now. There is no room for losing this opportunity.”
The event offered the Kingdom a chance to showcase the profound changes that have taken place in Saudi Arabia over the past decade — an opportunity that Princess Lamia said was historic.
“What happened, it was history,” she said. “We witnessed history with this amount of expertise of women sitting on the same panel in New York at the UN to present our success and our story.”
She said that it was a significant milestone not only for Saudi women but for the Kingdom as a whole, highlighting the country’s commitment to driving gender equality and empowering women across all sectors.
“For Saudi Arabia to chair the CSW, it’s well deserved,” she added.
Left to Right: Prof. Einas Al-Eisa, Dr. Maimoonah Al-Khalil, Prof. Hanan Al-Ahmadi, and Princess Lamia bint Majid at the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York. (Supplied)
For Princess Lamia, the presence of so many accomplished women at the event underscored the progress women had made. She drew particular attention to the confidence and determination of the panelists.
“It was astonishing,” she said. “The amount of confidence that reflects that we’re free to choose our path.”
Despite the Kingdom’s rapid progress, Princess Lamia acknowledged that challenges remain. “Let’s be very honest, where is the country that is 100 percent free of challenges? There’s no such a thing,” she said.
“It’s about sustaining the process and sustaining the development, and how you keep it going on the right path and on a healthy path, and at a healthy speed.
“Yes, we’ve been very fast, but we’ve been very late — that’s why we work very fast. But to have it sustained, this is the most important thing.
“Of course, we still have challenges. We’re a very young country in our 90s, and we did all of that in nine years.”
She added: “But where we reached (in that time), I don’t think even Europe and the US have the same thing in empowering women.”
Princess Lamia shared an example, highlighting the differences between Saudi Arabia and other regions in terms of women’s rights.
In many Western countries, gender equality issues such as equal pay for women are still being debated in government institutions, she said. However, in Saudi Arabia, any instance of unequal pay can be addressed immediately through legal channels.
“In Saudi Arabia, any governmental entity, if I prove that a male is taking one riyal more than me, I can sue them instantly,” she said. “Where is that, but in Saudi Arabia?”
A significant part of Princess Lamia’s vision for women’s empowerment is grounded in the example set by Princess Nourah bint Abdel Rahman, the sister of King Abdulaziz, who played an instrumental role in shaping the Kingdom’s early years.
Such was her impact, the largest women’s university in the world is named after her.
“Princess Nourah bint Abdel Rahman is the figure of women’s empowerment,” Princess Lamia said, adding that there is still much to be learned from her legacy.
Princess Nourah’s contributions to Saudi society were multifaceted, as “the consultant, the minister of foreign affairs, the sister, the friend, everything,” and a key figure in the royal family, said Princess Lamia.
King Abdulaziz, Princess Nourah’s brother, took great pride in her achievements, often saying, “I am Nourah’s brother,” rather than emphasizing his royal status.
“Can you imagine? With the tribal mentality, a man to say this during wartime?”
Princess Nourah’s humility and commitment to empowering others resonates deeply with Princess Lamia, who views her as a beacon of strength and inspiration. “She’s a character I think I’m embodying (in the sense) that I truly admire her,” she said.
Princess Lamia also highlighted the vital role women play in philanthropy and social development. She emphasized the critical role that mothers play in shaping strong families and societies.
“Listen, if you want to have a developing nation, it needs to rely on its people, and mothers are the main pillars,” she said.
“If the mother is very well-educated, empowered, definitely the family will be strong. One woman has always been and will always be the main pillar of a family and of society. The only job that you cannot resign from is being a mother.”
Princess Lamia also reflected on her own journey in philanthropy, particularly as the secretary-general of Alwaleed Philanthropies, the charitable foundation led by the Saudi businessman and investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
She said that Prince Alwaleed’s decision to place his trust in women to lead and shape his philanthropic vision had left a lasting impact on Saudi Arabia and beyond.
“The relation between men and women, it is how you build this world,” she said. “This is how God created us. We need men and they need us. No one can move and move forward without the other. That’s a fact.”
Princess Lamia paid tribute to the Kingdom’s crown prince for implementing many of the reforms now serving women’s empowerment.
“Prince Mohammed bin Salman … he is the savior of the Kingdom,” she said, adding that his Vision 2030 has been a game-changer for the Kingdom, creating equal opportunities for both men and women.
“Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia has taken significant steps toward gender equality, breaking down barriers that once seemed insurmountable.
“Would we be here today… without the vision of one person, Prince Mohammed bin Salman? No. Prince Mohammed, he created Vision 2030, he empowered us, he changed the country.
“He represents more than half of the population (youth), he is talking the same language. We’ve been waiting for that, us, (who are not of) this generation, we’ve been waiting for equal opportunities and gender equality.”
Reflecting on the collaborative spirit that now defines Saudi Arabia’s approach to women’s rights, Princess Lamia said: “We don’t have to fight with each other. We can work with each other.”
