Connect with us

International

Western Union restarts money transfers to Afghanistan

AFP

Western Union announced on Thursday that it would resume its money transfer service to Afghanistan, allowing vital remittances into a country that faces huge economic hurdles following the Taliban’s takeover last month.

“Western Union is pleased to share that it is resuming its money transfer services into Afghanistan, starting September 2, so that our customers can once again send money and support their loved ones at this time,” a spokesperson said.

“We understand the urgent needs of our customers and their families and are committed to supporting them,” the spokesperson said, adding that Western Union would waive transfer fees from September 3 through 17.

The service offers payments in Afghanistan in both afghanis and United States dollars via seven banks, the spokesperson said, and transfers were suspended “because the banking network was closed, essentially, and there were obviously liquidity issues.”

Advertisement
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
previous arrow
next arrow

“But we now have had assurances from our banking partners that a number of branches have been open in recent days and more and more opening each day, and also that we’ve had assurances that they have good liquidity,” the spokesperson added.

Remittances from Afghans living abroad are crucial for the impoverished country’s economy and amounted to almost $789 million in 2020, according to the World Bank — some four percent of the country’s estimated $19.8 billion GDP that year.

The Washington-based development lender last week announced it would suspend aid to the country, saying it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan and the impact on the country’s development prospects, especially for women.”

The IMF announced shortly after the Taliban’s takeover that it would suspend its assistance to the country, citing uncertainty surrounding its leadership.

Chief Compliance Office at Western Union Tyler Hand said facilitating money transfers doesn’t run afoul of Washington’s policies.

Advertisement
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
previous arrow
next arrow

“We’ve been actively in conversation with the US government since the withdrawal, which has conveyed that humanitarian activities, including remittances, are consistent with US policy,” he told AFP.

The Taliban Islamist militants, who have pledged a softer brand of rule than during their brutal reign of 1996-2001, are expected to soon form a new government.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
20250301_vacunacion_vph-300x250
20241211_mh_noexigencia_dui_300x250
20231124_etesal_300x250_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_300X250
MARN1

International

Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.

“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.

“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.

Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.

Continue Reading

International

Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.

Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.

However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.

Continue Reading

International

Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

Guatemalan court decides Wednesday whether to convict journalist José Rubén Zamora

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.

“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.

The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.

His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”

Continue Reading

Trending

Central News