Russian officials meet relatives of missing border residents amid criticism

Russian officials meet relatives of missing border residents amid criticism
A Ukrainian serviceman shows children FPV drones piloting skills during the opening of the 65th Brigade’s recruiting center “Velykyi Lug” in Kyiv on Jan. 27, 2025. (AFP)
Updated 29 January 2025
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Russian officials meet relatives of missing border residents amid criticism

Russian officials meet relatives of missing border residents amid criticism

An official missing persons list compiled by Russian authorities initially listed only around 500 people unaccounted for in the Ukrainian-occupied zone
Local residents and Ukraine’s army say the number is close to 3,000

MOSCOW: Russian officials met this week with relatives of people trapped by Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into the Kursk region, amid criticism of efforts to secure the return of people from Ukrainian-held territory.
Dozens of villages and the regional hub of Sudzha have been under Ukrainian control since the surprise ground assault on August 6, 2024.
Hundreds of Russians were caught on the opposite side of the front line and cut off from relatives, with discontent growing at the lack of information from regional officials.
An official missing persons list compiled by Russian authorities initially listed only around 500 people unaccounted for in the Ukrainian-occupied zone, but local residents and Ukraine’s army say the number is close to 3,000.
The meeting held late Tuesday was aimed at forming “a single open list of missing persons,” said regional governor Alexander Khinshtein.
The new list will “reassure relatives of the missing, who will see that their loved ones are not forgotten or abandoned,” he wrote on Telegram, adding he hoped most of the work would be done within 10 days.
Volunteers, aid workers and Russia’s human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova also attended the meeting, he said.
Local resident Lyubov Prilutskaya called the meeting a positive step.
“Most likely, our figure is correct — about 3,000 people. Now the lists will be compiled in one place, they will be checked, reviewed, verified, and there will be at least some understanding of the situation,” she told AFP.
The 37-year-old has for months been trying to locate her mother and father in the occupied zone, saying earlier this month that a list compiled by authorities contained people known to be dead.
Residents have accused authorities of not doing enough to help their loved ones, and of keeping them in the dark about the scale of fighting.
Over the past two weeks, dozens of them have made social media appeals for help finding relatives in a coordinated campaign.
Ukraine says thousands of its civilians are held in areas seized and occupied by Moscow since its assault began in February 2022, and that it is providing safe passage to Russians in the Kursk region.


British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan

British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan
Updated 59 min 34 sec ago
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British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan

British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan
  • Peter Reynolds, 79, and wife Barbie, 75, have spent 18 years running training projects in country
  • Daughter says she has not heard from her parents for over 2 weeks

LONDON: A British couple in their seventies were arrested by the Taliban in Afghanistan earlier this month, it was reported on Sunday.

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, who have spent 18 years running training projects in the country, were detained on Feb. 1 while returning to their home in Bamiyan.

Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, told the BBC she had not heard from her parents in more than two weeks. Initially, they were able to send text messages from detention, with Afghan authorities assuring the family that they were “fine.”

However, communication ended three days later, leaving their children in the dark about their well-being since.

Speaking from Daventry in Northamptonshire, Entwistle said: “It’s been over two weeks since the messages stopped and they were taken into custody. We would like the Taliban to release them to go back to their home and continue their work.”

The couple, who met at the University of Bath and married in Kabul in 1970, have been running educational initiatives in Afghanistan since 2009.

Their work included training programs in five schools in Kabul and a project for mothers and children in Bamiyan, reportedly approved by local authorities despite the Taliban’s restrictions on female education and employment.

Entwistle told The Sunday Times: “They said they could not leave when Afghans were in their hour of need. They were meticulous about keeping by the rules even as they kept changing.”

She also expressed concern for her father’s health: “My mother is 75 and my father almost 80 and (he) needs his heart medication after a mini-stroke. They were just trying to help the country they loved. The idea they are being held because they were teaching mothers with children is outrageous.”

Entwistle and her three brothers have written to the Taliban, pleading for their parents’ release.

“We do not understand the reasons behind their arrest,” they said in the letter.

“They have communicated their trust in you, and that as Afghan citizens they will be treated well.”

They also distanced their parents from any potential prisoner exchange.

“Our parents have consistently expressed their commitment to Afghanistan, stating that they would rather sacrifice their lives than become part of ransom negotiations or be traded,” they said.

