KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday called on US President-elect Joe Biden to “help fight terrorism” and support Afghanistan’s shaky peace process by ensuring continued aid to Kabul.
The plea comes after Afghan lawmakers urged the new US leader to review the Trump-led campaign to force a complete withdrawal of American troops from the country.
“Afghanistan looks forward to continuing and deepening our multilayered strategic partnership with the US — our foundational partner — including in counterterrorism and bringing peace to Afghanistan,” Ghani said in a statement, congratulating Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their election victory.
Ties between Ghani and US President Donald Trump’s administration turned sour in recent months over Kabul’s exclusion from crucial behind-the-door talks between Washington and the Taliban, which led to the signing of a historic peace deal in February this year.
Under pressure from Trump’s administration, Ghani freed over 5,000 Taliban inmates since March, before sending negotiators to Doha, Qatar for intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban – a key criterion of the February accord, which also pushes for all foreign troops to leave Afghanistan by next spring.
A few weeks ago, to Kabul’s ire, Trump announced that the remaining US troops would return home by Christmas, much earlier than the timetable agreed with the Taliban.
Under the deal with the US, the Taliban are required to halt attacks on foreign troops. US forces have mostly refrained from striking Taliban forces, except for a few instances where they aided Kabul in preventing militants from seizing government-held areas.
Emboldened by the accord with the US and amid plans for an early troop exit, the Taliban stepped up attacks on government forces in recent weeks, displacing thousands in Helmand province, despite the group’s delegates holding talks with Kabul negotiators since Sept. 12 in Qatar to end the protracted war in the country.
However, both have failed to agree on an agenda for the talks, let alone start negotiations, raising fears that the intra-Afghan dialogue may soon fall apart.
Several MPs in Kabul called on Biden to review the US administration’s policies on the historic accord with the Taliban and troop withdrawal.
“We hope that Biden does not follow in the footsteps of Trump who has discredited the US and committed a betrayal both to the US and Afghanistan through the deal with the Taliban,” Hamidullah Tokhi, an MP from southern Zabul province, told Arab News.
“Biden needs to think about US and Afghanistan honor. He can pull the troops out, but not in a hasty manner. First, he needs to reconcile the two sides,” he added.
Mirwais Khadem, a legislator from Helmand, a region known as a Taliban stronghold, said that Biden’s policy was of the utmost importance since Afghanistan relies on the US “politically, militarily and financially.”
He said: “With Trump’s departure, Biden can reset a new mechanism that annuls part of the deal with the Taliban which bars the US from hitting the Taliban, and also puts pressure (on the militants) to engage in talks with the government seriously.”
In the past, Biden has been vocal about the need to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after more than 19 years of war.
He alienated some sections of Afghan society with comments several years ago when he said that Afghanistan “will never become a nation.”
However, Fawzia Koofi, a government-appointed negotiator who took part in the intra-Afghan talks for over a month before returning home last week, said that Kabul believed Biden will avoid “pushing for a hasty troop departure like Trump.”
She told Arab News: “We have been saying that an irresponsible withdrawal will probably result in the collapse of institutions, if not in the short term then in the long term.”
Koofi added that the momentum in the Qatar talks needed to be maintained.
“We need to convince the Taliban to be sincere in this process, and bring necessary pressure on the Taliban and their supporters,” she said.
When contacted by Arab News on Sunday, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said it was “too early” to comment on Biden’s victory.
However, experts predict Biden “might continue Trump’s peace plans” with the Taliban in order to avoid a civil war.
“If the US decides to abandon Afghanistan altogether, a civil war will become inevitable. Most probably the Biden administration will decide to keep some troops in Afghanistan,” Said Azam, a Canada-based Afghan analyst, said.
Other analysts warned that the Taliban might increase their attacks following Biden’s win.
“The Taliban think negotiations are useless and they have to win on the battlefield. They will increase their attacks and Biden will not use the US military against the Taliban,” Rahmatullah Nabil, Afghanistan’s former intelligence chief, told Arab News.
“Biden will also put pressure on Ghani to accept the interim government. If Ghani refuses, then Biden will relocate US bases to Pakistan and will say that it is for Afghanistan to resolve its problems and that US troops are not there to fight the Taliban,” he said.
Pakistan played a crucial role in facilitating the intra-Afghan peace talks. US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad expressed Washington’s gratitude to Pakistan on several occasions in recent months.
However, in such a scenario where US bases are moved to Pakistan, Nabil added that the “conflict in Afghanistan will continue and Pakistan will have an even bigger veto on internal Afghan matters.”
Torek Farhadi, an adviser to the former government, said that with US troops looking for an exit “the renewed momentum for peace will not come before an administration is firmly in place in Washington. On the ground in Afghanistan, violence will continue and political parties will attempt to make side deals with the Taliban and neighbors.”
