Taliban foreign terrorist designation under review, Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the US was reviewing whether to designate the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Mr Rubio was on Capitol Hill testifying before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on the proposed State Department budget.
The Taliban is designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group.
FTO sanctions freeze the assets of the designated group. They differ from SDGT designations in that they make it a crime to provide 'material support or resources' to a designated group; members of an FTO are automatically inadmissible to the US; and victims of terrorist attacks and their survivors are able to file civil lawsuits against FTOs and the entities that support them, according to the Atlantic Council think tank.
The Taliban have ruled Afghanistan since 2021, retaking power after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Since it returned to power, the Taliban have reinstated their strict interpretation of Islamic law. They have essentially erased women and girls from public life, from schools to journalism to public parks, and have removed protections for minority ethnic and religious groups.
But critics have argued that an FTO designation often has the unintended consequence of obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. Even before the US withdrawal, Afghanistan was a major recipient of US and other foreign aid, and the assistance continues to help prop up its economy.
Mr Rubio's comments come after the US announced Afghanistan would be removed from the list of countries whose citizens have Temporary Protected Status.
The Department of Homeland Security said that 'conditions in Afghanistan no longer meet the statutory requirements' for TPS, which provides protection from deportation as well as the ability to work in the US to citizens of countries experiencing conflict or other crises.
'This administration is returning TPS to its original temporary intent,' said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 'Afghanistan has had an improved security situation, and its stabilising economy no longer prevents them from returning to their home country.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
3 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
US Secretary Marco Rubio condemns calls in Iran for arrest, execution of IAEA chief
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on Iran to uphold its responsibility to protect staff from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), following alarming threats against the agency's leadership. In a statement posted on X, Rubio condemned calls reportedly circulating in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. "Calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi are unacceptable and should be condemned," he wrote. Rubio reaffirmed Washington's support of the IAEA's oversight role in Iran's nuclear activities, praising Grossi and the agency for their "dedication and professionalism". "We continue to support the IAEA's vital monitoring mission in Iran and urge Iranian authorities to guarantee the safety of all IAEA personnel," he added. Check out his full statement below: Calls in Iran for the arrest and execution of IAEA Director General Grossi are unacceptable and should be condemned. — Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) June 28, 2025 The remarks came days after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first public statement since the ceasefire, declaring that Iran had "slapped America in the face" with its missile strike on a key US military base in Qatar. The attack was described as a direct response to earlier US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz.
Khaleej Times
15 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Immigrants scramble for clarity after US Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling
The US Supreme Court's ruling tied to birthright citizenship prompted confusion and phone calls to lawyers as people who could be affected tried to process a convoluted legal decision with major humanitarian implications. The court's conservative majority on Friday granted President Donald Trump his request to curb federal judges' power but did not decide the legality of his bid to restrict birthright citizenship. That outcome has raised more questions than answers about a right long understood to be guaranteed under the US Constitution: that anyone born in the United States is considered a citizen at birth, regardless of their parents' citizenship or legal status. Lorena, a 24-year-old Colombian asylum seeker who lives in Houston and is due to give birth in September, pored over media reports on Friday morning. She was looking for details about how her baby might be affected, but said she was left confused and worried. "There are not many specifics," said Lorena, who like others interviewed by Reuters asked to be identified by her first name out of fear for her safety. "I don't understand it well." She is concerned that her baby could end up with no nationality. "I don't know if I can give her mine," she said. "I also don't know how it would work, if I can add her to my asylum case. I don't want her to be adrift with no nationality." Trump, a Republican, issued an order after taking office in January that directed US agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of children born in the US who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident. The order was blocked by three separate US district court judges, sending the case on a path to the Supreme Court. The resulting decision said Trump's policy could go into effect in 30 days but appeared to leave open the possibility of further proceedings in the lower courts that could keep the policy blocked. On Friday afternoon, plaintiffs filed an amended lawsuit in federal court in Maryland seeking to establish a nationwide class of people whose children could be denied citizenship. If they are not blocked nationwide, the restrictions could be applied in the 28 states that did not contest them in court, creating "an extremely