Afghan Taliban attend Doha maritime conference to increase engagement with international community 

Afghan Taliban attend Doha maritime conference to increase engagement with international community 
Afghanistan's Minister of Defense, Maulvi Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid (2nd right), and Chief of Staff, Qari Fasihuddin Fitr (3rd left) at the Defense Exhibition of Weapons in Qatar on March 4, 2024. (Photo courtesy: @Zabehulah_M33/X)
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Updated 04 March 2024
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Afghan Taliban attend Doha maritime conference to increase engagement with international community 

Afghan Taliban attend Doha maritime conference to increase engagement with international community 
  • Afghanistan is a landlocked country with no naval forces
  • Afghan delegation joins over 60 other countries at Qatar event 

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Monday that its participation at the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference is “very important,” as it seeks to increase engagements with the international community. 

The eighth edition of DIMDEX, which is organized by Qatar Armed Forces and runs from March 4 to 6 at the Qatar National Convention Center, will be attended by official delegations from more than 60 countries, at least five of which are bringing their warships to visit the Hamad Port. 

Despite being a landlocked country with no naval forces, the Afghan delegation is among the participating countries this year and is led by the Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, who is accompanied by the Chief of Army Staff Mohammad Fasihuddin Fitrat. 




Afghanistan's Minister of Defense, Maulvi Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid, and Chief of Staff, Qari Fasihuddin Fitr inspect weapons at the Defense Exhibition of Weapons in Qatar on March 4, 2024. (Photo courtesy: @Zabehulah_M33/X)

“They are going to take part in the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition today … This conference and exhibition is very important for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, particularly for its engagements with the international community,”Suhail Shaheen, Taliban government spokesperson in Doha and permanent representative-designate to the UN, told Arab News on Monday. 

“The invitation for the delegation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in this exhibition means that the world understands the reality of Afghanistan and accepts it … and wants to interact with the IEA … and I think this is part of the process of engagement.” 

The Taliban seized power in August 2021 after two decades of war that killed tens of thousands of Afghans. With most nations having closed their embassies in Kabul following the group’s return to power, the new rulers remained officially unrecognized by any country.

The Taliban government has hosted several meetings with other countries in the hopes of improving ties and gaining formal recognition, including talks hosted by interim Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi in late January that were attended by officials from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and Indonesia. 




Afghanistan's Minister of Defense, Maulvi Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid, and Chief of Staff, Qari Fasihuddin Fitr inspect weapons at the Defense Exhibition of Weapons in Qatar on March 4, 2024. (Photo courtesy: @Zabehulah_M33/X)

“They will also hold meetings with top Qatari officials and participants from other countries to discuss and have talks on various topics,” Shaheen said. 

Though maritime security may not be top of mind for Taliban officials, the event in Qatar offers opportunities to interact with the wider international community on other issues, said Abdul Waheed Waheed, an international relations expert based in Kabul. 

“Afghanistan may not have military products to showcase and does not have maritime security (concerns), but the Afghan delegates participation at the exhibition in Qatar can still achieve significant outcomes by leveraging the event for networking, diplomatic outcomes, investment attraction, promoting their own military assets, and fostering peace and stability in Afghanistan and in the region,” Waheed told Arab News. 

“The ongoing defense exhibition in Qatar provides a valuable platform for the Afghan delegation to engage with global defense stakeholders.”


Drug trafficker tunnel found between Spanish enclave, Morocco: police

Drug trafficker tunnel found between Spanish enclave, Morocco: police
Updated 20 February 2025
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Drug trafficker tunnel found between Spanish enclave, Morocco: police

Drug trafficker tunnel found between Spanish enclave, Morocco: police

MADRID: Spanish police said Wednesday they had discovered a tunnel running from Moroccan territory to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as part of an operation targeting suspected trafficking of hashish.
The police stated the underground gallery, several dozen meters long and 12 meters deep, was uncovered during a search of a warehouse in an industrial zone of Ceuta, a small territory located on Morocco’s northern Mediterranean coast opposite mainland Spain.
“It is a narrow construction, reinforced with wood which could have been used to transport drugs between Morocco and Spain,” said a statement from the Civil Guard police force.
Spanish media reported the tunnel as measuring at least 50 meters long, running just inside Moroccan territory.
It could, however, prove even longer, with authorities yet to determine where it ends.
The discovery came during an operation targeting a number of criminal gangs accused of smuggling hashish into Spain in lorries.
The police said the crackdown, dubbed Operation Hades, has led to the arrest of 14 people over the past three weeks, including two policemen, and the discovery of 6,000 kilos of the drug.
 


Trump administration tells Pentagon to slash budget

Trump administration tells Pentagon to slash budget
Updated 20 February 2025
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Trump administration tells Pentagon to slash budget

Trump administration tells Pentagon to slash budget

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has ordered senior US military leaders to plan for expansive cuts that could slash the defense budget by eight percent annually, or some $290 billion within the next five years, US media reported Wednesday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Pentagon to develop the deep reductions, The Washington Post reported, citing a memo.