Afghan leader urges Biden to help fight Taliban ‘terror’
https://arab.news/rwejh
Afghan leader urges Biden to help fight Taliban ‘terror’
- A few weeks ago, to Kabul’s ire, Trump announced that the remaining US troops would return home by Christmas, much earlier than the timetable agreed
- MPs, lawmakers plead with new US leader to reverse Trump troop exit
At least 21 killed in attack on east Congo church by Islamic State-backed rebels, civil leader says
The military confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the death toll at more than 40.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by members of the Allied Democratic Force (ADF) armed with machetes, who stormed the church premises in Ituri province’s Komanda town at around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burnt.
“More than 21 people were shot dead inside and outside and we have recorded at least three charred bodies and several houses burned. But the search is continuing,” Dieudonne Duranthabo, civil society coordinator in Komanda, told The Associated Press.
Lt. Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 killed in the attack.
Video footage from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock.
A UN-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the center of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive.
Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri earlier this month in what a United Nations spokesperson described as a bloodbath.
Duranthabo condemned the attack “in a town where all the security officials are present.” He added: “We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.”
The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s following alleged discontent with President Yoweri Museveni.
In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighboring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities between the Rwanda-backed M23.
Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
- Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree lined street in front of the US Consulate about 100 miles away in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital
EDINBURGH: President Donald Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland’s coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the American.
Trump and his son Eric played with the US ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family’s company took over in 2014. Security was tight, and protesters kept at a distance went unseen by the group during Trump’s round. He was dressed in black, with a white “USA” cap, and was spotted driving a golf cart.
The president appeared to play an opening nine holes, stop for lunch, then head out for nine more. By the middle of the afternoon, plainclothes security officials began leaving, suggesting Trump was done for the day.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the US Consulate about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital. Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff US tariffs on goods imported from the UK
Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a “Stop Trump Coalition.” Anita Bhadani, an organizer, said the protests were “kind of like a carnival of resistance.”
Trump’s late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland and the president has suggested he feels at home in the country. But the protesters did their best to change that.
“I don’t think I could just stand by and not do anything,” said Amy White, 15, of Edinburgh, who attended with her parents. She held a cardboard sign that said “We don’t negotiate with fascists.” She said ”so many people here loathe him. We’re not divided. We’re not divided by religion, or race or political allegiance, we’re just here together because we hate him.”
Other demonstrators held signs of pictures with Trump and Jeffrey Epstein as the fervor over files in the case has increasingly frustrated the president.
In the view of Mark Gorman, 63, of Edinburgh, “the vast majority of Scots have this sort of feeling about Trump that, even though he has Scottish roots, he’s a disgrace.” Gorman, who works in advertising, said he came out “because I have deep disdain for Donald Trump and everything that he stands for.”
Saturday’s protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that demonstrated across Scotland when Trump played at Turnberry during his first term in 2018.
But, as bagpipes played, people chanted “Trump Out!” and raised dozens of homemade signs that said things like “No red carpet for dictators,” “We don’t want you here” and “Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.”
One dog had a sign that said “No treats for tyrants.”
Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow.
Trump also plans to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus.
The family will also visit another Trump course near Aberdeen in northeastern Scotland, before returning to Washington on Tuesday. The Trumps will cut the ribbon and play a new, second course in that area, which officially opens to the public next month.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who is also set to meet with Trump during the visit, announced that public money will go to staging the 2025 Nexo Championship, previously known as the Scottish Championship, at Trump’s first course near Aberdeen next month.
“The Scottish Government recognizes the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy,” Swinney said.
At a protest Saturday in Aberdeen, Scottish Parliament member Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: “We stand in solidarity, not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.”
The president has long lobbied for Turnberry to host the British Open, which it has not done since he took over ownership.
In a social media post Saturday, Trump quoted the retired golfer Gary Player as saying Turnberry was among the “Top Five Greatest Golf Courses” he had played in as a professional. The president, in the post, misspelled the city where his golf course is located.
US passenger plane evacuated in Denver due to brake fire
WASHINGTON: Passengers on a US domestic flight were forced to evacuate onto a runway due to a brake fire just ahead of the plane taking off in Denver, the airline said.
American Airlines Flight 3023 was departing for Miami on Saturday but “experienced a mechanical issue” while accelerating ahead of takeoff at Denver International Airport, the airline told AFP, adding all 173 passengers and six crew “deplaned safely.”
One passenger sustained a minor injury and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, American Airlines said.
Blown tires and the deceleration of the plane while braking resulted in an isolated brake fire, which was extinguished by city firefighters, according to the airline.
Social media videos published by US media outlets showed passengers frantically evacuating an American Airlines plane via an emergency slide as smoke billowed from beneath the aircraft.
A man held a child as they rushed down the slide, stumbling as he hit the ground.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the crew onboard the Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane “reported a possible landing gear incident during departure” at around 2:45 p.m. Saturday.
The FAA said it was investigating the incident.
It occurred just a day after a Southwest Airlines flight plunged mid-air to avoid colliding with another aircraft while en route to Las Vegas, injuring two flight attendants.
The latest scare adds to growing concerns over aviation safety in the United States after a string of recent accidents and near misses.
