President Trump urged to declassify US files on Lockerbie bombing

A prominent lawyer who represented the British victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has urged President Donald Trump to declassify US intelligence files related to the attack. (AFP/File Photo)
A prominent lawyer who represented the British victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has urged President Donald Trump to declassify US intelligence files related to the attack. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 14 February 2025
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President Trump urged to declassify US files on Lockerbie bombing

President Trump urged to declassify US files on Lockerbie bombing
  • Incident killed 259 passengers and crew, 11 people on ground

LONDON: A prominent lawyer who represented the British victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has urged President Donald Trump to declassify US intelligence files related to the attack, Sky News reported on Friday.

Prof. Peter Watson, who served as secretary for the Lockerbie Disaster Group, has called on Trump to release the documents, arguing that the families of those killed “deserve transparency, truth and answers.”

Trump has previously moved to declassify files concerning the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr., and Watson said he believes Lockerbie should be next.

“Nearly four decades later, as new trials and investigations continue, the pursuit of truth and justice for the victims and their families endures,” he said.

“The families of the victims are entitled to know as much as possible about what happened on the night of the bombing, and we know there are documents held by the US and UK intelligence services that fill the vacuum of understanding that remains today.”

Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the sky over the Scottish town of Lockerbie on Dec. 21, 1988, killing 259 passengers and crew on board, along with 11 people on the ground.

Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing in 2003 and compensated the families of the victims to the tune of £2.1 billion ($2.7 billion), but significant questions about the attack remain with no public inquiry into the bombing held to date.

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi was convicted for the bombing but was released on compassionate grounds in 2009 after being diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2012.

Libyan suspect Abu Agila Masud, who is alleged to have built the bomb, will stand trial in the US in May. He denies all charges.

Watson sent his declassification request in a letter to Matthew Palmer, the charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in London.

He wrote: “We have seen a move from President Trump to declassify a number of federal secrets, and we believe Lockerbie should be next.

“The families have waited far too long. They deserve transparency, truth and answers.”


Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without health care

Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without health care
Updated 6 sec ago
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Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without health care

Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without health care
  • WHO says hundreds of health centers, clinics across country are set to close by June
  • Afghan health sector relies on donors as govt covers only 3% of total expenditure

KABUL: Afghan doctors warn that new foreign funding cuts are depriving the country’s most vulnerable of health care, especially in rural areas, where aid-dependent NGOs are the sole providers.

The WHO announced last week that 206 health facilities across 28 provinces of Afghanistan were either suspended or closed due to a lack of financial support.

About 200 more clinics, health centers and mobile health and nutrition teams operating in remote areas of the country are set to close by June.

The UN health agency said that the funding shortfall, which comes amid massive US aid cuts since January, is leaving an additional 1.8 million Afghans without access to primary health care.

“The big hospitals in provincial capitals are primarily run by the government while most of the health centers in rural areas are operated by NGOs with funding from different donors,” Dr. Zobair Saljuqi, a doctor at Herat Regional Hospital, told Arab News.

Most of the rural population cannot afford to travel to provincial capitals or major cities for treatment. Health facilities in remote areas are also crucial for women, especially since their movement has been curtailed by the Taliban administration.

“If these health facilities don’t receive the needed financial aid, they cannot continue functioning even for a month because from staff salaries, through running costs, to medicines — all are provided by the donors,” Saljuqi said.

“Women will face severe challenges during pregnancies and children could die due to malnutrition or infectious diseases.”

The halt in US aid is another blow to Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation since the Taliban took over in 2021. Following the collapse of the country’s Western-backed regime, the US withdrew its troops and froze all projects overnight, after spending billions on two decades of military and development operations.

Afghanistan’s health sector relies on donor funds. UN estimates show that out-of-pocket expenses and external funding make up 97 percent of total health expenditure, while government contributions account for just 3 percent.

Dr. Ahmad Tariq, who works at a health center in Qarghayi district, Laghman province, said that almost everyone in his neighborhood depended on the facility.

“People here are very poor. They are all either farmers or daily laborers. They can’t afford to travel to the center of the province or buy medicine,” he told Arab News.

“Our small facility is helping tens of patients every day, men and women, children and elderly persons. They come for OPD consultations as well as vaccination and receive some medicine for free. If it wasn’t for this center most of the people would have been deprived of basic health services.”

According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health data, 72 percent of the rural population lacks access to primary and secondary health care services.

Of the country’s 400 districts, only 93 have operational hospitals, and almost 10 million people in more than 20,000 villages have limited or no access to basic health services.

Dr. Mohammad Nazar, a public health practitioner in Kabul, forecast that the sudden shortage of US-led funding would further devastate Afghanistan’s already fragile health system, which had endured decades of war and Soviet and American invasions.

“Almost all health centers across rural areas are supported by donors and humanitarian organizations,” he said.

“Tens of health facilities are already closing, which means more and more women, children, elderly persons, displaced persons ... will have no access to essential health services and mortality from preventable diseases would rise.”


UK reaffirms Middle East security partnership with US despite war plans leak

UK reaffirms Middle East security partnership with US despite war plans leak
Updated 47 min 18 sec ago
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UK reaffirms Middle East security partnership with US despite war plans leak

UK reaffirms Middle East security partnership with US despite war plans leak
  • The Trump administration accidentally leaked key military information about US airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen on March 15, just hours before the attack

LONDON: Britain will continue to work with the United States on regional security in the Middle East and will deepen relations with Washington on intelligence and defense matters, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Tuesday.
Asked about the mistaken disclosure to a journalist of a conversation about US military action against Houthi targets, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government was confident any communication of British intelligence with the US would not be leaked.
In an article published on Monday, The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief disclosed that officials from the Trump administration shared key military information with him about US airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Yemen on March 15, just hours before the attack.