She added: “What we did, our generation, how we struggled to find our place in different positions, and how we paved the way for the upcoming generation, wasn’t easy. But I believe in (young women) so much that they can do much better than us.”
She encouraged young women to seize “the golden opportunity” that lies before them.
“No nation, around the world, ever experienced what we’re experiencing. You’re living the dream,” she said, urging the next generation to stand firm, to recognize their worth, and to build on the hard-won gains of those who came before them.
“Make us feel that it was worth it,” she said. “Look at us and say: ‘She had a very tough life. It wasn’t easy, but she made it. I want to be much better than her.’”
Dortmund fight back to beat Lille and reach Champions League quarters
Jonathan David gave Lille an early lead on the night
Dortmund will now face Barcelona in the quarter-finals next month
Updated 38 min 22 sec ago
AFP
LILLE, France: Borussia Dortmund recovered from losing an early goal to fight back and beat Lille 2-1 in France in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, sealing a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals.
Jonathan David gave Lille an early lead on the night, putting the French club ahead in the tie after last week’s 1-1 first-leg draw.
However, Emre Can squared things by converting a penalty for Dortmund on 54 minutes, and Maximilian Beier then fired in a fine winner for last season’s runners-up.
Dortmund will now face Barcelona in the quarter-finals next month, having already lost 3-2 at home to the Catalans during the league phase in December.
The result is a huge boost for Dortmund and their recently-appointed coach Niko Kovac, coming as the club languishes in 10th place in the Bundesliga.
It is a massive disappointment for Lille, who were hoping to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history after an outstanding performance during the league phase.
They finished seventh out of 36 teams, beating both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid on the way, while also holding Juventus and putting six past Feyenoord.
Lille appeared to be in a strong position after coming from behind to draw in Dortmund last week, and they went in front in the tie when Canada forward David scored in the fifth minute.
Ismaily’s low ball in from the left was swept toward goal by David, somehow going in through the legs of Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
It was David’s seventh goal in this season’s Champions League, but it seemed to galvanize the visitors.
They were denied an equalizer by a remarkable double save from Lille ‘keeper Lucas Chevalier in the midst of a goalmouth scramble on 20 minutes.
Dortmund applied pressure and were rewarded when they won a penalty shortly after half-time as Serhou Guirassy went down under contact from Thomas Meunier.
Can fired in the spot-kick, and Karim Adeyemi then hit the bar for Dortmund before they found what proved to be the winner on 65 minutes.
Guirassy, who has 10 goals in the Champions League this season, was the provider but Beier still had work to do as he controlled the ball in the box before firing a lethal shot high into the net.
Lille could not recover from that blow as they went out in the last 16, just like in their two previous appearances at this stage of the competition, in 2007 and 2022.
What We Are Reading Today: The Universe Within by Neil Shubin
Updated 12 March 2025
Arab News
Neil Shubin’s “The Universe Within” takes an expansive approach to the question of why we look the way we do.
Shubin turns his gaze skyward, showing us how the entirety of the universe’s 14-billion-year history can be seen in our bodies and pointing out how the evolution of the cosmos has profoundly marked our own bodies.
‘Nobody is expelling any Palestinians’ from Gaza, says US President Trump
Comment seems to contradict his previous plan for the US to take over the territory, relocate the Palestinian population and turn it into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’
Arab foreign ministers say they will continue to consult with Trump’s Middle East envoy about a $53bn Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza
Updated 6 min 37 sec ago
Arab News
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump insisted on Wednesday that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians” from Gaza.
His comment, in response to a question from a reporter, came during a meeting on Wednesday with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin at the White House.
It seemed to contradict the president’s previously suggested plan for the US to take ownership of Gaza, relocate the Palestinian population, and turn the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
His proposal, voiced in February during the early stages of a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, drew widespread international condemnation and rejection, amid concern that it reinforced long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes.
Egypt, Jordan and Gulf Arab states warned that any such plan could destabilize the entire region. In response, Arab states adopted a $53 billion Egyptian plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would avoid any displacement of Palestinians.
Arab foreign ministers said on Wednesday they would continue to consult with Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, about the Egyptian plan to rebuild Gaza as an alternative to the US president’s proposed takeover of the territory.
“The Arab foreign ministers discussed the Gaza reconstruction plan, which was approved during the Arab League Summit held in Cairo on March 4, 2025. They also agreed with the US envoy to continue consultations and coordination on the plan as a foundation for the reconstruction efforts,” Qatar’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The talks will serve as a “basis for the reconstruction efforts” in Gaza, the ministers said in a joint statement following a meeting in Doha.