In January, a mid-air collision between a commercial aircraft approaching Ronald Reagan Airport near downtown Washington and a military helicopter killed 67 people.
In May, US President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to overhaul its “antiquated” air traffic control system, which suffers from a shortage of controllers in FAA-managed towers.
The government has laid off hundreds of FAA employees as part of its plan to slash the federal workforce.
Greece gets EU help to battle disastrous wildfires
- Five fires are still raging Sunday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital
- There also also active fires on the islands of Evia, Kythera and Crete
ATHENS: Greece battled wildfires that have ravaged homes and sparked evacuations for a second day on Sunday, with the help of Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft expected to arrive later.
Five fires were still raging Sunday morning in the Peloponnese area west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia, Kythera and Crete, with aircraft and helicopters resuming their work in several parts of the country at dawn.
“Today is expected to be a difficult day with a very high risk of fire, almost throughout the territory,” fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said Sunday, though he added that the situation was improving.
Forecasters predicted the strong winds that have fanned the flames would die down on Sunday in most areas but warned that Kythera, a popular tourist island with 3,600 inhabitants, continued to face “worrying” windy conditions.
Evacuation messages were sent to people on the island, which lies off the south-eastern tip of the Peloponnese, early on Sunday as the fire raged unabated.
“Houses, beehives, olive trees have been burnt,” Giorgos Komninos, deputy mayor of Kythera, told state-run ERT News channel.
“A monastery is in direct danger right now,” he said, adding that half of the island had been burnt.
Dozens of firefighters supported by three helicopters and two aircraft were battling the Kythera blaze, which erupted Saturday morning and forced the evacuation of a popular tourist beach.
Greece had earlier requested help from EU allies and two Italian aircraft were expected Sunday, according to the fire brigade, with units from the Czech Republic already at work.
Eleven regions of Greece still face a very high fire risk, according to officials.
Firefighters are working in several areas of the Peloponnese and there were numerous flare-ups overnight on the island of Evia, near Athens, where the flames have laid waste to swathes of forest and killed thousands of farm animals.
Workers have toiled since dawn to repair serious damage to Evia’s electricity network and some villages were facing problems with water supply.
Further south on Crete, reports said fires that broke out on Saturday afternoon and destroyed four houses and a church and largely been contained.
In Kryoneri north of Athens, police were reportedly bolstering security as fears grow that looters could target houses abandoned by residents fleeing a fire that erupted on Saturday afternoon but was mostly contained on Sunday.
“We are fighting here. What can we do,” asked Kryoneri Giorgos, wearing a mask to protect himself from the smoke.
He said on Saturday afternoon he and others were battling to save “the work of a lifetime.”
“By the time I got here the flames were already up here. It all happened so fast,” said Alexandros Andonopoulos, who rushed from Athens to the village.
“Fortunately the firemen arrived quickly.”
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote on social media that anyone who lost possessions “should know that the state will be by their side.”
He said Saturday was a “titanic” struggle but “the picture today looks better and the battle continues with all available resources.”
Greece has endured heatwave conditions for almost a week, with temperatures passing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in many areas.
On Saturday, the temperature reached 45.2C in Amfilohia, in western Greece.
The extreme heat is expected to die down from Monday.
Last month, fires on Greece’s fifth-biggest island Chios, in the northern Aegean, destroyed 4,700 hectares of land, while early July a wildfire on Crete forced the evacuation of 5,000 people.
The most destructive year for wildfires in the country that is deemed a climate change hotspot, was 2023, when nearly 175,000 hectares were lost and there were 20 deaths.
Greece, like many countries is experiencing hotter summers stoked by human-induced climate change, which increases the length, frequency and intensity of wildfires.
Russian navy parade canceled for ‘security reasons’
- The parade was meant to be the highlight of Russia’s Navy Day, which falls on the last Sunday of July each year and honors the country’s sailors
MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday a major annual navy parade had been canceled for “security reasons,” without specifying the threat or concern.
“It has to do with the general situation. Security reasons are of utmost importance,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian news agencies.
The parade was meant to be the highlight of Russia’s Navy Day, which falls on the last Sunday of July each year and honors the country’s sailors.
But local authorities in the coastal city of Saint Petersburg, where the warships and submarines were scheduled to pass, said on Friday the parade had been canceled without giving a reason.
Russian President Vladimir Putin — who re-established Navy Day in 2017, nearly four decades after it was canceled in Soviet times — did not show up in person this year for the first time.
Instead, he appeared in a video message hailing the “bravery” and “heroism” of Russia’s sailors participating in the offensive in Ukraine.
Russia, which launched its military operation on Ukraine in February 2022 with daily bombardments of its neighbor, has faced retaliatory Ukrainian drone strikes on its territory in recent months.
The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday that 100 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight.
At least 10 of them were intercepted not far from Saint Petersburg and a woman was wounded, the governor for the northwestern Leningrad region, Aleksandr Drozdenko, said on Telegram.
That drone assault also disrupted operations at Saint Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, delaying dozens of flights, the facility’s authorities said.
