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REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKABUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) - The Taliban will attend China's Belt and Road Forum next week, a spokesman said on Saturday, underscoring Beijing's growing official ties with the administration, despite its lack of formal recognition by any government. Taliban officials and ministers have at times travelled to regional meetings, mostly those focussed on Afghanistan, but the Belt and Road Forum is among the highest-profile multilateral summits it has been invited to attend. China has been in talks with the Taliban over plans, begun under the previous foreign-backed government, over a possible huge copper mine in eastern Afghanistan. Officials from China, the Taliban and neighbouring Pakistan said in May they would like Belt and Road to include Afghanistan and for the flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor to be extended across the border to Afghanistan. China has boosted engagement with the Taliban, becoming the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul since the Taliban took power, and invested in mining projects.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Xi, Haji Nooruddin Azizi, Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, Azizi, Akhundzada, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Joe Cash, William Mallard Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, Rights, China Pakistan Economic, Taliban, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Rights KABUL, Beijing, Pakistan, China Pakistan, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad

☆ Another quake strikes western Afghanistan; official says more homes destroyed
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] A general view of the quake-hit area in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 10, 2023. There were no details on casualties so far, disaster management spokesman Janan Sayeeq told Reuters, but provincial officials said hundreds of homes had been destroyed. Hemmed in by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. Herat province borders Iran, which said it would send humanitarian aid. The United Nation's humanitarian office has also announced $5 million worth of assistance.

Persons: Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Janan Sayeeq, Noor Ahmad Shahab, Shahab, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Mrinmay Dey, Gibran Peshimam, Jacqueline Wong, Simon Cameron, Moore, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Mobile, World Health Organisation, German Research Center, Geosciences, United, Thomson Locations: Zinda, Herat, Afghanistan, Rights KABUL, Pakistan, Iran, Rubat, Turkey, China, Kabul, Bengaluru

☆ Afghanistan earthquakes a 'disaster on top of a disaster', World Food Programme says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KARACHI, Pakistan, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The World Food Programme on Wednesday called the recent Afghanistan earthquakes a 'disaster on top of a disaster,' urging the international community to provide humanitarian aid to the war-torn nation. Limited aid makes relief work difficult after earthquakes and aftershocks since Saturday rattled the religiously conservative nation. "In Afghanistan, this is a disaster on top of a disaster, on top of a disaster, on top of a disaster," said Philippe Kropf, head of communications at the World Food Programme (WFP) Afghanistan, in an interview. "If we can help them prevent malnutrition, that's how we do it, because preventing malnutrition is much cheaper than treating malnutrition." Women and children make up two-thirds of the injured in Afghanistan, said Dr. Alaa AbouZeid, head of the World Health Organization's emergency response in the country, on Monday.

Persons: Philippe Kropf, Kropf, Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Alaa AbouZeid, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Ariba Shahid, Richard Chang Organizations: tremblors, Food Programme, REUTERS, Health, Soviet Union, United Nations, WFP, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Syria, Herat, Afghan, Zinda, Karachi

"The operation is almost done," spokesman for the Disaster Management Ministry Janan Sayeeq told Reuters, adding that rescue efforts were still going on in some villages. Hemmed in by mountains, Afghanistan has a history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. [1/2]People search for survivors amid the debris of a house that was destroyed by an earthquake in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 9, 2023. In the village, funeral prayers were held for the dead before they were buried, wrapped in blankets, in freshly dug graves. In addition to medical and food aid, survivors are in dire need of shelter as temperatures drop, the head of the World Health Organization's emergency response said.

Persons: Disaster Management Ministry Janan Sayeeq, Sayeeq, Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Siah, , Taj Mohammad, Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Syed Hassib, Gibran Peshimam, Miral Organizations: World Health Organisation, Disaster Management Ministry, Reuters, REUTERS, Siah Aab, Health, Thomson Locations: HERAT, Afghanistan, Afghanistan's, Herat, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Zinda, , Siah

☆ Rescue efforts wind down in quake-hit Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[7/27]Jahanchi, 37, an Afghan man who says he lost his mother and sister in the recent earthquake, poses for a photograph in the district of Zinda Jan, in Herat, Afghanistan October 9. REUTERS/Ali KharaHERAT, Afghanistan

Persons: Zinda Jan, Ali Khara Organizations: REUTERS Locations: Zinda, Herat, Afghanistan, Ali Khara HERAT

☆ Most casualties in recent Afghan earthquakes are women, children -WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Two-thirds of those with severe injuries who are admitted in the hospital I have seen yesterday are children and women," he said, referring to his time in Herat following the quake. He also warned that financing the humanitarian operations remained critical, with global attention and funding shifting away from Afghanistan. AbouZeid said it was "devastating" to see the number of children in hospital in critical condition. REUTERS/Ali Khara Acquire Licensing Rights"I have seen a child like 3-4 months old with head trauma, due to the earthquake," he said. While the response teams saved many lives, hospitals need to be better equipped to deal with further casualties and similar situations in future, he said.

