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Elderly British couple released by Taliban after eight months in custody following negotiations
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An elderly British couple were released by the Taliban this week after eight months in captivity.
Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter Reynolds, 80, arrived in Qatar on Friday following months of negotiations between Qatar, the Taliban and Britain.
The couple had lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, where they ran an education charity.
Despite the ordeal, Barbie Reynolds said they would return to Afghanistan if they could. They are both Afghan citizens.
«God is good, as they say in Afghanistan,» she added at the Kabul airport.
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Barbie Reynolds, who was released from Taliban detention in Afghanistan, is greeted by her daughter Sarah Entwistle in Qatar on Friday. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa )
The couple, who had been taken into custody in February, were met by relatives, including their daughter, when they arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.
Their daughter, Sarah Entwistle, was clearly emotional and told reporters in Qatar, «Thank you for giving us our family back.»
She added that their family would be «forever grateful to the Qatari and British governments for standing with us during this difficult time.»
«This experience has reminded us of the power of diplomacy, empathy and international cooperation,» she said.
The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, told Sky News from the U.S. that their health would have started to deteriorate if they had been held any longer, despite Qatar making sure they had access to their doctor and medicines during their captivity.
United Nations health experts had also warned that the couple’s captivity could harm or even kill them.
A Qatari official welcomes the released British couple, Barbie and Peter Reynolds, as they step off the plane upon their arrival in Doha, Qatar, on Friday. (AP Photo/Najib Jubain)
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Their family had accused the Taliban of mistreating the couple, and urged the government to explain why they had been detained.
Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s minister of state, said he was grateful «for the fruitful cooperation» between the U.K. and the Taliban in getting the pair released.
The Taliban claimed that the couple had broken Afghan laws without going into detail.
British couple Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who were released from Taliban detention in Afghanistan, rest after disembarking from a plane, in Doha, Qatar. (Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa)
«We are very grateful that at least, today is a very great humanitarian day, that they will be reunited with their family,» Richard Lindsay, Britain’s special envoy to Afghanistan, said, adding that it was «obviously up to the [Afghanistan] authorities here to determine why they were detained.»
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer added, «I want to pay tribute to the vital role played by Qatar, including the emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, in securing their freedom.»
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The U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan in 2021, leaving the Taliban to return to power.
conflicts,world,afghanistan,united kingdom
INTERNACIONAL
El régimen de Cuba se hunde en una crisis energética y económica sin la ayuda de Venezuela y la presión de Estados Unidos
Cuba atraviesa una de las peores crisis de su historia reciente, marcada por apagones masivos, la suspensión de vuelos internacionales, el colapso del sector turístico y un desplome sin precedentes de su moneda, en medio de una economía asfixiada por falta de petróleo y presión internacional.
A partir de este miércoles, la situación en la isla se agudizó con la suspensión temporal de vuelos de las aerolíneas rusas Rossiya y Nordwind, que se suman a cuatro compañías canadienses que ya habían cancelado sus operaciones hacia La Habana.
Las empresas extranjeras justificaron la decisión en la imposibilidad de abastecerse de combustible en los principales aeropuertos del país. La falta de queroseno no solo deja a miles de turistas y cubanos varados, sino que golpea directamente a uno de los pocos sectores que aún generaba divisas para el régimen: el turismo.
Rusia y Canadá representaron en 2025 más de la mitad de los visitantes extranjeros, con una caída que amenaza con asestar el golpe definitivo a la economía local.
Este nuevo aislamiento aéreo se produce en paralelo a un escenario de escasez extrema. El mercado informal de divisas marcó este miércoles un récord histórico: 500 pesos cubanos por un solo dólar. Se trata de una devaluación acelerada que refleja la debacle monetaria desde la llamada “Tarea Ordenamiento” de 2021.
La reforma oficial estableció un tipo de cambio irreal de 24 pesos por dólar, pero la inflación, el déficit fiscal y la total falta de confianza en el peso han hundido la moneda cerca de un 2.000% desde entonces.
El corte en el suministro de petróleo venezolano, consecuencia de la presión de Estados Unidos, agravó el colapso. La orden presidencial estadounidense de aplicar aranceles a cualquier país que exporte crudo a Cuba ha dejado a la isla sin aliados energéticos. El último petrolero atracó en enero y, según expertos, si para marzo no llegan nuevos cargamentos, la crisis energética será aún más severa.
El martes, más del 64% del territorio nacional quedó sin electricidad durante las horas de mayor demanda, el peor registro en los sistemas de monitoreo oficiales. Las centrales termoeléctricas, obsoletas y sin repuestos, no logran cubrir ni una fracción de las necesidades del país. La ausencia de diésel y fueloil para alimentar los motores de generación ha paralizado la red durante cuatro semanas consecutivas, según reconoció la dictadura cubana.
La vida cotidiana se ha visto drásticamente alterada. El régimen ha limitado los servicios hospitalarios y el transporte público a lo esencial, la venta de gasolina prácticamente desapareció y la agricultura prioriza solo cultivos básicos.
