OPEN// Sisi back home after attending Russia's World War II Victory Day parade
More than 20 foreign dignitaries attended this year's Russian annual parade to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
President Sisi had begun his visit to Russia on Thursday at an invitation from Putin to attend the commemorations.
(MENA)
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Daily News Egypt
an hour ago
- Daily News Egypt
Iran launches mass deportation of Afghans amid spying allegations
Iran has launched a large-scale campaign of mass deportations and arrests targeting Afghan migrants, following accusations that 'undocumented migrants from Afghanistan spied for Israel' and assisted it with missile launches during a 12-day conflict last June, Bloomberg reported. The allegations were broadcast by Iran's official state broadcasting authority, while the semi-official Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that authorities had arrested a number of Afghans on charges of 'espionage and possession of instructional evidence for making drones and explosives'. The United Nations said on Friday that more than one million people have returned to Afghanistan since 1 June, including 627,000 who were deported by the authorities. 'Our teams are on the border receiving and assisting large numbers of exhausted, hungry and terrified people,' Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told the agency in an email. 'The staff and facilities are completely overstretched.' The spying allegations have ignited a wave of violence and harassment targeting the already marginalised Afghan refugee community, which has grown in Iran since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and subsequent wars, including the U.S. invasion in 2001. According to the U.N., about 2.6 million officially registered Afghans live in Iran, in addition to an estimated 500,000 others who are undocumented and considered 'illegal' by the Iranian state. Iranian officials estimate the total number of Afghans residing in the country to be around six million people, equivalent to about 7% of the population. They often refer to them as 'guests' who can access housing and basic services, at a time when Iran's economy is under pressure from sanctions. While the Iranian government insists that deportations are limited to Afghans classified as 'illegal', the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent research organisation, has received numerous reports of individuals with valid passports and identity documents being targeted, creating a state of panic and fear. 'Devastating consequences' The United Nations has warned that the deportation campaign will have 'devastating consequences' for Afghanistan as well as for the communities and families being displaced, noting this includes the loss of millions of dollars in remittances sent home annually by Afghans working in Iran. For his part, the prime minister of the Taliban government, Mohammad Hassan Akhund, called on the Iranian authorities to 'handle the deportation process with patience and gradually', according to a statement from his office. This call contrasts with the accounts of several deportees interviewed by Bloomberg, who reported that Iranian authorities were rounding up Afghans from the streets, transferring them to remote detention centres, and then deporting them by bus to the Islam Qala border crossing into Afghanistan's western Herat province. 'Many of them have been away from their homeland for years and have no home or shelter,' said U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, during a visit to the Islam Qala crossing. 'Many people are living at or below the poverty line, so this influx will be a huge burden on the country.' An uncertain future Deportees face the challenge of building a new life in a poor, sanctions-laden Afghanistan that is suffering from multiple crises, including severe food insecurity, water shortages, and an infrastructure devastated by successive wars. Bloomberg noted that many deportees would be vulnerable to targeting by the Taliban if they had worked for the former Afghan government or for American or European institutions. Girls and women will be denied education beyond the sixth grade and are largely excluded from employment opportunities. 'I feel like I've entered the world's largest prison, even though it's my homeland,' Ahmad Saber, a deportee in Herat, told the agency by telephone. 'What will happen to the education of my three daughters and their future?'. Last week, London-based Amnesty International called on Iran to immediately stop the 'forced displacement' of Afghans, asserting that it violates the international principle prohibiting the return of any person to a country where they face the risk of human rights violations. Amnesty said the expulsion of women and girls to Afghanistan puts them at particular risk due to the Taliban's policy of gender-based persecution. Research published on Thursday by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) showed that Afghans forcibly returned to the Taliban-controlled state last year were subjected to serious human rights violations, including torture, ill-treatment, arbitrary arrest, and threats to their personal security. The majority of Afghans who flee to Iran belong to the Hazara minority, who, like most Iranians, are Shi'ite Muslims and have faced violent persecution by the Taliban. Due to strong linguistic and religious ties, Iran has been considered a natural haven for them, and it shares a porous border with Afghanistan stretching for about 1,000 kilometres. However, Iranian authorities impose strict restrictions on the ability of Afghans to integrate, even after decades of residence and starting families in the country. Afghans are often barred from obtaining citizenship unless one parent is an Iranian national. It is difficult for Afghans to enter universities and many professional sectors, with many ending up in temporary jobs or the construction sector.
