World

Taliban Guard Airport as Most NATO Troops Leave Afghanistan

Published

5 years ago

August 28, 2021

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban forces sealed off Kabul’s airport on Saturday to most Afghans hoping for evacuation, as the U.S. and its allies wound down a chaotic airlift that will end their troops’ two decades in Afghanistan.

Western leaders acknowledged that their withdrawal would mean leaving behind some of their citizens and many locals who helped them over the years, and they vowed to try to continue working with the Taliban to allow local allies to leave after President Joe Biden’s Tuesday’s deadline to withdraw from the country.

Although most of its allies had finished their evacuation flights, the U.S. planned to keep its round-the-clock flights going until the deadline, saying 113,500 people had been evacuated since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban claimed Kabul. Biden warned Saturday that commanders had told him another attack was “highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.”

Britain ended its evacuation flights Saturday, though Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to “shift heaven and earth” to get more of those at risk from the Taliban to Britain by other means.

Britain’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Laurie Bristow, said in a video from Kabul airport and posted on Twitter that it was “time to close this phase of the operation now.”

“But we haven’t forgotten the people who still need to leave,” he said. “We’ll continue to do everything we can to help them. Nor have we forgotten the brave, decent people of Afghanistan. They deserve to live in peace and security.”

As the flow of planes leaving Kabul slowed, others arrived in locales around the world carrying Afghans who managed to secure places on the last evacuation flights, including in the Washington area, Philadelphia, Madrid, and Birmingham, England, among others. Some passengers were relieved and looking forward to starting new lives far from the Taliban, but others were bitter about having to flee.

In Spain, Shabeer Ahmadi, a 29-year-old journalist targeted by the Taliban, said the United States had doomed the work he and others had put into making Afghanistan a better place by allowing the insurgent group to reclaim power.

“They abandoned the new generation of Afghanistan,” Ahmadi said.

An evacuation flight to Britain landed with an extra passenger on Saturday after the cabin crew delivered a baby girl midair, Turkish media reported. The parents named her Havva, or Eve, and she was at least the fourth baby known to have been born to Afghan mothers who went into labor on evacuation flights.

Meanwhile, families of Afghans killed in Thursday’s suicide bombing at the airport by an Islamic State group affiliate continued burying their dead — at least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members died in the attack. Among those killed was Belal Azfali, a 36-year-old contractor for a U.S.-funded project who had gone to the airport on his own, without his wife. His remains were so disfigured that he could only be identified when someone picked up the family’s repeated calls to the cellphone he had with him, relatives said.

The U.S. on Saturday released the names of the 13 Marines, Navy and Army personnel who were killed in the bombing. They included at least one of the Marines — recently promoted Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23 — who were seen in widely circulated photos cuddling Afghan infants they had temporarily rescued from the crush of the crowds outside the airport gates this month.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed Saturday that the group’s forces were holding some positions within the airport and were ready to peacefully take control of it as American forces flew out. But Pentagon spokesman John Kirby denied the claim.

The Taliban did deploy extra forces outside of the airport to prevent large crowds from gathering in the wake of Thursday’s bombing . New layers of checkpoints sprang up on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas where the crowds had gathered over the past two weeks in the hopes of fleeing the country were largely empty.

Officials said U.S. forces were taking every precaution at the airport, as there were concerns that IS, which is far more radical than the Taliban, could strike again. In his statement saying another attack was highly likely, Biden said a drone strike he ordered that killed what military officials described as two “high-profile” IS militants believed to have been involved in planning or facilitating attacks would not be his “last” response to Thursday’s suicide attack.

An Afghan who worked as a translator for the U.S. military said he was with a group of people with permission to leave who tried to reach the airport late Friday. After passing through three checkpoints they were stopped at a fourth. An argument ensued, and the Taliban said they had been told by the Americans to only let U.S. passport-holders through.

“I am so hopeless for my future,” the man later told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. “If the evacuation is over, what will happen to us?”

Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said Saturday that Afghans who had worked with American forces still were being allowed in.

According to a State Department spokesperson, 5,400 Americans and likely more have been safely evacuated from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, including nearly 300 Americans in the last day. Another 350 were still seeking to leave the country, and those were the only ones the department could confirm were still in Afghanistan.