Universidades y oficinas operan en modalidad remota o con horarios restringidos, mientras gran parte de la fuerza laboral se ha visto obligada a aceptar cambios drásticos en su rutina para sobrevivir a la escasez.
El turismo, vital para el ingreso de divisas, está paralizado. Hoteles han cerrado y los pocos turistas son trasladados a instalaciones con reservas mínimas de combustible. Alemania y Suiza han recomendado a sus ciudadanos evitar viajes a Cuba por el “déficit agudo de combustibles”, alertando sobre riesgos logísticos y sanitarios.
En un intento por mantener la narrativa oficial, el dictador de Miguel Díaz-Canel insiste en la “resistencia” y en que la crisis es consecuencia de un “asedio” externo.
Sin embargo, el discurso oficial apenas tiene eco en las calles, donde la frustración por la inflación, la escasez y los apagones crece a diario. El Partido Comunista, único legal, llama a la unidad y promete que “Cuba vencerá”, pero el desgaste social y el éxodo masivo de ciudadanos marcan la realidad de una isla al borde del colapso.
La perspectiva es desoladora: sin combustible, sin turismo, sin divisas y sin un plan viable de recuperación. El aislamiento internacional y la parálisis interna exponen la fragilidad de un modelo incapaz de responder a las necesidades mínimas de la población.
(Con información de EFE)
South America / Central America,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News
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DHS unloads on anti-ICE Dems after man arrested with manifesto, ‘disturbing’ alleged plot to kill agents
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FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security is speaking out against immigration rhetoric from Democrats and launching an investigation after a U.S. citizen in Oregon was arrested and found with a manifesto stating his plans to kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Last week, the St. Helen’s Police Department north of Portland arrested an 18-year-old during a traffic stop after he was found with knives and materials used to manufacture Molotov cocktails, according to police, Fox 12 Oregon reported.
The individual, Rayden Coleman, is also alleged to have authored a manifesto outlining a plan to kill ICE agents at a Portland ICE office in an attack using Molotov cocktails and a gun. Additionally, Coleman reportedly told investigators about his plan and that he was set to pick up an AR-15 the next day from a licensed dealer to carry out the attack, and he is also reported to have admitted making statements about beheading ICE agents.
«Every day there are more assaults, more vehicle-ramming attacks, more attempts to kill our officers,» Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. «Now, we have an American citizen planning to kill ICE officers with Molotov cocktails and gun them down. It’s disturbing.»
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE OVER ‘DERANGED’ QUESTION TO ICE DIRECTOR ABOUT ‘GOING TO HELL’
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploy pepper balls, tear gas, and flashbang grenades as hundreds of protesters march from Portland City Hall to an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 1, 2026. (Sean Bascom/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«Sanctuary politicians comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols have real world consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must end.»
The DHS statement comes the day after several House Democrats railed against ICE during a hearing with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons comparing ICE agents to Nazis and the Gestapo as they slammed the Trump administration over the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two anti-ICE activists killed during interactions opposing federal immigration authorities.
ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES
Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS says there is an ongoing investigation into the Oregon arrest with ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and that Coleman is facing state charges on six counts of manufacturing a destructive device, and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
Coleman is being held in the Columbia County jail and is listed as having a bail of $400,000.
ICE officers are facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them, according to DHS, along with an 8,000% increase in death threats.
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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Getty Images)
As Democrats rally against ICE across the country, Congress has until Friday at midnight to fund DHS, with Democrats threatening to shut down the government if their demands for ICE reforms are not meant and as the days go by, the odds of doing so are becoming increasingly slim.
«I think they (Democrats) are using families as political weapons,» DHS Secretary Kristi Noem exclusively told Fox News Digital last week. «And this is a little bit different, because when it’s the whole government that they shut down, they’re not necessarily just attacking security.»
«This feels like a direct attack on the security of our country, our homeland. And it’s almost as though they’ve gotten so extreme, they don’t care if we’re out there on the front lines keeping our country safe from terrorists, keeping our country safe from murderers and rapists,» Noem added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
immigration,politics,homeland security,illegal immigrants
INTERNACIONAL
Iranian brutality: Nobel laureate fighting for life after barbaric assault at notorious prison
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December.
The committee said it had received «credible reports» of «life-threatening mistreatment» of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.
Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
Ali and Kiana Rahmani, children of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, attend the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 award ceremony, where they accept the award on behalf of their mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway on Dec. 10, 2023. (NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS )
Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.
«The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust,» committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. «Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity.»
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES
Ali Rahmani, son of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, speaks after receiving the award on behalf of his mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway. (NTB/Fredrik Varfjell via REUTERS)
An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present «to chant norm‑breaking slogans» and «disturb the peace,» Reuters reported.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.
The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care.
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests, on a street in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
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«Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights,» it said.
iran,world politics,personal freedoms
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