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WORLD NEWS Monday 11 May 2020

Taliban say they don’t have missing U.S. contractor

By KATHY GANNON having either found their
Associated Press freedom or died.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Tal- Khalilzad's latest trip to
iban leaders searched the region, according to
their ranks, including in a U.S. State Department
the much-feared Haqqani announcement, includes
network, and on Sunday Doha, Islamabad and New
told The Associated Press Delhi but not Kabul, where
they are not holding Mark political turmoil has stymied
R. Frerichs, a Navy veteran progress on the deal's next
turned contractor who dis- and critical phase of intra-
appeared in Afghanistan in Afghan talks.
late January. Afghanistan's political
"We don't have any infor- leaders are still disputing
mation about the missing last year's presidential polls.
American," Sohail Sha- A frustrated U.S. Secretary
heen, the Taliban's political of State Mike Pompeo in
spokesman, told the AP. March cut $1 billion in aid to
A second Taliban official fa- Afghanistan after a surprise
miliar with the talks with the Mark Frerichs, a contractor from Illinois, poses in Iraq in this undated photo obtained from Twitter visit to the Afghan capital
United States said "formally that he would include with his resume when job hunting. Associated Press failed to bring about an
and informally" the Taliban agreement between the
have notified U.S. officials sought Pakistan's help in lo- in 2001 by the U.S.-led co- Taliban peace process for- two leaders — President
they are not holding Fr- cating Frierchs. He arrived alition, has worked with the ward, he has returned only Ashraf Ghani and his rival,
erichs. He spoke on condi- in Islamabad on Friday U.S. to get a peace deal once to Pakistan and has Abdullah Abdullah.
tion of anonymity because from Doha before heading with the Taliban. While it still quietly been relocating his Khalilzad however has
he was not authorized to to neighboring India in his has influence with the insur- family to the Middle East. been pressing forward,
speak to the media. pursuit of a lasting peace gents, a deep mistrust be- Earlier this week, the FBI pushing the Taliban to
Washington's peace en- in Afghanistan. He met with tween the militant move- took the unusual step of agree to a reduction in vio-
voy Zalmay Khalilzad, who Pakistan's Army Chief of ment and Pakistan exists. putting out a poster with lence in an effort to move
negotiated a peace deal Staff Qamar Javed Bajwa Pakistan kept the Taliban's Frerichs' picture on it seek- Afghanistan toward a last-
with the Taliban signed in to also press Pakistan's as- chief negotiator Mullah Ab- ing information into his dis- ing peace.
February to allow Ameri- sistance getting the Tal- dul Ghani Baradar in jail for appearance and where- The U.S. and NATO howev-
ca and NATO countries to iban to agree to reduce eight years after his arrest abouts, something they er have started their troop
withdraw their troops and violence in Afghanistan, in a joint Pakistan-CIA op- have not done in previous withdrawal, which will be
end decades of war, asked where they have stepped eration in 2010, apparently incidents where the Taliban completed by next year if
for Frierchs' release during up attacks on Afghan Se- because he had opened have taken hostages. the Taliban keeps to their
his meetings this week in curity Forces but not U.S. or peace talks with Afghani- In previous talks, negotia- promise in the deal to fight
Qatar, where the Taliban NATO forces, in line with the stan's President Hamid Kar- tions have been held qui- terrorist groups, particularly
maintain a political office. peace deal. zai but without Pakistan etly, intelligence has been the Islamic State, and guar-
In a statement late Satur- Pakistan, where Taliban or Washington's involve- gathered and only many antee Afghan territory is not
day by the U.S. Embassy in leaders have found a safe ment. Since his release in months later the hostages' used again to attack the
Islamabad, Khalilzad also haven since their overthrow late 2018 to push the U.S.- fate became known — United States or its allies.q

Serbia protests EU description

of Tesla as famous Croat

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — where he assumed Ameri-
Serbia has protested to can citizenship. He died in
the European Union after New York in 1943.
one of its publications de- Tesla's ethnicity has long
scribed inventor and elec- been just one of many dis-
tricity pioneer Nikola Tesla putes and points of con-
as a Croat. tention between neighbor-
Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic ing Balkan rivals Serbia and
said on Saturday he has Croatia, which once were
sent the protest note to both part of the Yugoslav
Brussels after the EU's Learn- federation that broke up in
ing Corner site for children a civil war in the 1990s. Cro-
described Tesla as a "fa- atia is an EU member, while
mous Croatian" who was Serbia is seeking member-
one of the first people to ship.
discover X-ray imaging. Tesla's ashes are preserved In this Thursday, March 7, 2019 file photo, a shadow of Milica Kesler, curator and archivist is cast
An ethnic Serb born in in a gold-colored sphere in onto a poster of Nikola Tesla at the Nikola Tesla museum in Belgrade, Serbia.
1856 in the Austrian Empire the Nikola Tesla museum Associated Press
in present-day Croatia, in the Serbian capital. His
Tesla spent most of his life sculptures are on display developing the alternat- ing from the hydroelectric dio technology, working in
abroad, working in Buda- in both Belgrade and the ing current that helped plant at Niagara Falls in rivalry with Thomas Edison.
pest and Paris before emi- Croatian capital, Zagreb. safely distribute electricity the mid-1890s. He experi- Car manufacturer Tesla is
grating to the U.S. in 1884 Tesla is best known for at great distances, includ- mented with X-ray and ra- named after him.q