As Tuesday’s deadline draws near and with the Taliban controlling nearly all of the country, hundreds of protesters, including many civil servants, gathered outside a bank while countless more lined up at cash machines. They said they hadn’t been paid for three to six months and were unable to withdraw cash. ATM machines were still operating, but withdrawals were limited to about $200 every 24 hours. Later Saturday, the central bank ordered commercial bank branches to open and allow customers to withdraw $200 per week, calling it a temporary measure.

The economic crisis, which predates the Taliban takeover, could give Western nations leverage as they urge Afghanistan’s new rulers to form a moderate, inclusive government and allow people to leave after Tuesday.

Afghanistan is heavily dependent on international aid, which covered around 75% of the toppled Western-backed government’s budget. The Taliban have said they want good relations with the international community and have promised a more moderate form of Islamic rule than when they last governed the country, but many Afghans are deeply skeptical.

The Taliban cannot access almost any of the central bank’s $9 billion in reserves, most of which is held by the New York Federal Reserve. The International Monetary Fund has also suspended the transfer of some $450 million. Without a regular supply of U.S. dollars, the local currency is at risk of collapse, which could send the price of basic goods soaring.

Biden has said he will adhere to a self-imposed Tuesday deadline for withdrawing all U.S. forces, and the Taliban have rejected any extension of the date. He and the leaders of other NATO allies said they would try to work with the Taliban to allow their nationals and Afghans who had worked with them to leave.

The Taliban has encouraged Afghans to stay, pledging amnesty even to those who fought against them, and has said commercial flights would resume after the U.S. withdrawal, but it’s unclear if airlines will be willing to offer service.

The U.S. and its allies have said they will continue providing humanitarian aid through the U.N. and other partners, but any broader engagement — including development assistance — is likely to hinge on whether the Taliban deliver on their promises of more moderate rule.

Florida

Civil Rights Group Honors Nobel Peace Prize Winner Navi Pillay, Highlights Florida’s Trayvon Martin Connection

Published

3 weeks ago

October 13, 2026

FNN NEWS

FCRA representatives address reporters beside a “Justice for Trayvon” sign outside Florida’s regional offices in Orlando.

The Florida Civil Rights Association (FCRA) held a press conference outside the State of Florida’s regional offices in Orlando in 2012, calling on then-Gov. Rick Scott to take action following Trayvon Martin’s killing. Photo by FCRA

The Orlando-based civil rights association recalls supporting the former U.N. human rights chief’s 2012 call for an investigation into the teenager’s killing in Sanford.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — The Florida Civil Rights Association is congratulating 2026 Nobel Peace Prize winner Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, recalling her call for an investigation into Trayvon Martin’s killing and the international attention it brought to questions of racial equality and justice in Florida.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Pillay’s selection Oct. 9 for her efforts to promote peace and international law. The South African jurist served as United Nations high commissioner for human rights from 2008 to 2014 and helped shape landmark international court decisions.

In a press release, FCRA President J. Willie David III said Pillay’s intervention connected a Florida family’s demand for answers to a broader concern for human rights.

“Pillay’s call for an investigation reinforced that a family’s demand for justice in Sanford mattered beyond Florida and the United States,” David said.
“We welcomed her intervention in 2012 because families deserve answers and the law must protect everyone equally.”

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay (Photo credit: UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre)

FCRA recalls its response in 2012

Martin, an unarmed Black 17-year-old, was fatally shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, northeast of Orlando.

In April 2012, Pillay called for an immediate investigation into the killing as the case drew international attention and scrutiny of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law.

FCRA welcomed that call. The association’s current release cites an April 7, 2012, West Orlando News report that quoted David discussing the case’s global impact.

“The shooting death of Trayvon Martin and Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law have created a worldwide movement that calls into question how justice is delivered to victims of color,” David said at the time, according to the release.

FCRA describes the activism surrounding Martin’s death as a defining moment that galvanized a new generation of civil rights advocates.

Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder and acquitted in July 2013. In February 2015, the U.S. Justice Department closed its separate investigation, finding insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges.

Why Florida’s case drew global scrutiny

The Florida connection shows how the handling of a local killing can draw international scrutiny over racial discrimination, access to justice and the protection of human rights.

