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CNN —Three bewildered children sit on the roof of a mosque in Baghlan province, northern Afghanistan, their eyes blinking away mud that covers their entire bodies. Afghan relatives offer prayers during a burial ceremony for victims of flooding in Baghlan province, May 11, 2024. In the next days, teams will start distributing food to feed families for a month – what happens next is unclear. Workers repair a road destroyed by floods in Nahrin district of Baghlan province on May 12, 2024. The world is seeing the impacts of much larger, more severe events, whether that’s drought, rainfalls cyclones,” Anderson said.

Persons: let’s, “, Barakatullah, Haji Wakil Besmillah, ”, ” Barakatullah, –, Timothy Anderson, it’s, Anderson, that’s, They’re, it’ll, ” Anderson, Richard Bennett, Teresa Anderson Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Food Programme, “, WFP, Workers, Getty, Global, ActionAid Locations: Baghlan province, Afghanistan, Folo, Bulka, Baghlan, AFP, Nahrin district

☆ Who are ISIS-K, the group that claimed it carried out the Moscow terror attack?
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It is a branch of ISIS, the terror group that emerged in Syria and Iraq and, at its peak, controlled a huge stretch of territory. By 2018, ISIS-K was ranked the world’s fourth-deadliest terror group, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace, which monitors global terrorism. Video Ad Feedback What we know about ISIS group claiming responsibility for Moscow terror attack 04:16 - Source: CNNWhat do they want? Russian state media reported on March 7 that the FSB, Russia’s security service, prevented an ISIS attack on a synagogue in Moscow, according to Reuters. It is the most active terror group in the country, responsible for 73 deaths in 2023, according to the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Persons: Kamala Harris, –, Joe Biden, Putin, ”, Daniel Byman, ” Byman, John Miller, Wakil Kohsar, Washington, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, Islamic, ISIS, Sunday, US, Institute for Economics, The United Nations, Sharia, “, RIA Novosti, RIA, Reuters, Kabul University, CSIS, National Legal Training, US Central Command, National Intelligence, UN, Manchester Arena, State Department, Kyiv Locations: Moscow, Soviet, Tajikistan, Khorasan, Asia, Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Africa, East, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Kabul, Afghanistan’s Kunar, Nangarhar, United States, Britain, Europe, “ Russia, Georgetown, Caucasus, Pakistan –, Mastung, AFP, Germany, Paris, Ariana Grande, England, Orlando , Florida, Russian, Ukraine, Crocus

The group got a dramatic second wind soon after the Taliban toppled the Afghan government that year. The attack raised ISIS-K’s international profile, positioning it as a major threat to the Taliban’s ability to govern. Counterterrorism officials in Europe say that in recent months they have snuffed out several nascent ISIS-K plots to attack targets there. And now the group has claimed responsibility for the attack in Moscow. “ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow’s interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.”

Persons: Biden, Michael E, “, Qassim Suleimani, Vladimir V, Putin, Colin P, Clarke, ” Organizations: Taliban, U.S, Islamic State, ISIS, military’s, Command, Counterterrorism, Soufan, Kremlin Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Moscow, State Khorasan Province, U.S, United States, Persian, Europe, Kerman, Iran, Gen, Iranian, Russia, New York, Chechnya, Syria

☆ Barren Fields and Empty Stomachs: Afghanistan’s Long, Punishing Drought
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Lynsey Addario | Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

They awake in the mornings to find another family has left. Those who remain pick apart the abandoned homes and burn the bits for firewood. They speak of the lushness that once blessed this corner of southwestern Afghanistan. What paltry water dribbles out from deep beneath the arid earth is salt-laced, cracking their hands and leaving streaks in their clothes. Several years of punishing drought has displaced entire swaths of Afghanistan, one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change, leaving millions of children malnourished and plunging already impoverished families into deeper desperation.

Locations: Afghanistan

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 drove millions into poverty and hunger after foreign aid stopped almost overnight. “Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the healthcare crisis, particularly because of Taliban abuses,” said the report. “The loss of foreign development aid and Taliban rights violations have caused a catastrophic health crisis in Afghanistan that is disproportionately harming women and girls,” the report quoted Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, as saying. Fifteen of the interviewees, 12 women and three men, were with Afghans who had sought health care. The rights group also talked to Afghan healthcare officials, 10 women and eight men.