US arms flow to Ukraine again as the Kremlin mulls a ceasefire proposal
The administration’s decision to resume military aid after talks Tuesday with senior Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia marked a sharp shift in its stance
Zelensky said the 30-day ceasefire would allow the sides “to fully prepare a step-by-step plan for ending the war, including security guarantees for Ukraine”
Updated 12 March 2025
AP
KYIV: US arms deliveries to Ukraine resumed Wednesday, officials said, a day after the Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s invasion, and officials awaited the Kremlin’s response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it’s important not to “get ahead” of the question of responding to the ceasefire, which was proposed by Washington. He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting “detailed information” from the US and suggested that Russia must get that before it can take a position. The Kremlin has previously opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict and has not accepted any concessions.
US President Donald Trump wants to end the three-year war and pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to enter talks. The suspension of US assistance happened days after Zelensky and Trump argued about the conflict in a tense White House meeting. The administration’s decision to resume military aid after talks Tuesday with senior Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia marked a sharp shift in its stance.
Trump said “it’s up to Russia now” as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire.
“And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” Trump said Wednesday in an extended exchange with reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Micheál Martin, the prime minster of Ireland. “And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath” ended.
The US president again made veiled threats of hitting Russia with new sanctions.
“We can, but I hope it’s not going to be necessary,” Trump said.
Ukraine demonstrated that their government is ready to take steps toward restoring durable peace and expressed readiness to accept the U.S. proposal to enact an immediate 30-day ceasefire. As a result, we will immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security… pic.twitter.com/Eom2zhtkqI
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the American delegation to Saudi Arabia, where Ukraine consented to the US ceasefire proposal, said Washington will pursue “multiple points of contacts” with Russia to see if President Vladimir Putin is ready to negotiate an end to the war. He declined to give details or say what steps might be taken if Putin refuses to engage.
The US hopes to see Russia stop attacks on Ukraine within the next few days as a first step, Rubio said at a refueling stop Wednesday in Shannon, Ireland, on his way to talks in Canada with other Group of Seven leading industrialized nations.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that national security adviser Mike Waltz spoke Wednesday with his Russian counterpart.
She also confirmed that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will head to Moscow for talks with Russian officials. She did not say with whom Witkoff planned to meet. A person familiar with the matter said Witkoff is expected to meet with Putin later his week. The person was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Ukraine says ceasefire would allow time for planning end to war
Zelensky said the 30-day ceasefire would allow the sides “to fully prepare a step-by-step plan for ending the war, including security guarantees for Ukraine.”
Technical questions over how to effectively monitor a truce along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, where small but deadly drones are common, are “very important,” Zelensky told reporters Wednesday in Kyiv.
Arms deliveries to Ukraine have already resumed through a Polish logistics center, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland announced Wednesday. The deliveries go through a NATO and US hub in the eastern Polish city of Rzeszow that’s has been used to ferry Western weapons into neighboring Ukraine about 70 kilometers (45 miles) away.
The American military help is vital for Ukraine’s shorthanded and weary army, which is having a tough time keeping Russia’s bigger military force at bay. For Russia, the American aid spells potentially more difficulty in achieving war aims, and it could make Washington’s peace efforts a tougher sell in Moscow.
The US government has also restored Ukraine’s access to unclassified commercial satellite pictures provided by Maxar Technologies through a program Washington runs, Maxar spokesperson Tomi Maxted told The Associated Press. The images help Ukraine plan attacks, assess their success and monitor Russian movements.
In other developments, officials acknowledged Wednesday that Kyiv no longer has any of the longer-range Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, missiles.
According to a US official and a Ukrainian lawmaker on the country’s defense committee, Ukraine has run out of the ATACMs. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide military weapons details.
The US official said the US provided fewer than 40 of those missiles overall and that Ukraine ran out of them in late January. Senior US defense leaders, including the previous Pentagon chief, Lloyd Austin, had made it clear that only a limited number of the ATACMs would be delivered and that the US and NATO allies considered other weapons to be more valuable in the fight.
Russian officials are wary about the US-Ukraine talks
Russian lawmakers signaled wariness about the prospect of a ceasefire.
“Russia is advancing (on the battlefield), so it will be different with Russia,” senior Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev noted in a post on the messaging app Telegram.
“Any agreements (with the understanding of the need for compromise) should be on our terms, not American,” Kosachev wrote.
Lawmaker Mikhail Sheremet told the state news agency Tass that Russia “is not interested in continuing” the war, but at the same time Moscow “will not tolerate being strung along.”
The outcome of the Saudi Arabia talks “places the onus on Washington to persuade Moscow to accept and implement the ceasefire,” said John Hardie, a defense analyst and deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute.
“Moscow will present itself as cooperative, but may push for agreement on basic principles for a final peace deal before agreeing to a ceasefire,” he said.
“Russia may also insist on barring Western military aid to Ukraine during the ceasefire and on Ukraine holding elections ahead of a long-term peace agreement.”
Russia’s foreign intelligence service, known as the SVR, reported Wednesday that the service’s chief, Sergei Naryshkin, spoke on the phone Tuesday with CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
The two discussed cooperation “in areas of common interest and the resolution of crisis situations,” according to a statement by the SVR.