Pillay’s intervention brought those concerns into the international discussion surrounding Martin’s death. In September 2013, U.N. human rights experts also urged the United States to complete its civil rights investigation and examine concerns about racial profiling.

The significance lies in human rights oversight: how public institutions investigate deaths and provide equal treatment can attract attention beyond national borders. Pillay’s call was an appeal for investigation, rather than an international court judgment about Zimmerman’s guilt or Florida’s compliance with international law.

For FCRA, that connection remains relevant to how Florida leaders evaluate laws and practices affecting the communities they serve.

Pillay’s record in international justice

Pillay challenged discrimination under apartheid before serving on South Africa’s High Court, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court.

At the Rwanda tribunal, she was part of the judicial panel that established that rape and sexual violence can constitute acts of genocide, a landmark development in international criminal law.

David said honoring that career should also encourage accountability at home.

“Her Nobel Peace Prize recognizes a career built on confronting injustice through the rule of law,” he said. “Honoring that work means demanding transparent investigations and equal protection here at home. Rights belong to everyone.”

A renewed call for fairness in Florida

FCRA urged Florida leaders to safeguard impartial investigations, examine whether Stand Your Ground and other laws are applied fairly, and address policies or practices that produce discriminatory outcomes.

Founded in 2005, the association advocates for civil rights, human rights and civil liberties through education, advocacy and accountability. Its statement links Pillay’s international recognition to a continuing demand for fairness and human dignity in Florida.

World

UN Chief Guterres Praises Pakistan’s Peacekeeping, Calls for Climate Funding

Published

4 weeks ago

October 8, 2026

FNN NEWS

Speaking at Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy, the UN secretary-general praised the country’s humanitarian and diplomatic contributions while calling for financial reforms and inclusive artificial intelligence governance.

ISLAMABAD (FNN) — United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres praised Pakistan’s contributions to peacekeeping, refugee protection and climate action during an Oct. 7 address in Islamabad, urging world leaders to strengthen cooperation as conflicts, inequality and technological change reshape international affairs.

Speaking at the Foreign Service Academy, Guterres highlighted Pakistan’s history of hosting Afghan refugees, its service in UN peacekeeping operations and its efforts to promote dialogue between the United States and Iran, according to a UN release of his remarks.

He identified four major challenges facing international cooperation: peace and security, inequality, climate change and artificial intelligence.

“Today, humanity faces challenges on a scale no nation can solve by itself,” Guterres said.

Pakistan’s peacekeeping and humanitarian contributions

Guterres described Pakistan as a country whose generosity and resilience he had witnessed during his service as UN high commissioner for refugees and secretary-general.

He recalled Pakistani families sharing their homes and limited resources with Afghan refugees, as well as communities supporting people displaced by terrorism.

Pakistani peacekeepers, he said, have served for generations in dangerous environments, protecting civilians and supporting fragile peace processes.

He also praised Pakistan’s role on the UN Security Council and its diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran.

“I commend Pakistan’s efforts to help forge peace between the United States and Iran,” he said.

Climate funding and the legacy of the 2022 floods

Recalling his visit during Pakistan’s devastating 2022 floods, Guterres said the disaster illustrated the unequal burden of climate change.

Pakistan contributes around 1% of global emissions but faces severe climate risks, he said. Millions of people experienced catastrophic losses from a crisis they did little to create.

He described meeting residents who abandoned their possessions to rescue neighbors, children, older adults and people with disabilities.

“In moments of crisis, saving ourselves begins with helping each other,” Guterres said.

He credited Pakistan’s leadership of the Group of 77 and China with helping secure the Loss and Damage Fund, which is intended to assist developing countries facing climate-related losses.

However, he said less than $500 million had been transferred to the fund’s trust fund nearly four years later, compared with an annual global climate disaster bill of about $200 billion.

“A crisis costing billions cannot be answered with funding counted in the millions,” he said.

Guterres also highlighted Pakistan’s solar energy expansion, calling for greater support for renewable energy, resilient infrastructure and climate adaptation.

Debt, development and financial reform

Guterres warned that rising debt burdens and inadequate development financing are limiting opportunities in developing countries.

He called for changes to the international financial system to give those countries greater representation and access to financing for sustainable growth.

“Developing countries should not have to choose between servicing debt and investing in their future,” he said.