Persons: ”, Fereshta Abbasi, Abbasi Organizations: Rights Watch, NATO, Food Program, Human Rights Watch, HRW, Mercy Corps Locations: ISLAMABAD, New York, Afghanistan, Samangan

The terrorist threat from al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and their affiliates remains high in conflict zones in Africa and in Afghanistan – and threat levels have risen in some regions including Europe, U.N. experts said in a new report. The Islamic State group broke away from al-Qaida over a decade ago and attracted supporters from around the world. In Iraq, they are carrying out “a low-intensity insurgency with covert terrorist cells” while in Syria attacks have intensified since November, the experts said. In West Africa and the Sahel, the panel said, “violence and threat have escalated again” in conflict zones, raising concerns among U.N. member nations. The experts point to “a deficit in counterterrorism capabilities,” which Islamic State and al-Qaida affiliated groups are continuing to exploit.

Persons: Abu Hafs al, Hashemi, “, ”, Al Organizations: Islamic State, . Security, Central, Islamic Locations: Africa, Afghanistan, Europe, Iran, Pakistan, Central Asian, “, al, Iraq, Syria, Islamic, West Africa, Islamic State, Somali, Shabab, “ al, Mogadishu, Somalia, Israel, Gaza, Al, Islam, Jerusalem, France, Belgium

☆ Four survive charter jet crash in Afghanistan but condition of two others unclear, Russia says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Two Taliban provincial officials said four survivors were now with Taliban administration officials who had reached the remote, mountainous site of the crash. The Taliban administration’s top spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the pilot of the plane was among four who had survived. The Russian-registered charter plane with six people on board disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan a day earlier, Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Sunday, after Afghan police said they had received reports of a crash. The pilot then reported that one engine had stopped, and then that the second one had also stopped, SHOT reported. Afghanistan police had received reports of a plane crash in a remote, mountainous region of Badakhshan in Afghanistan’s far north, a provincial police spokesperson said on Sunday.

Persons: Zabiullah Mujahid, ”, Rosaviatsia, “, Zabihullah Amiri Organizations: CNN, Taliban, Thailand’s Utapao, Dassault Aviation, Falcon, Reuters, Russia’s, Athletic Locations: Moscow, Afghanistan, Islamic, Thailand’s, Pattaya, India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russian, Indian, Thailand’s Pattaya, Bangkok, “, Russia, Badakhshan, Afghanistan’s, Fayzabad

☆ How an Indian startup hacked the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, prominent attorneys and more. Run by a pair of brothers, Rajat and Anuj Khare, the company began as a small Indian educational startup. The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, sports figures and more. Back in 2012, Kristi Rogers was an executive at Aegis, a London-based security company. Canadian security company GardaWorld, which acquired Aegis in 2015, said it had no information on the incident.