Persons: Alaa AbouZeid, AbouZeid, Zinda Jan, Ali Khara, Gibran Peshimam, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Health, Reuters, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, temblors, Turkey, Syria, Herat, East, Ukraine, Zinda

☆ Deadly Afghanistan earthquakes over the years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Mayank Bhardwaj | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Afghan man walks past a damaged house after the recent earthquake in Wor Kali village in the Barmal district of Paktika province, Afghanistan, June 25, 2022. Afghanistan, hemmed in by mountains, has a long history of strong earthquakes, many in the rugged Hindu Kush region bordering Pakistan. KUNAR, September 2022As Afghanistan was recovering from strong earthquakes three months earlier, tremors hit Kunar province in September, killing eight. HINDU KUSH, 2002Twin earthquakes in the Hindu Kush in March 2002 killed a total of 1,100. HINDU KUSH, 1991An earthquake in the Hindu Kush killed 848 people across Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Soviet Union.

Persons: Ali Khara, Afghanistan's, Mayank Bhardwaj, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Afghan, Barmal, Paktika province, Afghanistan, DELHI, Pakistan, BADAKHSHAN, Badakhshan, Jurm, KUNAR, Kunar, Paktika, India, Soviet Union, Iran, TAKHAR, Takhar

Details of how the Taliban intend to expand and manage mass surveillance, including obtaining the U.S. plan, have not been previously reported. "At the present we are working on a Kabul security map, which is (being completed) by security experts and (is taking) lots of time," he said. The Taliban strongly denies that an upgraded surveillance system would breach the rights of Afghans. A July U.N. monitoring report said there were up to 6,000 Islamic State fighters and their family members in Afghanistan. The Afghan "home base" locations of Islamic State fighters are in the eastern mountainous areas, said Schroden.

Persons: Ali Khara, Abdul Mateen Qani, Washington, didn't, Qani, Amrullah Saleh, Saleh, Jonathan Schroden, Matt Mahmoudi, ETIM, ETIM couldn't, Afghanistan Thomas West, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Jonathan Landay, David Kirton, Liz Lee, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, Huawei, U.S, of Interior, Reuters, U.S.A, U.S State Department, RIC, Bloomberg News, Foreign Ministry, NATO, Center for Naval, Protect Journalists, Taliban, Amnesty International, East Turkestan Islamic, Security, Special, State, Ece Toksabay, Thomson Locations: China, Kabul, Afghanistan, Rights KABUL, Islamic State, —, Turkey, Turkish, Pakistan, United States, East Turkestan, Xinjiang, State, Russian, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad, Washington, Shenzhen, Beijing, Ankara

☆ UN records torture, deaths of detainees in Taliban custody
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Taliban soldiers stand guard at the second-anniversary ceremony of the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. The U.N. Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) said 18 people had also died in prisons and in the custody of police and intelligence in the 19 months ending July 2023. The Taliban have staffed and controlled the police and the intelligence agency since they took over the country as foreign forces withdrew in 2021. Other violations included not being informed of the reason for arrest, not being able to access a lawyer and inadequate medical care in custody. "There is a pressing need to consider more engagement with the de facto authorities to end these practices."

Persons: Ali Khara, UNAMA, Roza Otunbayeva, Charlotte Greenfield, Miral Organizations: REUTERS, United Nations, Journalists, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Mission

☆ Afghanistan meth trade surges as Taliban clamps down on heroin, UN report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Taliban soldiers celebrate on the second anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street near the US embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 10 (Reuters) - Methamphetamine trafficking in and around Afghanistan has surged in recent years, even as the Taliban has curbed heroin trafficking since taking power, a United Nations report said on Sunday. The Taliban, which regained power in August 2021, announced a ban the following April on the production of narcotics in Afghanistan, the world's main opium producer. While heroin trafficking has slowed, the UNODC said in a statement, meth trafficking "has intensified since the ban". Countries as far away as France and Australia have reported seizing methamphetamine that likely originated in Afghanistan it said.

