KABUL: Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Taliban moved further into Kabul, officials said. His countrymen and foreigners alike raced for the exit, signaling the end of a 20-year Western experiment aimed at remaking Afghanistan.
Ghani flew out of the country, two officials told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to brief journalists. Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, later confirmed in an online video Ghani had left.
“He left Afghanistan in a hard time, God hold him accountable,” Abdullah said.
Civilians fearing that the Taliban could reimpose the kind of brutal rule that all but eliminated women’s rights rushed to leave the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings.
Helicopters buzzed overhead to evacuate personnel from the US Embassy, while smoke rose near the compound as staff destroyed important documents. Several other Western missions also prepared to pull their people out.
In a stunning rout, the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, despite the billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO over nearly two decades to build up Afghan security forces. Just days earlier, an American military assessment estimated it would be a month before the capital would come under insurgent pressure.
Instead, the Taliban swiftly defeated, co-opted or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country, even though they had some air support from the US military.
Afghan president leaves the country as Taliban move on Kabul
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Afghan president leaves the country as Taliban move on Kabul
- Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week and entered Kabul on Sunday
- Several Western embassies, including the US, started pull their people out of Afghanistan
Dalai Lama expected to reveal succession plan during 90th birthday celebrations
- Nobel laureate and one of the world’s most influential figures, the Dalai Lama turns 90 on Sunday
- Spokesman of Tibetan government-in-exile says a statement by Dalai Lama expected this week
NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama announced on Monday that he was preparing to share details about his succession, as followers gathered to attend a public ceremony ahead of his 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala in northern India.
The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has been living in India since 1959, after he fled Tibet with thousands of others following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
His residence is in Dharamshala, a town in the state of Himachal Pradesh, which also hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile.
A Nobel peace laureate and one of the world’s most influential figures, the Dalai Lama will turn 90 on Sunday.
“The rest of my life I will dedicate ... for the benefit of others, as much as possible,” he told his followers through a translator as they offered prayers for his long life.
“There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas.”
When a Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan Buddhists believe he is reincarnated.
Senior monks and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile search for the child who is the reincarnation, relying on dreams and visions, rituals at sacred lakes, signs at the Dalai Lama’s death, and other omens.
“For the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it’s not about succession, it’s about reincarnation,” Tenzin Lekshay, spokesperson of the Tibetan government-in-exile, told Arab News.
“There’ll be a written statement by his holiness on July 2.”
The 14th Dalai Lama was 2 years old when a search party decided he was the 14th reincarnation of Tibet’s spiritual leader.
Over the years, he has indicated that the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution was ultimately up to the Tibetan people and if they no longer found it relevant, it could cease to exist, and there would be no 15th Dalai Lama.
“His holiness has said many times also that if the Tibetan people wish the Dalai Lama institution to remain, then the Dalai Lama institution will remain,” Lekshay said.
In his autobiography published in March 2025, the Dalai Lama said he had been receiving petitions requesting that the lineage be carried on, and that when he turns 90, he would “consult the high lamas of the Tibetan religious traditions as well as the Tibetan public, and if there is a consensus that the Dalai Lama institution should continue.”
If they decide in favor, “then formal responsibility for the recognition of the 15th Dalai Lama should rest with the Garden Phodrang Trust (the office of the Dalai Lama).”
Law firm that helped ban pro-Palestine protests on UK campus assisting other universities
- Shakespeare Martineau LLP helped Cardiff University obtain 12-month ban on protests
- Students, staff face unlimited fines, up to 2 years in prison amid ‘chilling precedent for academic institutions’
LONDON: A law firm in the UK that helped a university ban pro-Palestine protests on campus has been assisting other higher education institutions considering legal action against their students.
Shakespeare Martineau LLP represented Cardiff University in a case that resulted in a year-long ban on unauthorized campus protests from June.
The case could result in unlimited fines for staff and students found in breach of the injunction, as well as prison terms of up to two years.
Those wishing to hold protests on Cardiff’s campus will be required to apply for permission up to three weeks in advance.
Earlier this year, similar 12-month injunctions were granted to two colleges at Cambridge University
The Guardian reported on Monday that the law firm promoted the type of injunction, known as a “newcomer injunction” because it can be used “against persons unknown,” to other universities during a webinar held in October.
According to a freedom of information act obtained in conjunction with Liberty Investigates, it was found that representatives of Reading, Exeter, Northumbria, Hertfordshire, Birkbeck, Bath Spa and Liverpool John Moores universities registered for the webinar.
The Guardian reported that lawyers acting in the case against Cardiff warned that the injunction was too broad and could affect industrial action.
A UN watchdog, the newspaper reported, said the move is a “flagrant violation of international human rights law,” while Gina Romero, UN special rapporteur for freedom of assembly, said: “Profiting from the … curtailing of human rights is despicable.”
A spokesperson for Shakespeare Martineau said the injunction relates to “unlawful encampments,” and “lawful” protest would not be affected.
Smita Jamdar, head of education at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Universities are dealing with complex situations on campus every single day. Understandably, many institutions are seeking guidance on how to manage a whole host of situations effectively and safely, while upholding the law and balancing the rights and freedoms of the whole campus community.”
But the European Legal Support Centre called the use of the injunctions a “chilling precedent for academic institutions,” adding that they are “legally complex and financially impractical for affected students to challenge in court.”