Persons: Chuck Randall, Randall, “, ” Randall, ”, Randall’s inbox, Appin, Rajat, Anuj Khare, Rajat Khare’s, Clare Locke, Khare “, Khare, ” Clare Locke, Ted Kaczynski, Anuj, who’ve, SentinelOne, Tom Hegel, Appin “, Hegel, Mandiant, ” Hegel, Shane Huntley, ” Huntley, Google’s Huntley, ‘, Jochi Gómez, Gómez, Halevi, Tamir Mor, Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mohamed Azmin Ali, ” Mor, Berezovsky, Azmin, Mor, Roman Abramovich, Mark Hastings, Hastings, didn’t, Jim H, ” Jim H, Jim H’s, Kristi Rogers, Mike Rogers, he’s, Global’s, sully, Rogers, Damian Perl, – “, Steven Santarpia, ” Santarpia, Santarpia, Leonel Fernández, ” Fernández, Rajat Khare, “ Let’s, Ministry of Home Affairs didn’t, Peter Hargitay, Stevie, Billing, ” Stevie, ’, ” Peter Hargitay, Mookhey, Norman Shark, Jonathan Camp, Shark, Camp, Norman, Dominican Republic –, Dan Brady, Sandra Schweingruber, ” Schweingruber, Schweingruber, Brady, ” Gómez, –, ” –, Anna Carter, Mark Califano, ” Rajat Khare’s, India’s, Educomp, Karen Hunter, Hunter, Bryan, Rajat’s, Vijay Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Kumar, ACSG, Jay Solomon, Solomon, ” Rebsec’s, Vishavdeep Singh, Rebsec, CyberRoot, Sumit Gupta, Gupta, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Christopher Bing, Ryan McNeill, Corinne Perkins, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Reuters, Google, Harvard University, U.S, Symantec, Appin, Caribbean, El, Israeli Defense Forces, Commando, Quillon Law, U.S . House Intelligence, The Michigan Republican, U.S . Senate, Aegis, Global Security, Security, Rogers, Army Corps of Engineers, Rotary, Aegis ’, Global, ” Reuters, Britain’s, Appin Software Security, Ltd, Appin Security, –, Research, Analysis, Intelligence Bureau, Indian, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, India’s Ministry of Defense, of Home Affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Telenor, Broadcom, FBI, Dominican, Criminal Investigation Service, Appin Security Group, CERT, country’s, Bureau of Investigation, Educomp, State Bank of India, State Bank, The National Security Agency, NSA, U.S ., Swiss, Appin Technology, India’s Ministry, Corporate Affairs, Control Security Global, Technology, Kumar, Facebook, Meta, BellTroX, Services, Street, New, Rebsec, BellTroX’s, Hire Locations: Long, New Delhi, India, Yorker, Paris, Swiss, cybersecurity, Appin, Dominican, California, “, Dominican Republic, El Siglo, United States, Britain, Switzerland, New York, French, New Jersey, Israel, Russian, Malaysian, London, Rwandan, Virginia, Canadian, Chuck@shinnecock.org, Texas, Indian, India’s Punjab, Pakistan, Zurich, Australia, Norway, Oslo, Brady, Former, ”, U.S, Islip, Shinnecock, Washington, cyberespionage

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban on Wednesday welcomed the resumption of FlyDubai flights to Kabul's international airport two years after stopping service following the collapse of the Western-backed government. All international airlines halted flights to Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces departed after two decades of war. FlyDubai, the sister carrier of long-haul airline Emirates, now will make two flights a day to Kabul. In May last year, the Taliban signed a deal allowing an Emirati company to manage three airports in Afghanistan. Two Afghan airlines, Kam Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines, operate from Kabul to destinations such as Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad and Istanbul.

Persons: FlyDubai, Abdul Ghani Baradar, ”, Abu, Ashraf Ghani, Jon Gambrell Organizations: —, Wednesday, NATO, United, Emirates, Taliban, Solutions, Kam, Ariana Afghan Airlines, Associated Press, Badruddin Haqqani, Airbus, Dubai Air, UAE . The Emirates, U.S, ___ Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Kabul, Abu Dhabi, Herat, Kandahar, Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad, Istanbul, UAE

☆ China has a sweeping vision to reshape the world — and countries are listening
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

All this coincides with longstanding calls from countries across the developing world for an international system where they have more say. Beijing, he added, sees the US as merely “paying lip service” to the “liberal order” to hurt other countries. Sergei Savostyanov/Sputnik/ReutersIn recent years, even some countries that have for decades embraced a close partnership with the US have drawn closer to China and its vision. “Is China really trying to promote multipolarity — or does China just want to (become a) substitute (for) US influence over the world?” he asked. They also raise questions about how a more militarily and economically powerful China would behave globally, if left unchecked.

