Afghanistan News Highlights: EU chief pledges extra €100 mn in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan

It has been a month since the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan, seizing the capital Kabul with barely a fight. Thousands of people protest in the southern city of Kandahar over Taliban plans to evict families from a former military colony. Stay tuned for more updates.

Kolkata man 'thanks' Covid for cancelled Afghanistan trip

A North Kolkata resident says the coronavirus pandemic was a blessing in disguise for him.Richard Sujit Gomes, a resident of Dum Dum Cantonment inthe northern fringes of Kolkata considers it his “good fortune” that the viral disease put a stop to his trip to war-ravaged Afghanistan.

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Afghan civil aviation urges Pakistan to let its 2 airlines resume commercial flights

It is “often difficult” to distinguish between murder and culpable homicide as both involve death but there is subtle distinction of intention and knowledge in both the crimes, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

The apex court made the observation while altering the conviction of a man, who was earlier held guilty for murdering a sub-inspector in Madhya Pradesh, to the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

A bench of justices K M Joseph and S Ravindra Bhat modified the sentence awarded to the convict from life imprisonment to 10-year jail term.

“The question of whether in a given case, a homicide is murder, punishable under section 302 IPC (Indian Penal Code), or culpable homicide, of either description, punishable under section 304 IPC (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has engaged the attention of courts in this country for over one and a half century, since the enactment of the IPC; a welter of case law, on this aspect exists, including perhaps several hundred rulings by this court,” the bench said in its verdict.

The top court was dealing with a petition filed by one Mohd Rafiq, who had challenged the verdict of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which had confirmed his conviction and life sentence imposed on him for the offence of murder.

In its verdict, the apex court noted that use of term ‘likely’ in several places in respect of culpable homicide highlights the “element of uncertainty” that the act of accused may or may not have killed the person. (PTI)

The German Interior Ministry has issued about 2,600 residence permits to Afghans at risk in Afghanistan. The detainees include human rights activists, artists, scientists and journalists, according to Deutsche Welle. (Khaama Press)

Chief of Staff Qari Fasihuddin: We are defending all parts of the country and the Afghan army will crush any insurgent who tries to disrupt security. (KABUL NEWS)

Anti-laundering unit goes off-grid, fraying Afghan ties to global finance

A unit in Afghanistan's central bank leading a 15-year effort to counter illicit funding flows has halted operations, four staff members said, threatening to hasten the country's slide out of the global financial system.

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Afghan female footballers evade Taliban, reach Pakistan

Thirty-two women football players from Afghanistan, who were facing threats from the Taliban, have reached Pakistan along with their families after the government issued emergency humanitarian visas to evacuate them, according to a media report on Wednesday.

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736 Afghans recorded for new registration in India from Aug 1 to Sep 11: UNHCR

A total of 736 Afghans were recorded for new registration from August 1 to September 11, the UNHCR said here, adding that it is scaling up its capacity to meet increasing requests for registration and assistance of Afghans in India.

The UN refugee agency said it is in constant dialogue with the government on matters pertaining to Afghan nationals, including issuance and extensions of visa, assistance, and solutions.

According to the data, the total number of persons of concern to UNHCR in India stands at 43,157. Among them, 15,559 refugees and asylum seekers are from Afghanistan. (PTI)

EU chief pledges extra 100 mn euros in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday vowed to boost humanitarian aid to Afghanistan as she pledged the 27-nation bloc stands "by the Afghan people".

"We must do everything to avert the real risk that is out there of a major famine and humanitarian disaster. And we will do our part, we will increase again, humanitarian aid for Afghanistan by 100 million euros," von der Leyen said in her annual State of the European Union address. (AFP)

Trump aides aim to build GOP opposition to Afghan refugees

As tens of thousands of Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban arrive in the US, a handful of former Trump administration officials are working to turn Republicans against them.

The former officials are writing position papers, appearing on conservative television outlets and meeting privately with GOP lawmakers — all in an effort to turn the collapse of Afghanistan into another opportunity to push a hard-line immigration agenda.

