Thank you, Foreign Minister of Indonesia. Thank you. Um Excellencies, esteemed leaders and friends from all around the world. And I want to give heartfelt greetings especially to our sisters in Afghanistan. Uh and all of those who have had to leave their country. We are all gathered here today to express our solidarity with you and to encourage the world community, especially those who continue to do business with Afghanistan to intervene on your behalf. In 1971 I graduated from college here in New York. And that year women in Switzerland were granted the right to vote.
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Taliban announce the release of two Americans held in Afghanistan in a prisoner exchange
Updated: 1:10 AM EST Jan 21, 2025
Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced on Tuesday the release of two Americans in a prisoner exchange.The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul did not name the two U.S. citizens, but said they were exchanged for Khan Muhammad, who was arrested in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar two decades ago and has been serving a life sentence in a California prison. Video above: Meryl Streep takes on the Taliban with a story about cats, squirrels and birdsThe family of Ryan Corbett, one of the Americans in the exchange, said Tuesday their hearts were filled with “overwhelming gratitude for sustaining his life and bringing him back home after what had been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives.”Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government, was abducted by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.The Afghan Foreign Ministry said the prisoner exchange was the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the U.S. and was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” the statement said.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government announced on Tuesday the release of two Americans in a prisoner exchange.
The Taliban’s Foreign Ministry in Kabul did not name the two U.S. citizens, but said they were exchanged for Khan Muhammad, who was arrested in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar two decades ago and has been serving a life sentence in a California prison.
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Video above: Meryl Streep takes on the Taliban with a story about cats, squirrels and birds
The family of Ryan Corbett, one of the Americans in the exchange, said Tuesday their hearts were filled with “overwhelming gratitude for sustaining his life and bringing him back home after what had been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives.”
Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the U.S.-backed government, was abducted by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry said the prisoner exchange was the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the U.S. and was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.
“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” the statement said.
