BAGRAM, Afghanistan: Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers celebrated three years in power on Wednesday with a military parade paying homage to their homemade bombs used in war, fighter aircraft and goose-stepping security forces.
The Taliban’s armed forces towed Soviet-era tanks and artillery pieces through the former US air base in Bagram, where Chinese and Iranian diplomats were among hundreds who gathered for the parade and speeches.
The former Bagram base once served as the linchpin for US-led operations against the Taliban for two decades.
A swarm of motorbikes strapped with yellow jerry cans, often used to carry homemade bombs during the fight against international forces, also rumbled past assembled officials.
There were US-made armored personnel carriers, the black-and-white flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the Taliban government’s formal name for the country — fluttering above them.
Helicopters and fighter aircraft flew over the base, where Taliban fighters were once imprisoned, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Kabul.
Taliban forces seized the capital on August 15, 2021, after the US-backed government collapsed and its leaders fled into exile. The anniversary is marked a day earlier on the Afghan calendar.
Their government remains unrecognized by any other state, with restrictions on women, who bear the brunt of policies the United Nations has called “gender apartheid,” remaining a key sticking point.
“Three years have passed since the dreams of girls have been buried,” Madina, a 20-year-old former university student in Kabul, told AFP.
“It’s a bitter feeling that every year, the celebration of this day reminds us of the efforts, memories, and goals we had for our future.”
Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who had been scheduled to appear at Bagram, praised the Taliban authorities’ victory over “Western occupiers” in a statement read by his chief of staff.
The Taliban government has “the responsibility to maintain Islamic rule, protect property, people’s lives and the respect of our nation,” he said.
Security has been a priority for Taliban authorities as they consolidated their power over the past three years, implementing laws based on their strict interpretation of Islam.
However, attacks by the Daesh group remain a threat and extra security was deployed in Kabul and in the Taliban’s spiritual home of Kandahar ahead of the “day of victory.”
A convoy of military vehicles and arms also paraded near the southern city.
Helicopters flew over the Ghazi stadium in Kabul, where hundreds of men gathered to watch speeches and an exhibition of athletics and performances of Taliban anthems.
Rugby player Samiullah Akmal praised the day’s events, saying it was “better than other years.”
“As a young man, I see Afghanistan’s future is bright... we are independent and the people surrounding us are our own.”
The stadium was full of people from surrounding provinces, Noorullah Noori, Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, told AFP, adding that there was a feeling of “unity.”
“Whether people are members of Islamic Emirate or not... they should be grateful for this blessing from God, they should stand behind the Islamic Emirate.”
The black-and-white standard decorated streets and trucks full of smiling men that choked Kabul streets.
Happy young boys carried a large flag in the Green Zone, once a secure enclave of foreign embassies, saying “We’re ready to do a suicide attack!“
While many Afghans expressed relief at the end of 40 years of successive conflicts, the economy remains stagnant and the population mired in a worsening humanitarian crisis.
“The past three years have been some of the worst of our lives,” said 26-year-old Zalmai, who works for a non-profit and only gave his last name.
“I don’t know what security the Taliban are talking about, people are hungry, the youth don’t have jobs... both girls and boys are facing uncertain future,” he said.
A joint statement from international non-governmental groups warned of the growing aid funding gap, with 23.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Women have been squeezed from public life — banned from many jobs as well as parks and gyms — and barred from secondary and higher education.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reiterated calls for pressure on the Taliban government to lift restrictions on women.
“The third anniversary of the Taliban’s takeover is a grim reminder of Afghanistan’s human rights crisis, but it should also be a call for action,” said Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher.
Taliban celebrate 3 years since Afghanistan takeover with military show
https://arab.news/8t52h
Taliban celebrate 3 years since Afghanistan takeover with military show
- The Taliban’s armed forces towed Soviet-era tanks and artillery pieces through the former US air base in Bagram
- Helicopters and fighter aircraft flew over the base, where Taliban fighters were once imprisoned
Papers reveal UK feared US handling of 2004 Fallujah uprising
- Newly released documents say George W. Bush was given ‘difficult messages’ by Tony Blair in 2004
- Operation Vigilant Resolve was launched after the deaths of four US military contractors
LONDON: Newly released government papers in the UK have revealed that US President George W. Bush believed American military operations following the 2003 invasion of Iraq were a “mission from God,” but that British officials feared Washington lacked “political control” of the war.