“It is a collaboration based on mutual conviction,” said Stephen Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump's most conservative immigration policies and among those engaged on the issue. (AP)

UN says rural Afghans have critical need for aid

A UN official says 4 million Afghans are facing “a food emergency,” with the majority in rural areas where there is a critical need for funding for planting winter wheat, feed for livestock and cash assistance for vulnerable families, elderly and disabled.

The director of the Food and Agriculture Organization's Office of Emergencies and Resilience said Tuesday in a video briefing from Kabul says 70 per cent of Afghans live in rural areas and agriculture is indispensable to the Afghan population.

Rein Paulson says it represents just over 25 per cent of Afghanistan's GDP, directly employs 45 per cent of the work force, “and most importantly it provides livelihood benefits for fully 80 per cent of the Afghan population.” (AP)

Don't boycott men's cricket, former Afghan women's chief pleads

International cricketers should support Afghanistan's men's team, not punish them by boycotting matches if the Taliban bars women from playing, the former director of the women's side said.

Tuba Sangar, who fled the country for Canada shortly after the fall of the country to the hardline Islamist group, warned that sports sanctions would damage the game at the grassroots -- including for women and girls.

"It's not a good idea to boycott the male team. They did a lot for Afghanistan -- they introduced Afghanistan to the world in a positive way," Sangar told AFP on Tuesday.

Pakistan's role in enabling Taliban is victory for hardliners: top US senator

The role of Pakistan in enabling the Taliban is a victory for the hardliners in the country’s government, a top American lawmaker has said, asserting that the unfolding developments in Afghanistan and the role being played by Islamabad in Kabul are not sending a good message to India.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan on Thursday, said multiple US administrations were guilty of ignoring Pakistan’s role in helping the Taliban to regroup, as other US senators expressed concern over the “double dealing” of Islamabad. (PTI)

US Senate panel may force Afghanistan answers from Biden administration

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee threatened on Tuesday to subpoena Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and other officials if necessary to obtain their testimony about the chaotic USwithdrawal from Afghanistan.

"A full accounting of the USresponse to this crisis is not complete without the Pentagon – especially when it comes to understanding the complete collapse of the US-trained and funded Afghan military," Democratic Senator Bob Menendez said at the second congressional hearing in two days with testimony from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Reuters)

Leading Democrat calls Afghan withdrawal 'fatally flawed'

Senators from President Joe Biden's own Democratic Party took the administration to task Tuesday over the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which a top lawmaker called "fatally flawed."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken heard criticism across party lines as he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a day after a stronger partisan divide when he appeared before the House of Representatives.

Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and normally a Biden ally, recounted the beating of a reporter by the victorious Taliban and said, "The repression of the Afghan people is happening in real time." (AFP)

Blinken defense of Afghan policy clouded by al-Qaeda warning

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday sought to parry bipartisan congressional criticism of the Biden administration's Afghanistan withdrawal, as new intelligence estimates warned that al-Qaeda could soon again use Afghan soil to plot attacks on the United States.

Blinken had mixed results in attempting to face down a second day of tough congressional questioning, this time from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As a day earlier before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he was assailed by Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike over the administration's preparation for and handling of the pullout.

One month after fall of Kabul, economic crisis stalks Taliban

A month after seizing Kabul, the Taliban face daunting problems as they seek to convert their lightning military victory into a durable peacetime government.

After four decades of war and the deaths of tens of thousands of people, security has largely improved, but Afghanistan's economy is in ruins despite hundreds of billions of dollars in development spending over the past 20 years.

Drought and famine are driving thousands https://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idPxFY?now=true from the country to the cities, and the World Food Programme fears food could run out by the end of the month, pushing up to 14 million people to the brink of starvation.

Blinken says US probing if Afghan strike killed aid worker

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday he did not know if a final strike in Afghanistan killed an aid worker rather than an Islamic State militant, saying an investigation was underway.

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