confusing patchwork" across the country, according to Kathleen Bush-Joseph, a policy analyst for the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute. "Would individual doctors, individual hospitals be having to try to figure out how to determine the citizenship of babies and their parents?" she said. The drive to restrict birthright citizenship is part of Trump's broader immigration crackdown, and he has framed automatic citizenship as a magnet for people to come to give birth. "Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship, and it wasn't meant for that reason," he said during a White House press briefing on Friday. Worried calls Immigration advocates and lawyers in some Republican-led states said they received calls from a wide range of pregnant immigrants and their partners following the ruling. They were grappling with how to explain it to clients who could be dramatically affected, given all the unknowns of how future litigation would play out or how the executive order would be implemented state by state. Lynn Tramonte, director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance said she got a call on Friday from an East Asian temporary visa holder with a pregnant wife. He was anxious because Ohio is not one of the plaintiff states and wanted to know how he could protect his child's rights. "He kept stressing that he was very interested in the rights included in the Constitution," she said. Advocates underscored the gravity of Trump's restrictions, which would block an estimated 150,000 children born in the U.S. annually from receiving automatic citizenship. "It really creates different classes of people in the country with different types of rights," said Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a spokesperson for the immigrant rights organization United We Dream. "That is really chaotic." Adding uncertainty, the Supreme Court ruled that members of two plaintiff groups in the litigation - CASA, an immigrant advocacy service in Maryland, and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project - would still be covered by lower court blocks on the policy. Whether someone in a state where Trump's policy could go into effect could join one of the organizations to avoid the restrictions or how state or federal officials would check for membership remained unclear. Betsy, a US citizen who recently graduated from high school in Virginia and a CASA member, said both of her parents came to the US from El Salvador two decades ago and lacked legal status when she was born. "I feel like it targets these innocent kids who haven't even been born," she said, declining to give her last name for concerns over her family's safety. Nivida, a Honduran asylum seeker in Louisiana, is a member of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and recently gave birth. She heard on Friday from a friend without legal status who is pregnant and wonders about the situation under Louisiana's Republican governor, since the state is not one of those fighting Trump's order. "She called me very worried and asked what's going to happen," she said. "If her child is born in Louisiana … is the baby going to be a citizen?"
Zawya
20 hours ago
- Zawya
Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Ukraine on the Peace Agreement Between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda
We welcome the signing of the peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. This important achievement for Africa and international security has been made possible thanks to the decisive role of the United States and personally President Donald Trump, as well as a number of countries and international organizations. In particular, we commend the constructive efforts of the Presidents of Angola and Kenya, the African Union, the East African Community, the Southern African Development Community, and the United Nations. The State of Qatar has made a significant contribution to advancing the peace settlement, especially by ensuring complementarity and coherence among various mediation initiatives. Ukraine highly values the effective mediation by the United States. We congratulate U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and American diplomacy on this achievement. The active involvement of the American side in the negotiation process played a decisive role in reaching and signing the peace agreement. We hope for the responsible efforts of both parties in implementing the peace agreement and in ensuring lasting peace and security in the Great Lakes region. This will create favourable conditions for strengthening the economic potential and social stability of the states in the region, improving their investment attractiveness, and deepening economic ties with other countries. Ukraine reaffirms its commitment to comprehensively intensify mutually beneficial cooperation with the countries of the region, including a readiness to contribute meaningfully to achieving their socio-economic development goals. We are confident that the United States can play a similarly decisive role in achieving a just peace and ending Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This peace agreement demonstrates that it is possible to stop the killing and restore peace even under challenging circumstances, when the international community acts resolutely and the parties participate in the peace process in good faith. We emphasize that the foundation of the peaceful settlement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda is based on the fundamental principles of the UN Charter, including the mutual obligation of states to respect each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty within internationally recognized borders, to refrain from the threat or use of force, to avoid interference in internal affairs, and to facilitate the return of refugees and internally displaced persons. It is precisely these universally recognized principles of international law that underpin Ukraine's proposals for ending the war in Europe and restoring a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace for Ukraine. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