They reveal that Tony Blair, the UK prime minister at the time, had to deliver “some difficult messages” to Bush after the US launched a military operation in Fallujah in 2004 to suppress an insurgency.
Bush had demanded that US forces “kick ass” after four military contractors were killed by Iraqi fighters, but US Deputy Secretary of State Richard “Rich” Armitage told the then UK ambassador in Washington, Sir David Manning, the president needed a “dose of reality.”
Armitage asked Blair to persuade Bush that the operation in Fallujah needed to be treated “as part of a carefully judged political process.”
Operation Vigilant Resolve was launched after the bodies of four US contractors were found hanging from a bridge in Fallujah in May 2003. The US lost 27 troops, while about 200 insurgents and 600 Iraqi civilians were thought to have been killed in Fallujah at that time. Coalition forces took the city in a second operation in November 2004.
Elements of the US military had pressed the president for a harsh response, with a plan floated for the US Marine Corps to occupy the city.
The papers reveal that Manning told the government: “Rich summed it all up by saying Bush still thought he was on some sort of mission from God. But that recent events had made him ‘rather more sober.’”
Fears abounded at the time over Bush’s view of the war, after reports surfaced suggesting he had told a Palestinian delegation that God had spoken to him about invading Iraq and overthrowing Saddam Hussein, saying” “George, go fight these terrorists in Afghanistan” and “George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq.” The White House later dismissed the claims as “absurd.”
Gen. John Abizaid, the US commander in Iraq, had claimed he could put down the Fallujah insurgency within days. This was dismissed by Armitage as nonsense and “politically crass.”
The deputy secretary of state believed Washington was “gradually losing on the battlefield” and that it was “inevitable” Bush would need to send US reinforcements to Iraq, Manning said.
A briefing document from No. 10 (Downing Street) issued at the time said: “Publicly we will want to underline our continued commitment to seeing the task (in Fallujah) through, but privately we will need to deliver some difficult messages to Bush about the need for a more measured approach by the US military, under proper political oversight, and the need for a clear end to the occupation on July 1.”
It added: “The prime minister might question Bush on whether there is proper political control of military operations.”
The brief concluded: “In short, too many military officers talking tough to a US audience, with little attention to the effect on an Iraqi or regional audience.”
India caps 2024 with first space docking mission, eyes launching orbital station
- SpaDeX mission marks ‘first step’ in establishing India’s space station
- Earlier this year, India announced $116 million fund for space startups
NEW DELHI: India has launched its first space docking mission on a home-made rocket, capping 2024 with a major technological feat in efforts to establish its position in the global space industry after last year’s successful moon landing and a solar observation project.
The Space Docking Experiment, or SpaDeX, mission launched on Monday evening from the Indian Space Research Organization’s Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota island off the Bay of Bengal.
About 15 minutes after liftoff aboard the ISRO’s PSLV rocket, the mission director confirmed the launch as a success and reaching “another milestone in India’s space journey” when the spacecraft reached an altitude of 470 km.
The SpaDeX mission involves launching two small spacecraft, each weighing about 220 kg, into a 470 km circular orbit.
“SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) is a pioneering mission to establish India’s capability in orbital docking, a key technology for future human spaceflight and satellite servicing missions,” the ISRO said in a statement.
“In-space docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives. Through this mission, India is marching toward becoming the fourth country in the world to have space docking technology ... This technology is essential for India’s space ambitions such as Indian on Moon, sample return from the Moon, the building and operation of Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), etc.”
India is planning to build its modular space station, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, by 2035. The docking mission is the “first step” toward that endeavor, said Syed Maqbool Ahmed, a former ISRO scientist who was part of the Chandrayaan program — the Indian Lunar Exploration Program.
“When we want to build a space station, the very first thing we have to do is continuously coming and going back to the station, and that is where the docking is needed,” Ahmed told Arab News.
