News
Taliban Blames U.S For Airport Chaos
The Taliban on Sunday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world.
The United States has warned of security threats and the European Union admitted it was “impossible” to evacuate everyone at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal rule from 1996-2001.
But terrified Afghans continue to try to flee, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport where the United States and its allies have been unable to cope with the huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights.
“America, with all its power and facilities… has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport,” Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said.
READ ALSO:Taliban Co-founder Baradar In Kabul For Talks To Set Up Government
Britain’s defence ministry said Sunday seven people had died in the crowds, without giving further details.
A journalist, who was among a group of other media workers and academics lucky enough to get to the airport on Sunday for a flight, described desperate scenes of people surrounding their bus on the way in.
“They were showing us their passports and shouting ‘take us with you… please take us with you’,” the journalist told AFP.
“ The Taliban fighter in the truck ahead of us had to shoot in the air to make them go away.”
Britain’s Sky News on Saturday aired footage of at least three bodies covered in white tarpaulin outside the airport. It was not clear how they had died.
Reporter Stuart Ramsay, who was at the airport, called the deaths “inevitable” and said people were being “crushed”, while others were “dehydrated and terrified”.
The footage was the latest imagery of utter despair, after video of a baby being lifted over a wall at the airport and horror scenes of people hanging onto departing planes.
– ‘Impossible’ deadline -The United States, which has thousands of troops trying to secure the airport, has set a deadline to complete the evacuations by August 31.
But there are up to 15,000 Americans and 50,000 to 60,000 Afghan allies who need to be evacuated, according to the Biden administration.
READ ALSO: Taliban: Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda Are Gone, U.S, Allies Have No Interest In Afghanistan – Biden
Countless others fear repression under the Taliban and are also trying to flee.
US President Joe Biden has described the evacuation operations as “one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history”.
The situation was further complicated on Saturday when the US government warned its citizens to stay away from the airport because of “security threats”.
No specific reason was given, but a White House official later said Biden had been briefed on security threats, including from the Islamic State jihadist group.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell gave a bleak assessment of whether the airlift would succeed.
“They want to evacuate 60,000 people between now and the end of this month. It’s mathematically impossible,” he told AFP.
Borrell added that “we have complained” to the Americans that their airport security was overly strict and hampering attempts by Afghans who worked for the Europeans to enter.
On Saturday, the Pentagon said 17,000 people had been taken out since the operation began on August 14, including 2,500 Americans.
Thousands more have left on other foreign military flights.
– Taliban government -The Taliban have been publicly content with the US military overseeing the airlift, while focusing on forming a government.
The group’s co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar flew into Kabul and planned to meet jihadi leaders, elders and politicians in the coming days, an official told AFP.
Among them are leaders of the Haqqani network, a US-designated terrorist organisation with million-dollar bounties on its leadership.
The Taliban stunned the world when they swept into Kabul last week, ending two decades of war, facing virtually no opposition from government forces that had been trained and equipped by the US-led alliance.
However, there have been since been flickers of resistance with some ex-government troops gathering in the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, long known as an anti-Taliban bastion.
READ ALSO: U.S Struggles To Speed Kabul Airlift Despite Taliban, Chaos
One of the leaders of the movement, named the National Resistance Front, is the son of famed anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.
The NRF is prepared for a “long-term conflict” but is also still seeking to negotiate with the Taliban about an inclusive government, its spokesman Ali Maisam Nazary told AFP in an interview.
“The conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban is decentralisation, a system that ensures social justice, equality, rights, and freedom for all.”
News
N5m, N10m Zero-interest Loans: SheVentures Opens Applications For Women Entrepreneurs
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has opened a new round of applications for its SheVentures proposition, offering zero-interest loans of up to ₦10 million to women entrepreneurs to ease access to working capital and support business growth.
The facility provides loans ranging from ₦500,000 to ₦5 million under a general category, and ₦5 million to ₦10 million for sector-specific businesses, with funding capped at up to 50% of an applicant’s average monthly turnover.