Pakistan’s young, entrepreneurial population offers substantial potential, he said, but realizing it requires economic opportunity, respect for human rights, the rule of law and protection of civic space.

Artificial intelligence: Opportunity and risk

Guterres said artificial intelligence could improve health care, education, agriculture and disaster preparedness.

He also warned that AI could deepen inequality, concentrate power, spread disinformation and disrupt employment.

Developing countries must help shape the rules and institutions governing the technology, he said, rather than serve only as consumers of systems developed elsewhere.

“The governance of AI must reflect the interests of all humanity,” Guterres said.

He identified the United Nations as a forum where every country can participate in shaping that future.

Conflict, Gaza and international cooperation

Marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Guterres condemned the attacks and said nothing justified the scale of death and destruction that followed for Palestinians in Gaza.

He warned of the threat of ethnic cleansing in the occupied Palestinian territory and called for full implementation of the Gaza peace plan and preservation of a two-state solution.

More broadly, he said a world with multiple centers of power needs effective international institutions to prevent fragmentation and instability.

He called for a UN-centered system that better reflects today’s distribution of countries, economies and influence.

A closing message of dialogue and mutual respect

Guterres concluded by describing a painting by Pakistani artist Abdur Rahman Chughtai displayed between his personal office and conference room.

The artwork, a gift from Pakistan to the United Nations more than 60 years ago, depicts Mughal Emperor Jehangir and his wife, Nur Jehan.

He said it symbolizes Pakistan’s cultural heritage and the value of wisdom, listening and exchange among civilizations.

“Dialogue, understanding, cooperation — that is the spirit reflected in that magnificent Pakistani painting,” Guterres said.

Source attribution: This article is based on the United Nations release of Secretary-General António Guterres’ Oct. 7, 2026, address to the Foreign Service Academy in Islamabad. All direct quotations are attributed to Guterres.

World

Guterres Marks Third Anniversary of Oct. 7 Attacks With Call for Israeli-Palestinian Peace

Published

4 weeks ago

October 8, 2026

FNN NEWS

The UN secretary-general condemned the 2023 Hamas-led attacks, honored victims and former hostages, and urged an end to Palestinian suffering through a permanent ceasefire and expanded humanitarian assistance.

UNITED NATIONS (FNN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a permanent ceasefire and expanded humanitarian assistance in Gaza in a message marking the third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

According to a United Nations press release, Guterres urged all parties to fulfill their commitments and advance to the next phase of the ceasefire under the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.

“It is time for the ceasefire to become permanent,” Guterres said. “It is time to allow humanitarian assistance at scale. And it is time to respect international law.”

Remembering victims of the Oct. 7 attacks

Guterres condemned the attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, which he said killed more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals. He said civilians were deliberately targeted in their homes, communities and at a music festival.

A total of 251 people were abducted and taken into Gaza, including women, children and older adults, according to his message.

Guterres said hostages endured torture, sexual violence and other forms of abuse. Some were killed by their captors or during the subsequent hostilities, he said.

“Nothing can justify these atrocities,” Guterres said.

Honoring survivors, former hostages and grieving families

The secretary-general described meetings with Israeli families, survivors and former hostages who shared accounts of lasting physical and emotional trauma.

He expressed relief for those who regained their freedom and reunited with loved ones, while mourning people killed in the attacks and those who died in captivity.

“Their suffering, and the enduring grief of their families, must never be forgotten,” he said.

Guterres emphasized that the horrors of Oct. 7 must never be repeated.

Calling for an end to suffering in Gaza

Guterres also addressed the devastating consequences of the hostilities for Palestinians in Gaza, citing widespread loss of life, displacement and destruction.

He said civilians continued to face intolerable conditions and called for their suffering to end immediately.

“Their suffering, too, demands an end — now,” he said.

Although the ceasefire reached in 2025 brought some relief, Guterres said it had not yet delivered security, sufficient humanitarian assistance or a credible route toward recovery and peace.

Making the ceasefire permanent

Guterres urged all parties to implement their commitments fully and move forward under the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict.

His message called for a permanent ceasefire, humanitarian assistance at the scale needed and respect for international law. He also emphasized the need for a political process that supports lasting peace throughout the region.