KABUL: The Taliban said Monday their fighters had surrounded resistance forces holed up in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley but were looking to negotiate rather than take the fight to them.
The announcement follows scattered reports of clashes overnight, with pro-Taliban social media accounts claiming gunmen were massing, and Afghanistan’s former vice president saying resistance forces were holding strong.
Taliban fighters “are stationed near Panjshir,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted, saying they had the area surrounded on three sides.
“The Islamic Emirate is trying to resolve this issue peacefully,” he added.
Pro-resistance accounts on social media had dismissed earlier claims of being pushed back, saying Taliban fighters had been ambushed and routed.
Claims from either side were impossible to independently verify from a remote mountainous region that is largely inaccessible.
Panjshir — famous for its natural defenses never penetrated by Soviet forces or the Taliban in earlier conflicts — remains the last major holdout of anti-Taliban forces led by Ahmad Massoud, son of the famed Mujahideen leader Ahmed Shah Massoud.
Former Afghan vice president Amrullah Saleh is also there, and photos posted on social media in recent days have shown him in talks with Massoud.
The valley is guarded by a narrow gorge, making entry — or escape — extraordinarily difficult for outsiders, who can be picked off by entrenched forces positioned on higher ground.
A spokesman for Massoud’s anti-Taliban National Resistance Front told AFP at the weekend that the group was prepared for “long-term conflict,” but would prefer to negotiate for an inclusive government.
“The conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban are decentralization, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all,” spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP.
Following the collapse of the US-backed government last week, the Taliban are consolidating their control over the country and holding a series of meetings with old foes — including opposition politicians and warlords.
Taliban say Afghan resistance force ‘besieged’ in Panjshir Valley
https://arab.news/8n5b7
Taliban say Afghan resistance force ‘besieged’ in Panjshir Valley
- Panjshir — famous for its natural defenses never penetrated by Soviet forces or the Taliban in earlier conflicts — remains the last major holdout of anti-Taliban forces led by Ahmad Massoud
- The valley is guarded by a narrow gorge, making entry — or escape — extraordinarily difficult for outsiders, who can be picked off by entrenched forces positioned on higher ground
US freezes almost all aid except for Israel, Egypt arms: memo
- Secretary of State Rubio sent an internal memo days after President Trump took office vowing a policy of tightly restricting assistance overseas
- Rubio also made an exception for US contributions to emergency food assistance, such as for crises around the world including in Sudan and Syria
WASHINGTON: The United States, the world’s biggest donor, froze virtually all foreign aid on Friday, making exceptions only for emergency food, and military funding for Israel and Egypt.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo days after President Donald Trump took office vowing an “America First” policy of tightly restricting assistance overseas.
“No new funds shall be obligated for new awards or extensions of existing awards until each proposed new award or extension has been reviewed and approved,” said the memo to staff seen by AFP.
The sweeping order appears to affect everything from development assistance to military aid — including to Ukraine, which received billions of dollars in weapons under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden as it tries to repel a Russian invasion.
The directive also means a pause of at least several months of US funding for PEPFAR, the anti-HIV/AIDS initiative that buys anti-retroviral drugs to treat the disease in developing countries, largely in Africa.
Launched under president George W. Bush in 2003, PEPFAR is credited with saving some 26 million lives and until recently enjoyed broad popular support along partisan lines in Washington.
But the memo explicitly made exceptions for military assistance to Israel — whose longstanding major arms packages from the United States have expanded further since the Gaza war — and Egypt, which has received generous US defense funding since it signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
Rubio also made an exception for US contributions to emergency food assistance, which the United States has been contributing following crises around the world including in Sudan and Syria.
Lawmakers from the rival Democratic Party said that more than 20 million people relied on medication through PEPFAR and 63 million people on US-funded anti-malaria efforts including nets.
“For years, Republicans in Congress have decried what they see as a lack of US credibility vis-a-vis countries like China, Russia, and Iran,” said Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Relations Committee, and Representative Lois Frankel.
“Now our credibility is on the line, and it appears we will cut and run from American commitments to our partners around the world,” they wrote in a letter.