Egypt Independent
4 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
Russia and Ukraine agree prisoner swap, but little other progress in Istanbul talks
Russia and Ukraine agreed a prisoner swap during their third set of direct talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, but appeared to make little progress on ceasefire terms or a possible summit between their presidents – with their meeting ending after less than an hour. The meeting came days after US President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to make peace or face 'very severe tariffs.' Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly acknowledged Trump's ultimatum, and Moscow has continued to pummel Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles while its ground troops grind forward in the east. Speaking after Wednesday's meeting, Ukraine's former defense minister Rustem Umerov – who led Kyiv's delegation – said he had proposed a summit by the end of August between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin and suggested the 'participation of (US) President Trump and (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan will be most valuable.' However, Russia's delegate Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and now a senior Putin aide, said such a meeting would be appropriate only to sign an agreement, Reuters reported. The two sides also remained at odds over the terms of any possible ceasefire, with Umerov saying Ukraine was seeking a 'full and unconditional ceasefire as a necessary basis for effective diplomacy,' while Russia called for a series of short ceasefires of between 24 and 48 hours, on the front line, to allow medical teams to pick up dead and wounded soldiers. The two sides did appear to find some common ground on prisoner exchanges, with Medinksy telling a press conference after the meeting that an exchange of around 250 Russian and 250 Ukrainian prisoners of war was being completed along the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Medinsky said the two sides had also agreed 'that in the near future an exchange of at least 1,200 more prisoners of war from each side will be carried out.' The two previous rounds of talks in Istanbul, in May and June, helped facilitate the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers, but also made little progress toward peace. In a message on Telegram on Wednesday, Zelensky said more than 1,000 Ukrainians had now been returned through 'all the stages of the recent Istanbul agreements.' 'Bringing all our people back is a priority for the state,' he said, 'And we will continue all efforts to ensure that all our people return from captivity.' Expectations were low before Wednesday's talks, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stressing that the two sides' negotiating positions remain 'diametrically opposed' and telling reports not to expect 'any miraculous breakthroughs.' Mounting casualties Last month, Russian casualties hit a grim milestone, with the UK's Ministry of Defence estimating that Putin's war has likely cost Russia more than 1 million casualties since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022. That number tracked with an assessment the same month from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC, which put the number of casualties at 950,000 and predicted that 'Russia will likely hit the 1 million casualty mark in the summer of 2025.' Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's former defense minister, is heading Kyiv's delegation. Leonhard Foeger/Reuters Despite those losses, the Russian president has shown little sign of compromising on his maximalist war aim of dismantling Ukraine's sovereignty. In a long essay published months before the full-scale invasion, Putin falsely argued that Russia and Ukraine are one country; his comments suggesting to many that the war has been waged to make that a reality. In addition to Trump's fresh threat of new sanctions on Russia and other countries that purchase Russian oil if peace isn't reached in 50 days, the US also secured a deal to funnel new weapons to Kyiv through European allies. The moves were in stark contrast with previous approaches the US leader has taken with the conflict. Trump's reversal came after the European Union unveiled a new package of sanctions proposing to lower the price cap on Russian oil exports and introducing a full transaction ban on Russian banks and financial institutions in third countries that help Russia dodge existing sanctions. It is unclear whether Trump's latest decisions will sway Moscow's approach, but his about-face could provide a much-needed boost to Ukraine's military coffers, and signals his growing frustration with Putin. 'My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night,' Trump explained last week. Before the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for a direct meeting with Putin, saying only a meeting of the two leaders can end the war.
Egypt Independent
6 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
Egypt, Qatar beefing up mediation efforts to enable aid delivery to Gaza soon: source
CAIRO, July 25 (MENA) – Egypt is beefing up efforts with other mediators to enable humanitarian aid delivery to the Gaza Strip over the few days ahead, said a well-informed Egyptian source on Friday. Speaking to AlQahera News TV channel this evening, the source confirmed that intensive contacts are under way between Egyptian and Qatari mediators to consult over the latest developments regarding the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel. The two sides agreed to continue the talks after consultation over the coming days to overcome sticking points between the two negotiating parties parties, the source added. (MENA)