Jeffrey Goldberg, an experienced journalist, explained that US government officials mistakenly included him in a text channel where they were discussing the details of the strike.
“The US is our closest ally when it comes to matters of intelligence and defense,” the spokesperson told reporters, declining to comment directly on the specific story.
“We work with the United States incredibly closely on all matters in relation to defense and security ... We will continue to work with the US on regional security.”


Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without healthcare

Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without healthcare
Updated 59 min 7 sec ago
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Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without healthcare

Doctors warn US aid cuts leave rural Afghanistan without healthcare
  • WHO says hundreds of health centers, clinics across country are set to close by June
  • Afghan health sector relies on donors as govt covers only 3% of total expenditure

Kabul: Afghan doctors warn that new foreign funding cuts are depriving the country’s most vulnerable of healthcare, especially in rural areas, where aid-dependent NGOs are the sole providers.

The WHO announced last week that 206 health facilities across 28 provinces of Afghanistan were either suspended or closed due to a lack of financial support.

About 200 more clinics, health centers and mobile health and nutrition teams operating in remote areas of the country are set to close by June.

The UN health agency said that the funding shortfall, which comes amid massive US aid cuts since January, is leaving an additional 1.8 million Afghans without access to primary health care.

“The big hospitals in provincial capitals are primarily run by the government while most of the health centers in rural areas are operated by NGOs with funding from different donors,” Dr. Zobair Saljuqi, a doctor at Herat Regional Hospital, told Arab News.

Most of the rural population cannot afford to travel to provincial capitals or major cities for treatment. Health facilities in remote areas are also crucial for women, especially since their movement has been curtailed by the Taliban administration.

“If these health facilities don’t receive the needed financial aid, they cannot continue functioning even for a month because from staff salaries, through running costs, to medicines — all are provided by the donors,” Saljuqi said.

“Women will face severe challenges during pregnancies and children could die due to malnutrition or infectious diseases.”

The halt in US aid is another blow to Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation since the Taliban took over in 2021. Following the collapse of the country’s Western-backed regime, the US withdrew its troops and froze all projects overnight, after spending billions on two decades of military and development operations.

Afghanistan’s health sector relies on donor funds. UN estimates show that out-of-pocket expenses and external funding make up 97 percent of total health expenditure, while government contributions account for just 3 percent.

Dr. Ahmad Tariq, who works at a health center in Qarghayi district, Laghman province, said that almost everyone in his neighborhood depended on the facility.

“People here are very poor. They are all either farmers or daily laborers. They can’t afford to travel to the center of the province or buy medicine,” he told Arab News.

“Our small facility is helping tens of patients every day, men and women, children and elderly persons. They come for OPD consultations as well as vaccination and receive some medicine for free. If it wasn’t for this center most of the people would have been deprived of basic health services.”

According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health data, 72 percent of the rural population lacks access to primary and secondary healthcare services.

Of the country’s 400 districts, only 93 have operational hospitals, and almost 10 million people in more than 20,000 villages have limited or no access to basic health services.

Dr. Mohammad Nazar, a public health practitioner in Kabul, forecast that the sudden shortage of US-led funding would further devastate Afghanistan’s already fragile health system, which had endured decades of war and Soviet and American invasions.

“Almost all health centers across rural areas are supported by donors and humanitarian organizations,” he said.

“Tens of health facilities are already closing, which means more and more women, children, elderly persons, displaced persons ... will have no access to essential health services and mortality from preventable diseases would rise.”


Governor of Turkiye’s Ankara extends protest ban until April 1

Governor of Turkiye’s Ankara extends protest ban until April 1
Updated 25 March 2025
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Governor of Turkiye’s Ankara extends protest ban until April 1

Governor of Turkiye’s Ankara extends protest ban until April 1

ANKARA: The governor of Ankara on Tuesday said he was extending the ban on any form of protest in the Turkish capital until April 1.
The ban would be in place “until 23:59 on April 1,” the statement said.
Protest bans are also in place in Istanbul and the western city of Izmir, but they have been largely ignored with mass demonstrations taking place across the country since the March 19 arrest and subsequent jailing of the country’s main opposition figure.


US-Russia talks on Ukraine ‘useful,’ will continue: Russian negotiator

US-Russia talks on Ukraine ‘useful,’ will continue: Russian negotiator
Updated 25 March 2025
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US-Russia talks on Ukraine ‘useful,’ will continue: Russian negotiator

US-Russia talks on Ukraine ‘useful,’ will continue: Russian negotiator
  • Grigory Karasin: ‘We talked about everything, it was an intense dialogue, not easy, but very useful for us and the Americans’
  • ‘We will continue doing it, adding in the international community, above all the United Nations and certain countries’

MOSCOW: A Russian negotiator said on Tuesday that Moscow would continue “useful” talks with the United States over the Ukraine conflict and would aim to involve the UN and other countries.
“We talked about everything, it was an intense dialogue, not easy, but very useful for us and the Americans,” Grigory Karasin, told the state TASS news agency, adding that “lots of problems were discussed.”
“Of course we are far from solving everything, from being in agreement on all points, but it seems that this type of discussion is very timely,” he said.
“We will continue doing it, adding in the international community, above all the United Nations and certain countries,” Karasin said.
He spoke a day after the US and Russian teams held 12 hours of talks in a luxury hotel in Saudi Arabia.
President Donald Trump is pushing for a rapid end to the three-year war and hopes the latest round of talks in the Saudi capital will pave the way for a breakthrough.
Earlier, TASS cited a source saying that a joint statement on the talks would be published on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian negotiating team was staying in Riyadh for another day to meet with US representatives, a source in the delegation told Suspilne news, with another source also telling AFP a second meeting was likely – a sign that progress may have been made.