Washington has long leveraged aid as a tool of its foreign policy, saying it cares about development and drawing a contrast with China, which is primarily concerned about seeking natural resources.
Meeks and Frankel also noted that foreign assistance is appropriated by Congress and said they would seek its implementation.
The memo allows the State Department to make other case-by-case exceptions and temporarily to fund salaries to staff and other administrative expenses.
The memo called for an internal review of all foreign assistance within 85 days.
In justifying the freeze, Rubio — who as a senator was a supporter of development assistance — wrote that it was impossible for the new administration to assess whether existing foreign aid commitments “are not duplicated, are effective and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy.”
The United States has long been the world’s top donor in dollar terms, although a number of European nations, especially in Scandinavia, give significantly more as a percent of their economies.
The United States gave more than $64 billion in overseas development assistance in 2023, the last year for which records were available, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which advises industrialized countries.
Trump had already on taking office Monday signed an executive order suspending foreign assistance for 90 days, but it was not immediately clear how it would be implemented.
Anti-poverty group Oxfam said that Trump was abandoning a longstanding consensus in the United States for foreign assistance.
“Humanitarian and development assistance accounts for only around one percent of the federal budget; it saves lives, fights diseases, educates millions of children and reduces poverty,” Oxfam America president Abby Maxman said in a statement.
“Suspending and ultimately cutting many of these programs could have life or death consequences for countless children and families who are living through crisis,” she said.
Man arrested over TikTok posts threatening US President Trump
- 23-year-old Douglas Thrams reportedly posted multiple videos on Tiktok since Monday, threatening anti-government violence, according to a criminal complaint
WASHINGTON: A man who allegedly said US President Donald Trump "needs to be assassinated" and posed on TikTok holding a rifle has been arrested, authorities said.
Douglas Thrams, 23, posted multiple videos on Tiktok between Monday, when Trump was inaugurated, and Wednesday threatening anti-government violence, according to a criminal complaint Thursday.
"Every US government building needs be bombed immediately," Thrams was quoted as saying in one of the videos.
Referring to Trump, Thrams went on to say, using an expletive, "He needs to be assassinated and this time, don't... miss."
Trump was the target of two assassination attempts last year including one at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was wounded in the ear.
In another video, Thrams held a rifle and tapped it, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.
Thrams, from the midwestern state of Indiana, was arrested on Thursday and charged with making "interstate communications with a threat to injure."
UNICEF deputy director urges innovative partnerships to protect the world’s children
- By collaborating with private sector, UNICEF is better able to combat challenges of conflict and climate change, says Kitty van der Heijden
- Aid agency executive says partnerships with insurers and logistics firms facilitates the rapid deployment of resources to crisis zones
DUBAI: Kitty van der Heijden, deputy executive director of the UN children’s fund, has praised the collaboration between UNICEF and the private sector to address the many urgent challenges facing the world’s children.
In an interview with Arab News on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos, van der Heijden explained how UNICEF’s partnerships are aiding its response to conflicts, mass displacements, climate change, and natural disasters.
“We are here in Davos to meet with the private and corporate entities who are present,” van der Heijden said. “We are already in partnership with some across a range of sectors like humanitarian aid, education, AI, and non-communicable diseases, among others.
“We see that a lot of companies are willing to work with UNICEF as we are able to reach where they can’t necessarily go.
“We have more conflicts than ever around the world that are destroying humanity’s ability to survive and thrive. We need to deliver prosperity and keep environmental triggers and human misery under control.”
To confront crises, van der Heijden says UNICEF has now partnered with insurance companies, as well as logistics and shipping firms that prioritize humanitarian aid over their commercial goods in times of need.
“We developed the first ever parametric climate insurance with a focus on children. For example, hurricanes are routine problems in some countries and small islands. Whenever a hurricane takes place, not only are the communities there extremely affected but so is the GDP of the country.
“The moment wind speeds go up to a certain level, the parametric tool detects the change and automatically submits a cash deposit to UNICEF.”
Van der Heijden says this rapid response ensures that financial support reaches those in need without bureaucratic delays and complications.