Persons: Xi Jinping, —, Xi, Vladimir Putin, General Antonio Guterres, ” Xi, , Shen Hong, they’d, ”, Yun Sun, liberalize, Sanjit Das, Shen Dingli, ‘, ’ ”, Russia’s Putin, Bashar al, Assad —, Assad’s, Sergei Savostyanov, Ali Sarwar Naqvi, “ We’ve, James Marape, ’, Rubens Duarte, Li Zhiquan, “, Tong Zhao, Zhao, Ted Aljibe, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Zhang Youxia, Beijing’s, Gilberto Teodoro Jr, BRICS, Weeks, Joe Biden, Sergio Lima, ” — Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United Nations, Forum, China, Communist, CNN, Beijing, Washington, Getty, Stimson, Bank, World Trade Organization, . Riot, Bloomberg, Initiative, Asian, Global, Sputnik, Reuters, Center for International Strategic Studies, Papua New Guinea, multipolarity, China News Service, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Global Security Initiative, NATO, Russia, Philippine Defense, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, United, New, Seven, Ministry, Global Security, Group, UN, Communist Party Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Gaza, Russian, Xinhua, Washington, South, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, America, Shanghai, West, Hangzhou, Israel, Pakistan, Pakistani, Islamabad, Papua New, Brazil, Indonesia, Europe, Asia, Scarborough, South China, AFP, Moscow, Russia, “, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine, India, South Africa, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, New Delhi, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Caribbean, ” Beijing

The anthem they stand for at the beginning of every game belongs to a republic that was toppled two years ago. Yet Afghanistan’s athletes have become the unlikely — and widely celebrated — heroes of the Cricket World Cup that is underway in India. In a tournament followed by hundreds of millions of people across the globe, they have defeated the defending world champions and two former titleholders handily. When they win, players sing and dance from the dugout, to the team bus, to their hotel rooms. The Afghan cricket team’s accomplishments are amplifying what has already been an astonishingly speedy rise in sports history.

Organizations: Cricket Locations: India

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces on Wednesday rounded up, detained and deported dozens of Afghans who were living in the country illegally, after a government-set deadline for them to leave expired, authorities said. According to the U.N. agencies, there are more than 2 million undocumented Afghans in Pakistan, at least 600,000 of whom fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration have become strained over the past two years because of stepped-up attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group that is allied with the Afghan Taliban. Since the government deadline was announced on October 3, more than 200,000 Afghans have returned home from Pakistan. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, contributed to this report.

Persons: Sarfraz Bugti, ”, Zabihullah Mujahid, ” Mujahid, “, Ahmad Banwari, Banwari, ___ Khan, Rahim Faiez, Abdul Sattar Organizations: ” Interim, Taliban, Afghanistan’s, Pakistani Taliban, Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD, Islamabad, Pakistan, Afghanistan, “, ”, Karachi, Rawalpindi, Baluchistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, The New York, Kabul, Nangarhar, Pakistani, Taliban Pakistan, United States, Peshawar, Quetta

☆ China's Belt and Road Forum: What to know following Beijing's 'grand gathering'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the main takeaways from China’s Belt and Road Forum. No doubt over Putin’s prominenceThe gathering left no question over who was the most important world leader in attendance in the eyes of China’s Xi. In his meeting with Putin, Xi hailed the China-Russia partnership as “a long-term commitment,” stressing “ever-lasting good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation,” and alluding to their shared 4,300-kilometer border and mutual aims. Since then, skepticism about China’s global ambitions has risen in Europe, in particular over Beijing’s economic and diplomatic support for Moscow. “Obviously, competition should not mean working against each other but mutually improving each other,” he said, while touting the quantity of China’s global development projects.

Persons: Beijing CNN —, Xi, Vladimir Putin, –, Putin striding, Putin, ” Putin, Joe Biden’s, ”, Giuseppe Conte, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Kassym, Joko, General António Guterres, ” Guterres, Zhai Jun, Wang Yi, “ Organizations: Beijing CNN, Initiative, of, Italian, Beijing, United Nations, Hamas Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Ukraine, Russia, China’s, East, Gaza, Israel, Europe, US, Greece, Austria, Portugal, Czech Republic, Moscow, Italy, Africa, Asia, Latin America, Egypt