Last week, England’s Office for Students warned universities against “sweeping” limits on protest in a new set of guidelines due to take effect in August.
Most Filipinos in favor of rejoining ICC, study shows
- Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte
- 57 percent of respondents support rejoining the court, while 37 percent are against it
MANILA: The majority of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court, the results of a new opinion poll showed on Monday.
The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, as the court’s prosecutors began to look into his “war on drugs” campaign in 2016-22, which they estimate has resulted in the extrajudicial killings of 30,000 Filipinos.
Despite the Philippines’ withdrawal, the court has issued an arrest warrant against Duterte, as it keeps jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while a country was a member.
The current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. complied with the arrest warrant and Duterte has been in ICC custody since March, awaiting trial. The Marcos’s spokesperson, Claire Castro, said earlier this month that he was also “open to talking about” rejoining the ICC.
The move would be supported by 57 percent of Filipinos, according to the latest survey by OCTA Research.
“A clear 57 percent of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the ICC. In contrast, 37 percent are opposed, and 6 percent remain undecided, indicating broad, though not unanimous, public backing for renewed engagement,” the Quezon City-based polling and research firm said in its report.
The study was conducted between April 20 and April 24, on 1,200 respondents in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
In Mindanao, where Duterte traces his political roots and despite detention won the mayoral election last month, the support for rejoining the ICC was the lowest.
“In Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, at least 60 percent of respondents express support,” the OCTA Research report said. “In Mindanao, however, is an exception — with only 30 percent supporting the move and 66 percent expressing opposition, the highest rate of opposition recorded across regions.”
The highest rate of support for reengagement with the ICC was among people aged 25-34, with 62 percent of them in favor of the move, while the lowest support was among those aged 45-54, at 50 percent.
Duterte’s arrest has likely contributed to awareness about the ICC across the Philippines, with 85 percent of adult Filipinos claiming to have seen, read, or heard about the court and only 13 percent reporting being unaware of it.
“This widespread awareness sets the stage for significant national conversations on justice, accountability, and the Philippines’ potential reengagement with the ICC,” OCTA Research said.
“Awareness levels are consistently high nationwide. In Metro Manila, 89 percent of respondents indicated familiarity with the ICC, followed closely by Balance Luzon (86 percent), Mindanao (85 percent), and the Visayas (77 percent).”
EU warns Armenia about Russian ‘hybrid threats’
YEREVAN: The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Armenia to protect its democratic values amid “hybrid threats” from Russia on a visit to Yerevan on Monday.
Ties between Armenia and its traditional ally Russia have been strained since Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh, in which Moscow did not intervene.
Russia has for years been the main mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Brussels has played a stronger role recently, with Russia tied up with its Ukraine invasion.
Kallas visited several days after Armenia arrested a powerful cleric accused of plotting a coup against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
She said she discussed “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and specifically Russian hybrid activities in all countries” with Armenia’s foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“Armenia’s commitment to democracy and freedom is key. These values must be protected, especially in the face of hybrid threats, disinformation, and foreign interference,” she said.
Mirzoyan warned Moscow against interfering in its internal political affairs after the arrest of powerful cleric Bagrat Galstanyan.
But speaking in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Armenia against turning away from Moscow and against “attacks on the canonical, millennia-old Armenian Apostolic Church.”
“We do not put any pressure on Armenian authorities, we will wait for clarity on all these issues,” Lavrov said according to Russian news agencies.
“But we all understand that if Armenia turns away from its allies, its closest partners and neighbors, it will hardly be in the interests of the Armenian people,” he added.
Mirzoyan said Lavrov “would do better not to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs and domestic politics,” calling on Russian officials to “show greater respect for the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.”
Kallas said “the EU and Armenia have never been as close as we are now.”
She announced a new EU-Armenia partnership and a 270-million-euro “resilience and growth plan for 2024-2027.” She also welcomed Armenia’s move to initiate an EU accession process earlier this year.
Kallas re-affirmed the EU’s support to normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Cyprus invites Turkiye’s Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion
NICOSIA: Cyprus said on Monday it would invite arch-foe Turkiye to a summit during its European Union presidency next year despite a decades-long rift over Ankara’s 1974 invasion and its backing of a breakaway state on the divided island.
Nicosia will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first six months of 2026 and plans a summit of regional leaders, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, on issues related to the Middle East, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.
“You can’t change geography — Turkiye will always be a neighbor state to the Republic of Cyprus .. Mr.Erdogan will of course be welcome to this summit to discuss developments in the area,” he told journalists in Nicosia.
Christodoulides had earlier said the same in a British podcast aired on Monday in response to a question, saying the summit was planned for April 2026.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the invitation to Erdogan.
Cyprus and Turkiye have no diplomatic relations and hosting a Turkish president might prove challenging both because of the diplomatic tightrope arising from past conflict and logistical issues.
The eastern Mediterranean island was partitioned by a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a brief Greek-inspired coup, and Ankara supports a breakaway, unrecognized state in north Cyprus where it stations thousands of troops.
Christodoulides heads a Greek Cypriot administration that represents all of Cyprus within the EU but with its powers stopping at a ceasefire line splitting the island into northern and southern sections. Erdogan has never visited the south.