Taliban sources told the BBC that British nationals had been arrested in Bamiyan province for allegedly working for a nongovernmental organization and using a plane without notifying local authorities. The Taliban has imposed strict regulations on NGOs, banning women from working for them in 2022 and threatening closures for non-compliance.

The UK Foreign Office has acknowledged the detention of two British nationals in Afghanistan but has limited capacity to assist, as Britain does not recognize the Taliban and has no embassy in Kabul.


Russia and US plan another meeting this week

Russia and US plan another meeting this week
Updated 23 February 2025
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Russia and US plan another meeting this week

Russia and US plan another meeting this week
  • Russia-US relations thawing under President Donald Trump
  • US talking to Moscow over Ukraine war

MOSCOW: Russian and US teams plan to meet this week to discuss improving relations after the war in Ukraine had pushed ties to the worst level since the depths of the Cold War, a senior Russian start diplomat said on Sunday.
With Russian forces having advanced last year at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion, US President Donald Trump has said he wants to deliver a peace deal to end the war which he says has killed vast numbers of people.
Trump and President Vladimir Putin spoke on February 12 about improving relations and ending the war, and US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, on February 18 to that end.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, Moscow’s point man for relations with the US, said that a meeting at the level of departmental heads would take place at the end of the week.
“We are open to contacts with the American side, in particular, on irritants in bilateral relations,” Ryabkov was quoted as saying by state news agency TASS.
“We are waiting for real progress when the meeting scheduled for the end of the coming week takes place.”
Trump has repeatedly said that he believes Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky want to do a deal.
Trump said on February 12 that it was not practical for Ukraine to get NATO alliance membership and that he had seen support for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s statement that Ukraine will not realistically return to its 2014 borders.
As the war enters its fourth year, Russia controls nearly one fifth of Ukraine — or an area about the size of the US state of Ohio — including Crimea which Russia annexed in 2014, about 75 percent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and more than 99 percent of the Luhansk region.
Russia says the land it controls is now Russian land under Russian law and the Russian nuclear umbrella, a position Ukraine and its Western European backers have said they will never recognize or accept.
Last June, Putin set out his terms for an end to the war: Ukraine must officially drop its NATO ambitions and withdraw troops from the entirety of the territory of the four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia.


UN chief calls for Ukraine peace deal respecting ‘territorial integrity’

UN chief calls for Ukraine peace deal respecting ‘territorial integrity’
Updated 23 February 2025
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UN chief calls for Ukraine peace deal respecting ‘territorial integrity’

UN chief calls for Ukraine peace deal respecting ‘territorial integrity’
  • The Security Council vote will be on a US-backed draft resolution that makes no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity
  • US President Donald Trump has adopted a tougher stance on Kyiv while taking a friendlier tone toward Moscow

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Sunday, on the eve of a key United Nations vote, for a Ukraine peace deal that respects the country’s “territorial integrity.”
“I reaffirm the urgent need for a just, sustainable and comprehensive peace — one that fully upholds Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” Guterres said in a statement.
The Security Council vote will be on a US-backed draft resolution that makes no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“Monday 24 February marks three years since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in clear violation of the United Nations Charter and international law,” the UN chief said.
“Eighty years after the end of the Second World War, the war in Ukraine stands as a grave threat not only to the peace and security of Europe but also to the very foundations and core principles of the United Nations,” Guterres said.
He saluted “all efforts toward achieving a just and inclusive peace.”
The statement comes as US President Donald Trump has adopted a tougher stance on Kyiv while taking a friendlier tone toward Moscow.
The United States wants the Security Council and General Assembly to vote on a short text calling for a “swift end” to the devastating conflict, while making no mention of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Ukraine and its European allies are seeking a vote in the General Assembly on a text that repeats earlier demands for an immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and an end to Russia’s attacks on its neighbor.
Similar resolutions have been voted on since Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, and each has passed the General Assembly by overwhelming majorities, with support from the US administration of then president Joe Biden.


Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years
Updated 23 February 2025
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Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years
  • Bilateral ties have started to grow since the ouster of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina last August
  • Rice import may increase other opportunities for Bangladesh-Pakistan trade, expert says

DHAKA: Bangladesh will receive a delivery of 25,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan next month, its food ministry said on Sunday, confirming the resumption of direct bilateral trade between the two governments after more than five decades.

Following decades of acrimonious ties, Bangladesh-Pakistan relations have started to grow after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August.

Bangladesh’s interim government has had more bilateral exchanges with Pakistan since, with the chief adviser, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, having met twice with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Earlier this month, Dhaka finalized a deal to import rice from Pakistan, the food ministry said.