☆ ICC Cricket World Cup: Afghanistan stuns England in one of the biggest ever sporting upsets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The pantheon of great sporting upsets gained another monument on Sunday as Afghanistan roundly defeated England by 69 runs at the ICC Cricket World Cup in Delhi, India. It was an upset of immense proportions – Afghanistan had only ever won one World Cup match in its entire history while England is the defending world champion, still basking in the glow of a golden era that has bestowed mythical status on much of its team. But England sputtered from the very start as some loose bowling allowed Afghanistan to build an impressive platform, putting on more than 100 runs without losing a wicket. Defeating England following the earthquake added another dimension to Afghanistan’s historic victory, one which captain Rashid Khan hoped will give Afghans a “little bit of smile on their faces,” he said, per ESPN Cricinfo. After already losing to New Zealand, this shock defeat leaves England in real danger of crashing out the World Cup in the group stages, giving Saturday’s game against South Africa even more importance.

Persons: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Ali Khil, Harry Brook’s, Afghanistan's, Alikhil, Money Sharma, Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, ” Organizations: CNN, England, ICC Cricket, Getty, Sky Sports, ESPN, New, South, New Zealand Locations: Afghanistan, Delhi, India, England, Herat, New Zealand, South Africa

Standing on top of a mound of sand, he locates his home – or rather, what little is left of it. “Obviously our current situation is visible.”He reveals that the deadly earthquake which struck Afghanistan on October 7 had taken more than his family home away from him. “The situation in Afghanistan was already extremely dire,” said Mawlawi Mutiul Haq Khales of the Afghan Red Crescent Society. Her seven children were killed in the earthquake. “I was sitting at home when the earthquake struck… and I dragged my children out of the house,” Rana said.

Persons: CNN — Zaher, ”, Ebrahim Noroozi, Mawlawi Mutiul Haq, Stephanie Sinclair, “, Fatima, …, Rana, ” Rana, ” Siddig Ibrahim, ” Ibrahim, Shah Bibi’s Organizations: CNN, “ Boys, Global, Red Crescent Society, “, UN, International, UNICEF Afghanistan’s, Field Locations: Afghanistan, Herat, It’s, Herat province, “ Afghanistan

Deadly earthquake hits Afghanistan Earthquake impact mapPowerful earthquakes struck northwestern Afghanistan on October 8, killing more than 2,400 people, the Taliban administration said, in the deadliest tremors to rock the mountainous country in years. A boy cries as he sits next to debris, in the aftermath of an earthquake in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan, October 8, 2023. For example, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 is ten times larger than a magnitude 6 earthquake. Afghanistan’s five highest magnitude earthquakes (7.4 to 7.8 magnitude) have occurred along the Hindu Kush mountain range in the country’s north-east region. A man carries the body of his child, in the aftermath of an earthquake in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 8, 2023.

Persons: Zinda Jan, Stringer Afghanistan’s, Damage Organizations: U.S . Geological Survey, REUTERS, Stringer Poor, Diplomats, International Committee, World Health Organization, WHO Locations: Afghanistan, Herat, U.S, Turkey, Syria, Zinda, Pakistan, South Asia, Kabul, Herat province

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior Taliban delegation was visiting western Afghanistan’s Herat province on Monday in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that killed at least 2,000 people over the weekend and flattened entire villages, a statement said. Aid agencies and nongovernmental groups have appealed for the international community to come forward but only a handful of countries have publicly offered support, including neighboring China and Pakistan. “CARE is deeply saddened by the devastating earthquake that struck the western province of Herat," said Reshma Azmi, the group's deputy director for Afghanistan. "This comes less than seven months after another powerful earthquake hit the country, leaving thousands homeless and displaced.”Azimi was referring to the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in March that struck much of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. In neighboring Pakistan, the government held a special session to review aid for Afghanistan, including relief teams, food items and medicines, as well as tents and blankets.