The Pentagon’s budget for 2025 is some $850 billion. Lawmakers across the political spectrum agree that the massive spending is needed to deter threats, especially from China and Russia.

The cuts, if implemented in full, would reduce that figure by tens of billions each year to some $560 billion by the end of the five years.

The report did not give details of where the cuts would be made in the world’s biggest military, but an earlier Post report said that junior civilian workers, not uniformed personnel, were being targeted.

The news — which comes after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency reportedly visited the Pentagon last week — was likely to be met with stiff resistance from both the military and Congress.

Trump on Wednesday signaled support for a House of Representatives bill that would increase the defense budget by $100 billion — a move at odds with the Hegseth-directed cuts.

The planned reductions also run counter to calls by Trump and Hegseth for NATO members to increase their military spending to five percent of GDP a year.

The United States currently spends around 3.4 percent of its GDP on defense, and the five percent threshold would be even farther out of reach if the Pentagon’s budget is reduced.

The stock prices of major US defense contractors were hit by the news, with Lockheed Martin dropping briefly before recovering, Northrop Grumann falling nearly two percent and Palantir closing down more than 10 percent.

Hegseth’s memo said the proposed cuts must be drawn up by February 24, and include 17 categories that Trump wants exempted, including operations at the US border with Mexico and modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense.

It also calls for funding for regional headquarters such as Indo-Pacific Command and Space Command.

But other major centers such as European Command, which has led the way on US strategy throughout the war in Ukraine, and also Africa Command and Central Command — which oversees operations in the Middle East — were absent from the list, the Post reported.

The Defense Department “must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence,” Hegseth wrote in the memo, dated Tuesday, according to the Post.

“Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit,” he reportedly continued.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to slash government spending and end US support for Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion.


Republican lawmaker seeks US judge’s impeachment over ruling against Trump

Republican lawmaker seeks US judge’s impeachment over ruling against Trump
Updated 20 February 2025
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Republican lawmaker seeks US judge’s impeachment over ruling against Trump

Republican lawmaker seeks US judge’s impeachment over ruling against Trump
  • Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning some Democrats would need to vote for impeachment in order to remove the judge from the bench

A Republican ally of Donald Trump has moved to impeach a federal judge who blocked a team set up by the president and spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk from accessing US Treasury Department systems responsible for trillions of dollars in payments. Congressman Derrick Van Orden on Tuesday filed a resolution in the House of Representatives seeking to have US District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan removed from office following calls by Musk and several conservative lawmakers for judges to be impeached after stymieing key parts of Trump’s agenda.
Van Orden’s resolution accused the judge of judicial misconduct and abuse of power.
In order to be removed from office, the House must pass by a simple majority vote an article of impeachment accusing Engelmayer of a crime and then the Senate must then vote by at least a two-thirds majority to convict the judge. Republicans control both chambers of Congress but do not have a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Engelmayer, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, drew Musk’s scorn after temporarily blocking Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from accessing Treasury Department systems in a lawsuit brought by 19 Democratic state attorneys general. That decision and rulings by other judges have prompted Trump, Musk and their conservative allies to sharply criticize judges who have ruled against the Republican president’s policies, fueling concerns about whether his administration will abide by judicial rulings.
Van Orden and Engelmayer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Judges rarely speak publicly about matters concerning pending litigation.
Trump has put Musk, the world’s wealthiest person, in charge of his efforts to downsize and overhaul the federal government. Musk has called for a “wave of judicial impeachments.” Two conservative lawmakers have announced plans to introduce articles of impeachment against US District Judge John McConnell of Rhode Island, who blocked Trump’s administration from freezing federal funding, as well as Engelmayer.
Van Orden, whose reelection bid last year received Trump’s endorsement, was the first member of Congress to formally do so, accusing Engelmayer in his resolution of committing high crimes and misdemeanors. He is the resolution’s sole sponsor.
Van Orden in his resolution accused Engelmayer of ruling against DOGE and Trump “on purely political grounds, demonstrating clear bias and prejudice against the president and the 74,000,000 Americans who voted for him.”
Marin Levy, a Duke University School of Law professor who studies the federal judiciary, said impeachment under the US Constitution is supposed to be reserved for serious misconduct, not disappointment with court decisions, which can be appealed.
“Articles of impeachment filed against judges who are simply performing their constitutional role represent an attempt to politicize the judiciary and quite frankly to intimidate judges,” Levy said.
Impeachments of federal judges are rare: Only 15 have ever been impeached in US history, and only eight have been convicted by the Senate, most recently in 2010. Such impeachments in modern history have typically related to criminal or bribery offenses.
Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning some Democrats would need to vote for impeachment in order to remove the judge from the bench. US Chief Justice John Roberts in a year-end report issued on December 31 defending the judiciary’s independence described a threat by an unnamed elected official to impeach a judge over her decisions as a regrettable example of “recent attempts to intimidate judges.”