“We are able to offer cash directly to affected communities, ensuring that aid arrives right when it’s needed. This builds resilience in the face of recurring disasters, while also providing an early warning system to help communities prepare for future events.”
Another cross sector collaboration between UNICEF and private companies focuses on mental health.
“Prevention is the mother of all cures,” said van der Heijden. “UNICEF is joining forces with lots of health companies such as AstraZeneca and Zurich Foundation to address obesity and mental health issues.
“These problems are prevalent across all societies and all ages. The reasons might be different, but it is there.
“Seventy percent of preventable deaths stem from risk exposure and unhealthy behaviors as a child. If you approach this issue holistically, you can prevent so many negative cycles between mental health, anxiety, and obesity.”
Van der Heijden also said children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change. From heatwaves that affect maternal health to pollution that exacerbates respiratory problems, the risks children face are not only immediate but long term.
Children, particularly in disadvantaged communities, lack access to cooling systems or safe environments, leaving them at higher risk of heat related illnesses.
“Children breathe twice as fast as adults, and their exposure to pollution can be devastating,” said van der Heijden. “They don’t have the physical ability to cool down through sweating, which makes them vulnerable during extreme heat events.
“The effects of climate change are already being felt by the world’s most vulnerable populations, and children are bearing the brunt.”
The repercussions of climate change extend beyond health, as related economic shocks often lead to unintended social consequences, such as an increase in child marriages.
In regions impacted by heatwaves, families may marry off young girls to reduce financial burdens. The economic strain caused by extreme weather events can push parents to take drastic steps “to have one less mouth to feed.”
Van der Heijden stressed the urgency of integrating children’s needs into global climate policies. While countries around the world are set to submit their new climate plans this year, UNICEF is leading a global campaign to ensure that these plans are child-centric.
“The year 2025 is a pivotal year,” she said. “We will have a number of opportunities to act and set the record straight. Unless we understand the unique vulnerabilities of children, we cannot craft effective policies.
“We need to make sure that every country’s climate plan reflects the impacts on children and ensures that their needs are front and center.”
Thais send over 100 smuggled tortoises home to Tanzania
- The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said
BANGOK: More than a hundred baby tortoises, most of them dead, have been returned to Tanzania from Thailand as evidence in a case against a wildlife smuggling network, the international police organization Interpol said Friday.
The 116 tortoises were discovered hidden in the luggage of a Ukrainian woman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport more than two years ago, it said. Of the total, 98 have since died, but all were handed over Thursday for use in criminal proceedings in a ceremony attended by Thai and Tanzanian officials,
Interpol said. No reason was given for the deaths.
They included endangered or vulnerable species such as pancake tortoises, radiated tortoises and Aldabra giant tortoises. All are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Tortoises are commonly removed from the wild for sale as exotic pets.
The smuggler fled Thailand but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Bulgaria, Interpol said. Her arrest helped police map a larger wildlife trafficking network, resulting in the arrests of 14 additional suspects in an operation involving Thai and Tanzanian police and officers from Interpol.
The surviving tortoises will be quarantined and cared for while experts assess whether they can be put back into their natural habitat.
Indian munitions factory blast kills at least eight workers
- Industrial disasters are common in India, with experts blaming poor planning, lax enforcement of safety rules
- Nine workers were killed in a 2023 blast at a factory in Maharashtra that manufactured drones and explosives
MUMBAI: At least eight workers were killed in a blast at a munitions factory in western India, government officials said Friday, with several others still trapped inside the building.
The explosion happened Friday morning in Bhandara, around 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of India’s financial hub Mumbai, and caused the factory’s roof to collapse.
“In an unfortunate incident today, a blast at Bhandara munitions factory has killed at least eight people and injured seven others,” India’s cabinet minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Gadkari, a lawmaker from Maharashtra state where the explosion occurred, offered his condolences.
Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said earlier on X that up to 14 workers had been trapped after the blast and emergency rescue operations were underway.
Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened” by the blast.
“My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Singh said on X.
Industrial disasters are common in India, with experts blaming poor planning and lax enforcement of safety rules.
Nine workers were killed in a 2023 blast at a factory in Maharashtra that manufactured drones and explosives.