“That is amazing. Only three countries have done so till now: America, USSR and China. And we will be the fourth country.”
In the past few years, India has been establishing its position in the global space industry.
In August last year, it became the fourth nation to ever soft-land a spacecraft on the moon. A month later, it launched its solar mission, becoming the second country, after the US, to have explored the sun.
But what counts is not only the recent achievements but creating the environment and long-term investment for the space industry to flourish and involve the private sector as well.
“India has approved a space policy just a few months ago. They have also taken almost 1,000 crores ($116 million) separately to help the aerospace industry,” Ahmed said.
“India is encouraging each and every person ... lots of startups to come into the aerospace field.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan named in Britain’s New Year honors
- Khan said he was “truly humbled to have received a knighthood”
- He was elected mayor of the capital for the third time this year
LONDON: London Mayor Sadiq Khan is among the hundreds named in King Charles’s New Year honors list published on Monday.
Khan, a member of Britain’s governing Labour Party, will receive a knighthood. He was elected mayor of the capital for the third time this year but has faced criticism for crime levels and a housing crisis in the city.
Khan said he was “truly humbled to have received a knighthood.”
“I couldn’t have dreamed when growing up on a council estate in south London that I’d one day be Mayor of London.
“It’s the honor of my life to serve the city I love,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The full list includes more than 1,200 people in politics, sport, the arts or community service to be awarded honors ranging from Member, Commander or Officer of the Order of the British Empire (MBE, CBE or OBE) up to knighthoods and damehoods.
Former England soccer boss Gareth Southgate and Paris Olympics gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson also featured on the list.
Southgate, who led England to two straight European Championship finals before stepping down as the national side’s manager in July, receives a knighthood.
MI5’s Ken McCallum, who has served as the domestic intelligence service’s director general since 2020, was also set to receive a knighthood.
Among business executives, ex-Rolls-Royce boss Warren East and former HSBC chief executive Noel Quinn will be knighted, while Ruth Cairnie, chair of defense group Babcock , receives a damehood.
Andy Street, a former boss of retailer John Lewis who failed to win re-election as a regional mayor this year, will also receive a knighthood.
Among those receiving a CBE are actors Sarah Lancashire and Carey Mulligan and TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh.
The New Year honors, which have been awarded since at least 1890, aim to recognize not just well-known figures but people who have contributed to national life through often unsung work over many years.
Children’s author Jacqueline Wilson was awarded a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire, while Nobel laureate novelist Kazuo Ishiguro was given a Companion of Honour, of which there are only 65 recipients at any time.
In sport, Paris 800 meters gold medallist Hodgkinson receives an MBE while Olympic champion rower Helen Glover is recognized with an OBE.
For his work on mental health awareness, actor Stephen Fry will receive a knighthood.
South Korea in mourning: Air crash shakes nation as 2024 draws to a close
- 179 people were killed in the deadliest aviation on South Korean soil on Sunday
- Families are still waiting at Muan airport to receive the bodies of their relatives
MUAN, South Korea: South Koreans ended the year in nationwide mourning on Tuesday, with bereaved families gathered at Muan Airport to receive the bodies of their loved ones killed in the deadliest-ever aviation disaster on the country’s soil.
The crash of Jeju Air flight 7CC216 from Bangkok to the southern Muan County on Sunday killed 179 people when the plane skidded off the runway, hit a concrete mound and exploded into flames. Only two people — both flight attendants — survived.
Investigators have recovered over 600 body parts from the crash site so far, as relatives and friends waited at the airport for authorities to release the victims’ remains.
“I am sorry the identification process took longer than initially promised,” said Na Won-oh, head investigator of the police in Jeonnam Province, where the airport is located.
All but five bodies have been identified as of Tuesday afternoon, as officials began to release the remains in the process expected to take another few days.
All the passengers were South Koreans, except for two Thai nationals.
“I am so heartbroken, and this is so tiring. It is really, really difficult for me,” said Park Han-shin, who lost his younger brother in the disaster.