“The first consignment of 25,000 tonnes will arrive in Bangladesh on March 3,” Zia Uddin Ahmed, an additional secretary at the ministry, told Arab News.

“Since 1971, this is the first time Bangladesh initiated rice import at (the government-to-government) level from Pakistan.”

Their growing trade ties followed the two South Asian nations’ direct maritime contact in November, when a Pakistani cargo ship docked in Bangladesh for the first time since 1971 with imports and exports organized by private businesses.

Amena Mohsin, an international relations expert and lecturer at the North South University, said resuming trade with Pakistan is an important move for Bangladesh.

“We want that bilateral relationship with Pakistan to move forward. We always diversify our relationships (but) most importantly, at the moment, we are experiencing a low point row with India … In this context, this latest decision to import rice from Pakistan is very significant,” she told Arab News.

In her 15 years of uninterrupted rule, Hasina’s government was hostile toward Pakistan but closely allied with India, where she fled last year following a student-led popular uprising and remains exiled. Her removal from office was followed by the cooling of relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.

“But (as we move) forward to strengthen the bilateral ties with Pakistan, the issue of 1971 should be resolved at the same time,” Mohsin added, referring to the 1971 war of independence, which he said still weighs heavy on the minds of the people of Bangladesh.

Dhaka’s decision to import rice from Pakistan has significance in addressing an ongoing crisis of the staple due to floods and economic instability, which has led the government to import large quantities from India to avoid shortage.

“At the moment, there is a rice crisis in the Bangladesh market, and we are in need of sourcing rice from different sources at a competitive price,” Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, told Arab News.

“From that perspective, finding a new source (for importing rice) is a positive thing for us.”

Now that trade has resumed, Bangladesh and Pakistan have the potential to increase commerce ties in different areas, he added.

“Our businessmen can explore the Pakistan markets and consider the feasibility in terms of costs. With this latest rice import, opportunities to import other goods have increased here,” Moazzem said.

“It’s a new addition to the market, especially considering Bangladesh’s ongoing trade diversification efforts.”


Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 

Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 
Updated 23 February 2025
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Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 

Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 
  • Radio Begum launched in March 2021, with programs aimed at educating girls
  • In the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Afghanistan ranked 178 out of 180 countries 

Kabul: Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station will resume broadcasts, the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture announced after it suspended the outlet’s operations this month over its cooperation with foreign media outlets. 

On Feb. 4, Taliban officials raided Kabul-based Radio Begum — a station run by women with programs aimed at educating girls and supporting Afghan women — and seized staff’s computers, hard drives and phones, and took into custody two male employees “who do not hold any senior management position,” the outlet said in a statement. 

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the ministry said Radio Begum had been suspended “due to the improper use of their licenses and cooperation with foreign sanctioned media outlets.” 

Radio Begum has now been “granted permission to resume their activities,” the ministry said, after they made repeated requests and following a “pledge with the Broadcasting Directorate to operate in line with the principles of journalism and in accordance with the policies of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

It did not provide details on what those principles and policies were nor the status of the radio station’s employees who were allegedly detained.

Launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, Radio Begum has been broadcasting hours of lessons daily, along with health, psychology and spiritual programs for women across most of Afghanistan. 

Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and televises classes that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade, providing education for many after the Taliban banned education for women and girls after the sixth grade. 

“It’s one of the few channels that discussed issues related to women and girls,” said Najiba, 28, a Kabul resident and listener of Radio Begum. 

“I particularly listened to their programs on health and women entrepreneurs. I was happy to be able to receive some information about women-related health issues from the radio. The other program that featured businesswomen was also encouraging. It inspired other women and gave us hope to learn skills and work for ourselves.” 

While the resumption of Radio Begum’s operations was welcomed, the initial suspension was still concerning for Meena Akbari, an Afghan women’s rights activist. 

“It was a concerning move. The few media outlets that are left in the country should be supported instead of being contained and closed,” Akbari told Arab News.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the country’s media landscape has been “decimated,” according to Reporters without Borders, which cited the disappearance of 43 percent of Afghan media outlets in the past four years and ranked the country 178 out of 180 in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. 

“With Afghan women and girls already facing increasing restrictions since the Taliban takeover, platforms such as these are vital for women to get information from and continue learning about different topics,” Akbari said. 

“It’s a good decision that the government allowed the station to resume broadcasts. Hopefully, it continues to benefit Afghan women and Afghans in general.”