At the centre of the offering is a 0% interest rate, with all charges embedded in a transparent structure.
Repayment is structured over four or six months, allowing businesses to match obligations with their cash flow cycles.
READ ALSO:I’ve Been Blacklisted In Music Industry For 13 Years – Seun Kuti
Yemisi Edun, Managing Director and Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), said the initiative reflects a deliberate approach to inclusive growth.
“Inclusive growth requires access to capital and the right conditions for businesses to deploy that capital effectively.
“Women-led enterprises are critical to economic activity, yet they face structural barriers.
This intervention aims to help close that gap by providing financing that supports job creation, business expansion, and long-term sustainability for women entrepreneurs.”
“Access to affordable finance remains a major constraint for women entrepreneurs,” said Nnenna Jacob-Ogogo, Group Head, SheVentures and Impact Segments at First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
READ ALSO:My Beef With Wizkid Is For Life – Seun Kuti
“By removing the cost barrier and offering quick, flexible funding, this zero-interest loan is designed to safeguard existing jobs, enable businesses to invest in growth initiatives, and foster resilience in challenging economic conditions.”
Women-owned businesses account for a significant share of Nigeria’s small and medium-sized enterprises but continue to face high borrowing costs and limited access to credit.
Through these efforts, SheVentures tackles persistent financing gaps facing women-led businesses, combining targeted funding with broader support to empower women entrepreneurs, encourage business innovation, and enhance their ability to compete on a national scale.
Applications for the zero-interest loan are now open.Apply now.
News
Xenophobic Attacks: Oshiomhole Tells FG To Retaliate Against South African Companies In Nigeria
Senator Adams Oshiomhole has called on the Federal Government to retaliate against South African businesses operating in Nigeria following the recent attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
Speaking during plenary on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said the Federal Government should consider revoking the working license of South African owned companies such as MTN and DSTV.
He argued that Nigeria must respond firmly to what he described as persistent hostility against its citizens.
READ ALSO:South Africa To Investigate ‘Mystery’ Of Planeload Of Palestinians
“I am not going to shed tears. If you hit me, I hit you. I think it is appropriate in diplomacy. It is an economic struggle,” Oshiomhole said.
He argued that while some South Africans accuse Nigerians of taking their jobs, Nigerians should return home and take over employment opportunities created by major South African companies operating in the country, including MTN and DSTV.
“When we hit back, the President of South Africa will not only talk but will also go on his knees to recognise that Nigeria cannot be intimidated.
READ ALSO:South African Ambassador Found Dead Outside Paris Hotel
“We will not condone any life being lost. If a crime has been committed under the South African law they have the right to bring any such person to justice, but to kill our people as if we are helpless, we will not allow that,” Oshiomhole added.
DAILY POST reports that several Nigerians in South Africa have reportedly been attacked, and their businesses destroyed, in ongoing xenophobic attacks in the country.
News
IGP Orders Officers Display Name Tag On Uniform, Gives Update On State Police
The Inspector General of Police, IGP, Tunji Disu, has ordered all police personnel to always have their name tags on their uniforms for easy identification.
Disu disclosed that only police personnel who are undercover are exempted from displaying their name tags.
Speaking on Tuesday, Disu said: “All police officers should have their name tags. All of us on the high table have our names apart from the undercover among us so if you look at all the Commissioners of Police we have our name tags, so it’s not our standard.
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“All the Commissioners of Police are here and that is why we called this meeting, we have list of things like this that we will want to discuss with the Commissioners of Police, we have told them earlier and we will still let them know that every that happens within their area of jurisdiction falls under their control.”
On the issue of state police, the IGP said: “Since we got the signal that the Federal Government of Nigeria intend to establish State Police and since we are the federal police, we decided to take the bull by the horn and put down our own side of what we believe on how the state police should be run.
“A lot of things were taken into consideration, a lot of comparative analysis was done and it has been transmitted to the National Assembly.”
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