MOSCOW: Russia on Thursday suspended its ban on the Taliban, which it had designated for more than two decades as a terrorist organization, in a move that paves the way for Moscow to normalize ties with the leadership of Afghanistan.
No country currently recognizes the Taliban government that seized power in August 2021 as US-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. But
Russia has been gradually building ties with the movement, which President Vladimir Putin said last year was now an ally in fighting terrorism.
The Taliban was outlawed by Russia as a terrorist movement in 2003. State media said the Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the ban with immediate effect.
Russia sees a need to work with the Taliban as it faces a major security threat from Islamist militant groups based in a string of countries from Afghanistan to the Middle East.
In March 2024, gunmen killed 145 people at a concert hall outside Moscow in an attack claimed by Daesh.
US officials said they had intelligence indicating it was the Afghan branch of the group, Daesh Khorasan (Daesh-K), that was responsible.
The Taliban says it is working to wipe out the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan.
Western diplomats say the movement’s path toward wider international recognition is stalled until it changes course on women’s rights.
The Taliban has closed high schools and universities to girls and women and placed restrictions on their movement without a male guardian. It says it respects women’s rights in line with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Russia removes Afghan Taliban from list of banned terrorist groups
https://arab.news/7m8ap
Russia removes Afghan Taliban from list of banned terrorist groups
- The Taliban was outlawed by Russia as a terrorist movement in 2003
- State media said the Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the ban with immediate effect
WHO says one person dead from Nipah virus in Bangladesh
- Nipah is an infection that spreads mainly through products contaminated by infected bats, such as fruit
DHAKA: The World Health Organization said on Friday that a woman had died in northern Bangladesh in January after contracting the deadly Nipah virus infection.
The case in Bangladesh, where Nipah cases are reported almost every year, follows two Nipah virus cases identified in neighboring India, which has already prompted stepped-up airport screenings across Asia.
The patient in Bangladesh, aged between 40-50 years, developed symptoms consistent with Nipah virus on January 21, including fever and headache followed by hypersalivation, disorientation and convulsion, the WHO added.
She died a week later and was confirmed to be infected with the virus a day later.
The person had no travel history but had a history of consuming raw date palm sap. All 35 people who had contact with the patient are being monitored and have tested negative for the virus, and no further cases have been detected to date, the WHO said.
Nipah is an infection that spreads mainly through products contaminated by infected bats, such as fruit. It can be fatal in up to 75 percent of cases, but it does not spread easily between people.
Countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Pakistan implemented temperature screenings at airports after India said cases of the virus had been found in West Bengal.
The WHO said on Friday that the risk of international disease spread is considered low and that it does not recommend any travel or trade restrictions based on current information.
In 2025, four laboratory-confirmed fatal cases were reported in Bangladesh.
There are currently no licensed medicines or vaccines specific for the infection.
