British couple in their 70s detained by Taliban in Afghanistan

Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, who have spent 18 years running training projects in Afghanistan, were detained by the Taliban. (Supplied)
Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, who have spent 18 years running training projects in Afghanistan, were detained by the Taliban. (Supplied)
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Updated 23 February 2025
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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.


Filipino Muslims flock to Manila food hub for halal meals during Ramadan

Filipino Muslims flock to Manila food hub for halal meals during Ramadan
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Filipino Muslims flock to Manila food hub for halal meals during Ramadan

Filipino Muslims flock to Manila food hub for halal meals during Ramadan
  • Philippine capital region is home to more than 173,000 Filipino Muslims
  • Food sellers on Manila’s Padre Campa Street offer halal meals, including Mindanao dishes

Manila: In the heart of Manila’s bustling University Belt, a food street known for its diverse culinary offerings has grown into a go-to spot for Filipino Muslims during Ramadan, as they search for halal food that reminds them of home.

The halal eateries along Padre Campa Street, a hub for grub located near the capital’s top colleges and universities, have in recent years become a haven for Muslim minorities, including Hanan, who is from Mindanao’s Sultan Kudarat province.

“I miss a lot of food from home, especially the ones prepared by my mom for iftar,” Hanan, who gave only her first name, told Arab News.

As she spent the holy month in Manila to prepare for a licensing exam, Hanan said finding halal food to break the fast was not as easy as it was back home.

“Fasting here is a bit difficult for us because not all the stores here are certified halal. So, we can only pick certain stores, and this is the only specific store we know is safe for us to eat.”

There are about 12 million Muslims in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, making up around 10 percent of its entire population.

While most live on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, the Metro Manila capital region is also home to over 173,000 Filipino Muslims.

Along with the government’s recent efforts to promote halal cuisine from Mindanao, such food has become increasingly available in the Philippines’ largest metropolitan area.

But on Padre Campa Street, the presence of halal food stalls has a longer history that can be traced to the owners’ desire to cater to the minority Muslim community.

“We serve native delicacies because there are many Muslims in this area,” Ferdanah Talib, who is from Mindanao’s Zamboanga Sibugay province, told Arab News.

Her brother opened the Halal Avenue food stall in 2017, selling dishes like barbecue chicken and grilled fish, as well as traditional meals like binaki, steamed corn dessert and snacks originating from Mindanao and Cebu.

“It’s our way of supporting our fellow Muslims here, especially during Ramadan. Our store opens at 4:30 p.m. until midnight,” Talib said.

Mary Ann Serra, a Filipina Christian who had worked in Malaysia and spent time in Mindanao, has kept her food shop halal since she opened it over a decade ago.

“We opened this store in 2012, and from the start, it has always been halal,” Serra told Arab News.

“We noticed that there were many Muslims in the area, but there were no halal places to eat. So, we thought, what if we try opening a halal restaurant? Especially during Ramadan, it’s hard for them because there’s nothing for them to eat.”

While her shop specializes in the delicacies of Tausug, one of the largest Muslim ethnic groups in southwestern Philippines, it also sells simple mainstream dishes.

“What our customers keep coming back for are the chicken barbecue, grilled fish, and squid. We also have dishes like tiyula itum, or black soup,” Serra said.

Many Filipino Muslims, even those who are in the capital for a short stay, have grown fond of the food street.

“This is my third time spending Ramadan here in Metro Manila … It really means a lot to us to have a place like this because as Muslims, what we’re really looking for is halal food. We don’t have many places to go for food,” Arsie Muin, who is from Zamboanga City, told Arab News.

“It’s also good because they serve some native delicacies,” he said. “We are really grateful that this place exists.”


Kremlin says ‘difficult negotiations’ ahead on Ukraine

Kremlin says ‘difficult negotiations’ ahead on Ukraine
Updated 23 March 2025
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Kremlin says ‘difficult negotiations’ ahead on Ukraine

Kremlin says ‘difficult negotiations’ ahead on Ukraine
  • Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW : The Kremlin on Sunday downplayed expectations for a rapid resolution to the Ukraine conflict, saying talks were just beginning and that “difficult negotiations” were ahead.
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are set to hold separate talks with US officials in Saudi Arabia over the next 48 hours as President Donald Trump pushes for a rapid end to more than three years of fighting.
“We are only at the beginning of this path,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV.
He said there were many outstanding “questions” and “nuances” over how a potential ceasefire might be implemented.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian call for a full and immediate 30-day pause, proposing instead to halt attacks only on energy facilities.
“There are difficult negotiations ahead,” Peskov said in the interview, published on social media.
He also said Russia’s “main” focus in its talks with the United States would be discussing a possible resumption of a 2022 Black Sea grain deal that ensured safe navigation for Ukrainian agricultural exports in the Black Sea.
“On Monday we mainly intend to discuss President Putin’s agreement to resume the so-called Black Sea initiative, and our negotiators will be ready to discuss the nuances around this problem,” Peskov said.
Moscow pulled out of the deal — brokered by Turkiye and the United Nations — in 2023, accusing the West of failing to uphold its commitments to ease sanctions on Russia’s own exports of agricultural products and fertilizers.