Cries of angry relatives scolding authorities echoed through the airport, after they discovered that the bodies were spread out on the ground and not placed in refrigerators as officials had promised to do earlier.
“Our brothers, siblings and family are lying on the floor. We had demanded a cold storage unit, but (the government) did not provide it. We have to take back the bodies in good condition,” Park said.
The units were brought in later, following the complaints.
During another round of identification on Tuesday morning, people embraced one another and began to cry as officials read out the victims’ names.
“My daughter is really dead,” a woman said, hugging her husband after they heard their child’s name.
When several lawmakers made their way through the airport’s halls to meet the grieving families, a father cried:
“I just want him to find peace. He is lying there … God knows where … I want to take my son home.”
Another man showed a photo of his son to Korean lawmaker Jung Chung-rae as he fell into sobs.
“He was so handsome. Now I can’t see him,” he said. “We are all just holding it in. We are all just hanging on because we are all going through the same thing.”
South Korea is observing seven days of mourning, with flags flying at half-mast and memorials set up across the nation.
The crash on Sunday was the deadliest aviation accident ever on South Korean soil.
At the Muan airport, families were overseeing the set-up of a memorial, with dozens of black-and-white flowers filling the area. Mourners were trickling in to pay respects for the victims.
“A few people from my neighborhood were also killed. There is a memorial in our town as well, but I wanted to come support the bereaved,” said Nam Eun-hui, who drove almost two hours to reach the site.
“When I first heard of the accident on the news, I thought more people would be saved. I didn’t know it would be such a big tragedy.”
Djokovic, Sabalenka win season-openers but Kyrgios loses on return
- Former world number one Novak Djokovic is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown in January in Melbourne
- Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios loses in three tight sets in his first singles match since June 2023
BRISBANE, Australia: Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka launched their Australian Open preparations with straight-sets wins on Tuesday at the Brisbane International but Nick Kyrgios lost on his return from injury.
Former world number one Djokovic, who is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam crown in January in Melbourne, eased to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over wildcard Rinky Hijikata.
The 37-year-old Serb broke Hijikata once in the first set and twice in the second for a comfortable 74-minute win.
Djokovic, now ranked seven in the world, was all business against the young Australian and always looked in control as he set up a second-round clash against fellow veteran Gael Monfils.
“To start the new season with a win is obviously very important,” said Djokovic, who is pursuing an unprecedented 11th Australian Open title.
“But Hijikata was really good tonight and he made me work for it.”
Australian firebrand Kyrgios lost in three tight sets in his first singles match since June 2023.
Kyrgios went down 7-6 (7/2), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3) to Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in almost two and a half hours as serve dominated.
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, 29, is making his comeback following wrist reconstruction and other injuries over the past couple of years.
Ahead of the Australian Open starting on January 12, big-serving Mpetshi Perricard said Kyrgios had shown enough to suggest that his comeback would be a success.
Kyrgios played and won in the doubles with Djokovic on Monday.
“Playing Nick here wasn’t a good match-up for me,” the 21-year-old Mpetshi Perricard said, asked about playing Kyrgios in front of his home crowd.
“He did some good things, he played with confidence.”
The Frenchman, who has risen from 205 in the world at the start of 2024 to his current ranking of 31, fired down 36 aces.
Women’s world number one Sabalenka kickstarted her bid to win the Australian Open for a third consecutive time with a straight-forward win after a sluggish start.
The Belarusian appeared bothered by the high humidity on Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, particularly during an error-strewn first set against Renata Zarazua.
But after breaking Mexico’s Zarazua at 5-4, the 26-year-old surged through the second set to wrap up the match 6-4, 6-0 in 65 minutes.
“The first match is always a tricky one,” Sabalenka said.
“It was a tricky start for me but I’m glad that I closed it out in the first set, and in the second set I felt like whatever I tried to do it would work for me.
“So I’m really happy for the first win of the season.”
Sabalenka is bidding to be the first woman since Martina Hingis in 1997-99 to win three Australian Opens in succession.
She will play Yulia Putintseva next after the Kazakh’s 6-2, 7-5 win over American Mccartney Kessler.