Canada refugee claims drop as country issues fewer visas

Canada refugee claims drop as country issues fewer visas
Updated 20 February 2025
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Canada refugee claims drop as country issues fewer visas

Canada refugee claims drop as country issues fewer visas
  • About 11,840 people filed refugee claims in Canada in January, down from a high of 19,821 in July, Immigration and Refugee Board data shows
  • Canada is publicly discouraging asylum-seekers and clamping down on the visas it issues

TORONTO: Refugee claims in Canada are dropping from historic highs as the country grants fewer visas and advocates worry legitimate claimants are being left stranded with few good options.
About 11,840 people filed refugee claims in Canada in January, down from a high of 19,821 in July, Immigration and Refugee Board data shows. This was the lowest monthly figure since September 2023.
Canada is publicly discouraging asylum-seekers and clamping down on the visas it issues, aiming to gradually reduce the population and reduce strain on services amid a broader backlash against migrants.
Last year Canada issued about 1.5 million visitor visas, down from about 1.8 million in 2023, according to government data.
The decline was particularly sharp for certain countries that have been significant sources of asylum-seekers, Reuters analysis shows.
The number of visitor visas granted to Bangladeshi citizens dropped to 27,975 from 45,322; Haitians dropped to 5,487 from 8,984; Nigerians, to 51,828 from 79,378. Visitor visas to some countries with high refugee acceptance rates have declined from 2023. Last year Canada granted visitor visas to 330 Afghans, down from 468; 38,075 Iranians, down from 57,127; 2,019 Ugandans, from 6,096; 1,174 Syrians, from 2,716; and 3,199 Kenyans, from 11,464.
The number of pending claims is still at a historic high — 278,457 in January, according to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Canada has no asylum-seeker visas. Anyone who wants to claim refugee status must come as a visitor, student or worker — or sneak into the country, no easy feat for a place surrounded by water and an agreement with the United States to turn back asylum-seekers.
Displaced people can also wait in refugee camps, potentially for years, in hopes they will be selected for resettlement.
Canada is using heightened scrutiny of visa applications from countries with the “highest rates of abuse” with the aim of ensuring visas are used for their intended purpose, Renee LeBlanc Proctor, a spokesperson for Immigration Minister Marc Miller, wrote in an email.
“This work additionally protects the asylum process ... so that it is available for those who need it most.”
At a time of global displacement, advocates argue, Canada’s clampdown leaves desperate people with no good options. “It’s very problematic,” said Diana Gallego, co-executive director at Toronto-based FCJ Refugee Center, which provides services to asylum-seekers.
“If people are fleeing persecution the only way that some of them may find safe haven is having an exit visa because, if not, they are forced to cross borders walking, putting their lives in danger.”
Gallego said the center is seeing fewer people, although she does not know if they are being sent elsewhere.
“It’s like invisible walls.”


Trump calling Zelensky a dictator is ‘wrong and dangerous’: Scholz

Trump calling Zelensky a dictator is ‘wrong and dangerous’: Scholz
Updated 19 February 2025
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Trump calling Zelensky a dictator is ‘wrong and dangerous’: Scholz

Trump calling Zelensky a dictator is ‘wrong and dangerous’: Scholz
  • Olaf Scholz: ‘What is correct is that Volodymyr Zelensky is the elected head of state of Ukraine’
  • Annalena Baerbock: ‘No one but Putin started or wanted this war in the heart of Europe’

BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Wednesday that it was “wrong and dangerous” of US President Donald Trump to call Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator.”
“What is correct is that Volodymyr Zelensky is the elected head of state of Ukraine,” Scholz told the Spiegel news site.
Earlier on Wednesday Trump called Zelensky “a dictator without elections.”
Zelensky’s five-year term ended last year but Ukrainian law does not require elections during wartime.
Scholz condemned any attempt “to deny President Zelensky democratic legitimacy.”
“The fact that proper elections can’t be held in the middle of the war is reflected in the Ukrainian constitution and electoral law,” he said.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also hit back at Trump’s comments, branding them “absurd.”
“If you look at the real world instead of just firing off a tweet, then you know who in Europe has to live in the conditions of a dictatorship: people in Russia, people in Belarus,” Baerbock told broadcaster ZDF.
Earlier Berlin had also pushed back against Trump’s claim that Kyiv had “started” the fighting.
“No one but Putin started or wanted this war in the heart of Europe,” Baerbock said in a statement, adding that “we are working with all our might to further strengthen Ukraine.”
She said “we are at an existential waypoint for security and peace in Europe” and that the goal was “achieving lasting peace for Ukraine — safe and protected from future Russian aggression.”
Baerbock said that any “false peace ... would only give Russia a respite for new military campaigns.”
Regarding the fast-moving events since Trump spoke directly with Putin about ending the conflict, she said that “we must not allow ourselves to be confused” and “keep a cool head.”
Downplaying Europe’s role on Ukraine “only plays into the hands” of Russia, she said.
“I therefore advocate acting confidently toward the US administration.”