The US lifts bounties on senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani

The US lifts bounties on senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani
Updated 23 March 2025
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The US lifts bounties on senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani

The US lifts bounties on senior Taliban officials, including Sirajuddin Haqqani
  • Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the US government had revoked the bounties placed on Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani

The US has lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government, officials in Kabul said Sunday.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who acknowledged planning a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed six people, including US citizen Thor David Hesla, no longer appears on the State Department’s Rewards for Justice website. The FBI website on Sunday still featured a wanted poster for him.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the US government had revoked the bounties placed on Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani.
“These three individuals are two brothers and one paternal cousin,” Qani told the Associated Press.
The Haqqani network grew into one of the deadliest arms of the Taliban after the US-led 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
The group employed roadside bombs, suicide bombings and other attacks, including on the Indian and US embassies, the Afghan presidency, and other major targets. They also have been linked to extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activity.
A Foreign Ministry official, Zakir Jalaly, said the Taliban’s release of US prisoner George Glezmann on Friday and the removal of bounties showed both sides were “moving beyond the effects of the wartime phase and taking constructive steps to pave the way for progress” in bilateral relations.
“The recent developments in Afghanistan-US relations are a good example of the pragmatic and realistic engagement between the two governments,” said Jalaly.
Another official, Shafi Azam, hailed the development as the beginning of normalization in 2025, citing the Taliban’s announcement it was in control of Afghanistan’s embassy in Norway.
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, China has been the most prominent country to accept one of their diplomats. Other countries have accepted de facto Taliban representatives, like Qatar, which has been a key mediator between the US and the Taliban. US envoys have also met the Taliban.
The Taliban’s rule, especially bans affecting women and girls, has triggered widespread condemnation and deepened their international isolation.
Haqqani has previously spoken out against the Taliban’s decision-making process, authoritarianism, and alienation of the Afghan population.
His rehabilitation on the international stage is in contrast to the status of the reclusive Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who could face arrest by the International Criminal Court for his persecution of women.


UK PM Starmer says Trump has a point on European defense commitment

UK PM Starmer says Trump has a point on European defense commitment
Updated 23 March 2025
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UK PM Starmer says Trump has a point on European defense commitment

UK PM Starmer says Trump has a point on European defense commitment
  • Starmer is trying to assemble a multinational military force that he calls a coalition of the willing to keep Ukraine’s skies, ports and borders secure after any peace settlement

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said US President Donald Trump has a point that European countries must bear a greater burden for their collective self-defense, the New York Times said on Sunday.
“We need to think about defense and security in a more immediate way,” he told the newspaper in an interview.
Starmer is trying to assemble a multinational military force that he calls a coalition of the willing to keep Ukraine’s skies, ports and borders secure after any peace settlement, the report said.
On Trump, Starmer said, “On a person-to-person basis, I think we have a good relationship.” But, he said, the US leader’s actions, from imposing a 25 percent tariff on British steel to berating President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, had generated “quite a degree of disorientation.”


Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills two, injures several, Ukrainian officials say

Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills two, injures several, Ukrainian officials say
Updated 23 March 2025
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Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills two, injures several, Ukrainian officials say

Russian drone attack on Kyiv kills two, injures several, Ukrainian officials say
  • The state emergency service posted photos showing firefighters fighting blazes at night, including high in an apartment building

KYIV: A Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed at least two people and injured several, sparking fires in high-rise apartment buildings and throughout the capital, Ukrainian officials said early on Sunday.
“A massive enemy drone attack on Kyiv,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko posted on the Telegram messaging app.
The scale of the overnight attack was not immediately clear. Reuters witnesses heard several blasts in what sounded like air defense systems in operation.
The state emergency service posted photos showing firefighters fighting blazes at night, including high in an apartment building.
A woman died after drone debris sparked a fire in a high-rise residential building in Dniprovskyi district, the emergency service said on Telegram, while at least 27 people were evacuated from the building.
Another person died in the Holosiivskyi district, the service said.
The United States is pushing for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and hoping to agree on a partial ceasefire that would halt strikes on energy infrastructure. But both sides have been reporting continued strikes.
At least seven people were injured throughout Kyiv and emergency services were dispatched to several districts of the city where fires were reported, Klitschko said.
Two were injured and several houses damaged in the region surrounding the capital, regional Governor Mykola Kalashnik said on Telegram.
There was no immediate comment from Russia. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the three-year-long war that Russia started with its full-scale invasion on Ukraine. Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts for more than five hours, starting late on Saturday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force maps.