Persons: —, Abdul Ghani Baradar, Reshma Azmi, Azimi, “, ”, Thamindri de Silva, Irfanullah Organizations: Taliban, Geological Survey, Aid, CARE USA, CARE International, CARE, Afghan Red Crescent Society Locations: ISLAMABAD, Herat, Kabul, The U.S, Afghanistan, Israel, Gaza, China, Pakistan

☆ Herat, Afghanistan earthquake: Aid group warns devastation 'worse than we imagined'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Herat city in the western Herat province – the third largest in Afghanistan. The world must not look away now.”A badly destroyed house, one of thousands across Herat province in western Afghanistan. UNICEF teams on the ground are calling for more urgent action and aid for families devastated by the latest earthquake. UNICEF“We will make every effort to bring quick relief to those affected,” said Fran Equiza, its representative in Afghanistan. International aid groups have said their ability to respond to calls during major disasters was heavily hampered by the Taliban’s takeover and called for more urgent global aid but only a handful of countries have publicly offered support.

Persons: ”, Thamindri de Silva, de Silva, ” “, ” de Silva, Mark Calder, “, MUHAMMAD BALABULUKI, Stéphane Dujarric, ” Dujarric, António Guterres, UNICEF “, Fran Equiza, Zabihullah Mujahid Organizations: CNN — International, World, CNN, Getty Images UN, UN, UNICEF, Sunday, Bank Locations: Afghanistan, Herat, Herat province –, Kabul, ”, AFP, Washington, Khost, Pakistan, Neighboring China

This was a secret school, set up to teach girls despite the bans on female education imposed by the Taliban since they retook control of Afghanistan two years ago. Girls, faces partially covered, attend class at a hidden school in Afghanistan. CNN‘I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t’Inspired, in part, by a 1996 Christiane Amanpour documentary titled “Battle for Afghanistan,” Hakim decided to create secret schools for a new generation of Afghan girls. After the militant group imposed the bans on girls’ education, Maryam says she was trapped at home and felt like a “zombie,” with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Hope stronger than fearBack at the secret school, Maryam learns the Taliban are checking neighborhoods for illegal activities and fears they risk being caught.

Persons: CNN — Parasto Hakim, Hakim, “, ” Hakim, –, CNN Hakim, ”, CNN ‘, Christiane Amanpour, Maryam, ” Maryam, Fatima, ” Fatima, Yalda, ” Yalda, Koofi, Hakim –, ” Koofi, ” Fawzia, Justin Tallis Organizations: CNN, Girls, United Nations, UN, ” CNN, ”, Taliban, Getty Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, States, United, London

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — In the first Asian Games since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, two teams of athletes are arriving in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, looking very different. The games official opening ceremony is on Saturday. They have barred women from most areas of public life such as parks, gyms and work and cracked down on media freedoms. They have banned girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade, and prohibited Afghan women from working at local and non-governmental organizations. Rahimi said that the previous government had been working hard to increase women's participation in sport since the previous Taliban regime, and that it had increased to 20%.

Persons: Atel, Hafizullah Wali Rahimi, ”, Rahimi, they'll Organizations: —, Asian Games, Olympic, Associated Press, Afghanistan's National Olympic, NATO, United Nations Locations: HANGZHOU, China, Afghanistan, Hangzhou, Taliban, Afghan, Iran, Italy, Australia

CNN —The Taliban has welcomed Zhao Sheng as China’s new ambassador to Afghanistan during a lavish ceremony held at the presidential palace in Kabul on Wednesday. China is among a handful of countries, including Pakistan, Iran and Russia that have maintained a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control of the country in 2021. In the palace ceremony, Taliban Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund shook hands with Zhao and “accepted the credentials of the new Chinese Ambassador,” the prime minister’s office said on X, formerly known as Twitter. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement the appointment was the “normal rotation of China’s ambassador to Afghanistan” and was “intended to continue advancing dialogue and cooperation” between the two countries, according to Reuters. The ministry said, “China’s policy toward Afghanistan is clear and consistent.”CNN has reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Persons: Zhao Sheng, Mohammad Hasan Akhund, Zhao, “, Mr Zhao Sheng, Zabiullah Mujahid, ”, Mujahid, Afghanistan ”, Qin Gang Organizations: CNN, Taliban, Honorable, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters, Pakistan Economic Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Wednesday, China, Pakistan, Iran, Russia, China’s, Islamabad, Xinjiang

☆ They Shot at Her. They Forced Her From Her Home. She Won’t Stop Fighting for Girls.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Juliet Macur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“These players dreamed of playing football for Afghanistan and men just came and took that dream from them,” Popal said. FIFA has declared it a priority to ensure equal access to soccer without discrimination. But in Afghanistan’s case, it is just “monitoring the situation very closely,” according to its statement. A spokesman for the Afghanistan Football Federation said the organization could do nothing to help because the women’s national team dissolved when the players fled the country — an assertion the players reject. While working for Right to Dream, a soccer nonprofit, and Girl Power, her own nonprofit, she organized a petition, which has been signed by more than 175,000 people since publishing online in late July.

