A high-ranking Education Ministry employee known for his work as a peace activist and researcher was on Wednesday killed in a bomb blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
A ministry spokeswoman told dpa that the Director of the Scientific Council, AbdulBaqi Amin, was killed by an explosive device that was placed in his car, adding that the driver of the vehicle was wounded.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Many Afghans expressed their sorrow on social media, saying Amin had been targeted because of his advocacy work.
Former Afghan ambassador to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, said that peace has a price and Amin paid the price today.
Bombings and attacks continue with frequency in Afghanistan even as the government and Taliban militants are planning peace talks to end decades of conflict.
In recent time, a controversy has erupted over the release of Taliban fighters classified as particularly dangerous, a major demand by the militants before they agree to any peace talks.
However, there was still no date for the commencement of the talks.
On Friday, Fawzia Koofi, a member of the government negotiating team, was wounded in an assassination attempt in Northern Kabul. Koofi is one of four women in the 21-member Kabul delegation for the planned talks.
There have been targeted attacks on rights activists and religious scholars in recent months. Experts see this as an attempt to intimidate and weaken Afghanistan’s civil society before the talks.
The U.S. signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in February that paves the way for the withdrawal of all international troops from the country in return for Taliban’s security guarantees.
It also paves the way for an exchange of prisoners and direct peace talks between the militants and the government in Kabul.
Category: Foreign
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Bombing in Afghan capital kills well-known peace advocate
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Lebanon braces as UN tribunal starts reading verdict in Hariri killing case
The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon began reading a verdict on Tuesday in the case of four Hezbollah members charged with conspiracy to carry out the 2005 bombing that killed former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others.
Hariri, a Sunni Muslim billionaire, had close ties with the U.S., Western and Sunni Gulf Arab allies, and was seen as a threat to Iranian and Syrian influence in Lebanon.
He led efforts to rebuild Beirut following the 1975 to 1990 civil war.
The verdict came as Lebanese are still reeling from the aftermath of a huge explosion that killed 178 people this month and from an economic meltdown that has shattered their lives.
Hariri’s assassination plunged Lebanon into what was then its worst crisis since the war, setting the stage for years of confrontation between rival political forces.
The Iran-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the Feb. 14, 2005 bombing.
“International Justice Defeats Intimidation’ read a headline in Lebanon’s an-Nahar daily with a caricature of the slain Hariri’s face looking at a mushroom cloud over the devastated city, with a caption: “May you also (get justice)”, referring to an investigation that could unveil the cause of the blast.
Beirut tour guide Nada Nammour, 54, speaking before the reading of the verdict began said that the 2005 bombing was a crime that should be punished.
“Lebanon needs to see law and justice. We were born in war, we lived in war and will die in it, but our children deserve a future.”
The verdict in The Hague may further polarise the already divided country.
It has also complicated an already tumultuous situation after the Aug. 4 blast at Beirut port, where authorities say ammonium nitrate stored unsafely detonated, fuelling public outrage and leading to the government’s resignation.
Harri’s killing removed a powerful Sunni leader and allowed the further political expansion of Shi’ite power led by Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon.
The judgment had initially been expected earlier this month, but was delayed after the port explosion.
The investigation and trial in absentia of the four Hezbollah members has taken 15 years and cost roughly 1 billion dollars.
It could result in a guilty verdict and later sentencing of up to life imprisonment, or acquittal.
DNA evidence showed that the blast that killed Hariri was carried out by a male suicide bomber who was never identified.
Prosecutors used cell phone records to argue the men on trial, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, Assad Hassan Sabra and Hussein Hassan Oneissi, carefully monitored Hariri’s movements in the months leading up to the attack to time it and to put forward a fake claim of responsibility as a diversion.
Court-appointed lawyers said there is no physical evidence linking the four to the crime and they should be acquitted.
The reading of the verdict is set to last several hours.
Hariri’s son Saad, who took his father’s mantle and has served as premier three times, is expected to attend.
He has said he is not seeking revenge, but that justice must prevail.
Some Lebanese say they are now more concerned with finding out the truth behind the Beirut port blast.
“I do want to know what the verdict is but what matters now is who did this port blast to us because this touched more people,” Francois, a volunteer helping victims in a ruined district, said.
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Halep withdraws from U.S. Open over COVID-19 concerns
World number two Simona Halep of Romania has withdraw from the U.S. Open due to COVID-19 concerns,
Helep said on Monday that she will not travel to New York to play in the U.S. Open.
This latest news of Halep’s withdrawal has left the women’s draw at the Grand Slam tournament without six of the world’s top-10 players.
The Romanian player joined world number one Ash Barty, defending champion, Bianca Andreescu, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens and Belinda Bencic in skipping the event at Flushing Meadows.
“After weighing up all the factors involved and with the exceptional circumstances in which we are living, I have decided that I will not travel to New York to play the U.S. Open.
“I always said I would put my health at the heart of my decision and I therefore prefer to stay and train in Europe. I know the USTA and WTA have worked tirelessly to put on a safe event and I wish everyone there a successful tournament,” Halep, the reigning Wimbledon champion, wrote on Twitter.
Halep, 28, won the Prague Open over the weekend — her first event since COVID-19 pandemic shut down tennis in March — and said she would announce her decision about playing in the U.S. Open on Monday.
The U.S. has become the world’s biggest hotspot for the novel coronavirus, recording over 5.4 million cases and more than 170,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
The U.S. Open, due to start on Aug. 31, will be played behind closed doors and Halep’s absence is another blow to organisers following a spate of withdrawals.
World number two and defending men’s champion, Rafa Nadal, decided to skip the tournament while five-times winner Roger Federer is taking the rest of the year off to recover from knee surgery.
Former world number four, Kei Nishikori of Japan said on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and had pulled out of the Western and Southern Open, a warm-up tournament for the U.S. Open.