Red Cross to 'Drastically' Cut Afghan Operations After Attacks

Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer
Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer
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Red Cross to 'Drastically' Cut Afghan Operations After Attacks

Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer
Afghan men unload a coffin of an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) employee, who was killed by gunmen in Jwzjan province, at a hospital in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan February 8, 2017.REUTERS/Stringer

The International Committee of the Red Cross will "drastically" reduce operations in war-torn Afghanistan after seven of its employees were killed in attacks this year, the aid group said on Monday.

The announcement underlines the deteriorating security for aid groups in Afghanistan, where the ICRC has been operating for more than 30 years and has been running its fourth biggest humanitarian program.

“Exposure to risk has become our greatest challenge and concern,” Monica Zanarelli, head of the ICRC in Afghanistan, told a news conference in the capital, Kabul.

“We have no choice but to drastically reduce our presence in Afghanistan,” she said, adding that the decision would particularly affect operations in the north, where facilities in Kunduz, Faryab, and Balkh provinces would be closed or downsized.

Red Cross officials said the assessments are ongoing and could not say how many of its 1,800 staff would be affected.

The humanitarian group will close its facilities in the northern city of Maimana, the capital of Faryab province, and in Kunduz province, also in the north and a hotbed of Taliban activity.

Operations in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif will be scaled back.

The group has suffered a series of deadly attacks in northern Afghanistan, where Taliban and ISIS group militants have intensified their assaults on police and troops.

In February six ICRC employees were killed when their convoy came under insurgent attack in the northern province of Jowzjan.

Two of their colleagues were abducted in a separate incident and only released by their captors last month.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction or killings, but Jowzjan police have blamed local ISIS jihadists who are making inroads in the country.

In the most recent attack, a Spanish physiotherapist working for the ICRC in northern Afghanistan last month was shot and killed by a wheelchair-bound patient.

Lorena Enebral Perez, 38, was shot inside the aid group's rehabilitation center in Mazar-i-Sharif, where she treated disabled children, women and men including amputees.

Two people were arrested over the deadly attack, including the 21-year-old shooter whom police said was a "regular patient".

Last December a Spanish Red Cross employee was abducted when workers from the charity were traveling between Mazar-i-Sharif and neighboring Kunduz. He was released several weeks later.

The ICRC has around 1,800 staff including 120 international aid workers in Afghanistan -- helping wounded and disabled people, supporting hospitals, making prison visits and assisting prisoners to maintain contact with their families.

In many areas such as the north, they are the only international organization providing such services.

"We understand the consequences to stop our activities in the north but we have no choice," Zanarelli added.

She said the organization was not leaving Afghanistan but to prevent more losses the "necessity of reviewing our presence is strongly requested".

The spreading conflict has combined with an increase in criminality, making for more “blurred lines” between the various armed groups which complicate efforts to safely provide aid, Zanarelli said.

“I would say there are more gray areas than there were in the past, and this is certainly what is affecting our capacity to assess our security,” she said.

According to US military estimates, the government controls no more than 60 percent of the country, with the rest either controlled or contested by the Taliban and other insurgent groups.



Britain, India Sign Free Trade Pact during Modi Visit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India pose for a photo  - Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India pose for a photo - Reuters
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Britain, India Sign Free Trade Pact during Modi Visit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India pose for a photo  - Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India pose for a photo - Reuters

Britain and India signed a free trade agreement on Thursday during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sealing a deal to cut tariffs on goods from textiles to whisky and cars and allow more market access for businesses.

Talks on the trade pact were concluded in May after three years of stop-start negotiations, with both sides hastening efforts to clinch a deal in the shadow of tariff turmoil unleashed by US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.

The agreement between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies aims to increase bilateral trade by a further 25.5 billion pounds ($34 billion) by 2040.

It is Britain's biggest trade deal since it left the European Union in 2020 but its impact will be a fraction of the effect of leaving the orbit of its closest trading partner.

It is India's biggest strategic partnership with an advanced economy, and it could provide a template for a long-mooted deal with the EU and for talks with other regions.

Both sides hailed as historic a deal which will take effect following a ratification process, likely within a year, after which firms such as whisky distiller Diageo and carmakers including BMW, Nissan, Aston Martin and Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover could benefit from lower duties.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said there would be huge benefits for both countries, making trade cheaper, quicker and easier.

"We've entered a new global era, and that is one that requires us to step up, not to stand aside... by building deeper partnerships and alliances," Starmer said in a statement next to Modi at his Chequers country residence.

Modi called the agreement "a blueprint for our shared prosperity," highlighting how Indian goods from textiles to jewelry and seafood would secure better market access.

The countries also agreed a partnership covering areas such as defence and climate, and aim to strengthen co-operation on tackling crime. Modi spent nearly three hours with Starmer before going to meet King Charles at his Sandringham Estate.

WHISKY AND CARS

Under the trade agreement, tariffs on Scotch whisky will drop to 75% from 150% immediately, and slide to 40% over the next decade. Tariffs on drinks such as brandy and rum will be cut to 110% initially and end up at 75%.

On cars, India will cut duties to 10% within five years from current levels of up to 110% under a quota system that will be gradually liberalised.

In return, Indian manufacturers will gain access to the British market for electric and hybrid vehicles, also under a quota system.

Under the deal, 99% of Indian exports to Britain will benefit from zero duties, including textiles, and Britain will have reductions on 90% of its tariff lines, with the average tariff UK firms face dropping to 3% from 15%.

But the projected boost to British economic output, of 4.8 billion pounds a year by 2040, is small compared to Britain's gross domestic product of 2.6 trillion pounds in 2024.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast that UK exports and imports will be about 15% lower in the long run than if Britain had stayed in the EU.

Britain's Labour government, in power for a year, has launched a reset of ties with the EU to smooth trade friction and won some tariff relief from the United States.

"In an era of rising protectionism, today's announcement sends a powerful signal," said Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry.

The Confederation of Indian Industry called it a "strong foundation for deeper market access."

The deal will facilitate easier access for temporary business visitors although visas are not covered. The sides also agreed that workers will no longer have to make social security contributions in both India and Britain while on temporary postings to the other.

British firms will be able to access India's procurement market for projects in sectors such as clean energy, and the trade deal also covers services sectors such as insurance.

India did not manage to secure an exemption from Britain's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - which could levy higher taxes on polluters from 2027 - as part of the deal.