Persons: ” Popal, you’ve, Julie Elliott, Malala Yousafzai Organizations: FIFA, Afghanistan Football Federation Locations: Afghanistan, British

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan is the world’s fastest-growing maker of methamphetamine, a report from the United Nations drug agency said Sunday. The report called Afghanistan’s meth manufacturing a growing threat to national and regional health and security because it could disrupt the synthetic drug market and fuel addiction. It said seizures of meth suspected to have come from Afghanistan have been reported from the European Union and east Africa. Afghanistan also has the ephedra plant, which is not found in the biggest meth-producing countries: Myanmar and Mexico. But you need a lot of it.”Me said it was too early to assess what impact the Taliban’s drug crackdown has had on meth supplies.

Persons: Angela Me, ”, Abdul Mateen Qani, “ Organizations: United, Taliban, United Nations ’ Office, Drugs, European Union, Associated Press, Interior Ministry, AP, Farmers Locations: ISLAMABAD, Afghanistan, United Nations, Africa, Myanmar, Mexico, Afghan

☆ Opinion: Why the fall of Afghanistan in 2021 broke me in a way my husband’s death didn’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Hilary Krieger | Opinion Jane Horton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Chris Horton, a sniper with 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, stands with his weapon in Paktia, Afghanistan, in 2011. In this March 2016 photo, US Central Command Commander Gen. Lloyd Austin and Gold Star Wife Jane Horton talk at Headquarters Resolute Support Mission in Kabul, Afghanistan. Jane Horton, senior adviser to the acting secretary of defense, gives a speech in Kabul in December 2020. It was a place that might have even been darker than the day Chris died. Chris Horton and Jane Horton pose for a photo on their wedding day in 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Persons: Jane Horton, CNN —, It’s, Chris, I’ve, Marcus Yam, who’d, Kirk Owen, ”, Chris Horton, ., Whitney Hughes, “ Jane, Marshal Rommel ‘ Don’t, ’, —, Lloyd Austin, Myles Cullen, ” Maryam, Ashraf Ghani, Taylor Crul Organizations: Department of Defense, Afghan Women’s Council, CNN, Oklahoma National Guard, Los Angeles Times, Facebook, Spc, 1st Battalion, 297th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma Army National Guard, National Guard Bureau, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gold Star, Embassy, Central Command, US Air Force, 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, III, Hamid, Airport, Twitter, State Department Locations: Georgetown University’s, Afghanistan, Kabul, Paktia, United States, Washington, Resolute, American, Paktya, –, America, Cleveland , Ohio, anytown USA

☆ Afghan women once worked in this popular national park. Now they’re not even allowed to visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Afghanistan’s Band-e-Amir National Park was known for having employed the country’s first-ever female park rangers. Now, women won’t even be allowed to visit, let alone work there, as the Taliban deepens its repressive rule over the country. Heather Barr, associate director of the women’s rights at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Monday that the ban shows how “the walls are closing in on women” within Afghanistan. Since re-taking control of the country in August 2021, amid the United States’ chaotic, controversial withdrawal, the Taliban has rolled back decades of progress on human rights. In Afghanistan, “there is no such thing as women’s freedom anymore,” Mahbouba Seraj, an Afghan women’s rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, said earlier this month.

Persons: CNN —, won’t, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, Heather Barr, ”, Mahbouba, they’re, Richard Bennett, Dorothy Estrada, Tanck Organizations: CNN, Amir, USAID, United Nations Development, Human Rights, UN Locations: Bamiyan, ”, Afghanistan, States, “, Afghan

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