Persons: Ali Khara, Ghada Waly, Charlotte Greenfield, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, United, Drugs, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United Nations, Iran, Pakistan, France, Australia

☆ Taliban stopped 100 women flying to Dubai for university scholarships, UAE billionaire says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Afghan women shout slogans during a rally to protest against what the protesters say is Taliban restrictions on women, in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 28, 2021. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 23 (Reuters) - The head of a Dubai-based conglomerate on Wednesday said Afghanistan's Taliban authorities had stopped around 100 women from travelling to the United Arab Emirates where he was to sponsor their university education. Spokespeople for the Taliban administration and Afghan foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. They allow Afghans to leave the country but usually require Afghan women travelling long distances and abroad to be accompanied by a male chaperone, such as their husband, father or brother. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Maha El Dahan Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ali Khara, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Al Habtoor, Charlotte Greenfield, Maha El, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, United, United Arab Emirates, Al, UAE, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Dubai, United Arab, Maha

☆ UN says over 200 former Afghan military, officials killed since Taliban takeover
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - More than 200 members of Afghanistan's former military, law enforcement and government have been killed since the Taliban took over, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said on Tuesday, despite a "general amnesty" for old enemies. The mission said in a report it had recorded at least 218 extrajudicial killings with links to the Taliban from their takeover of Afghanistan in mid-2021 up to June. "In most instances, individuals were detained by de facto security forces, often briefly, before being killed," the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said. Senior Taliban leaders have said there is an amnesty for former government officials and members of the military by order of their supreme leader. In total, UNAMA had recorded 800 incidents of human rights violations connected with the Taliban against former government employees and military including arbitrary arrests, disappearance and torture.

Persons: Ali Khara, UNAMA, Charlotte Greenfield, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Senior, Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, Thomson Locations: Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Islamic Emirate

☆ U.N. humanitarian chief appeals to Myanmar generals for greater aid access
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Martin Griffiths, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, attends an interview with Reuters in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Ali Khara/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 18 (Reuters) - The chief of the United Nations humanitarian relief agency has urged Myanmar's ruling military to allow greater access to 18 million people in need of aid, describing the situation as critical as a post-coup conflict intensifies. "Successive crises in Myanmar have left one third of the population in need of humanitarian aid," Griffiths said in a statement. Griffiths said humanitarian relief organisations were struggling with insufficient resources and urged international donors to do more, with just 22% of the annual funding requirements received by mid-year. The U.N. Human Rights report in June said the lack of aid access may amount to war crimes, while a team of U.N. investigators last week said war crimes were "increasingly frequent and brazen".

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Ali Khara, Myanmar's, Min Aung Hlaing, Griffiths, Martin Petty Organizations: Humanitarian Affairs, Emergency, Reuters, REUTERS, United Nations, Reuters Staff, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Myanmar

[1/4] Taliban soldiers stand guard at the second-anniversary ceremony of the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2023. Taliban parades were expected through the day and several departments, including the education ministry, held gatherings to celebrate. For many women, who enjoyed extensive rights and freedoms during the two decades of rule by Western-backed governments, their plight has become dire since the return of the Taliban. OBSTACLE TO RECOGNITIONGirls over the age of 12 have been mostly excluded from classes since the Taliban returned to power. For many Western governments, the ban is a major obstacle to any hope of formal recognition of the Taliban administration.

Persons: Ali Khara, Ashraf Ghani, Zabihullah Mujahid, Mujahid, It's, Amina Mohammed, Matiullah, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Taliban, Islamic, U.S . Federal Reserve Bank of New, Swiss, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Ali Khara KABUL, U.S, Western, U.S . Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Charlotte Greenfield, Islamabad

☆ UN envoy urges world court to prosecute Afghan gender discrimination
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A beauty salon with defaced pictures of women is seen in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 6, 2023. On the second anniversary of the Taliban's return to power as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war, Brown said he had written to ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to argue his point. Girls over the age of 12 have been mostly excluded from school classes since the Taliban returned to power. "The International Criminal Court should recognize this gender discrimination as a crime against humanity and investigate it with a view to the arraignment and prosecution of those responsible," said Brown, a former British prime minister. Khan is investigating suspected war crimes committed in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.

Persons: Ali Khara, Gordon Brown, Brown, Karim Khan, Khan, We've, Michelle Nichols, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, Criminal Court, ICC, Girls, Taliban, Muslim, Thomson Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, British, Kandahar

☆ Beauty salons banned in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

An Afghan beautician removes a poster in a beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 24. The Taliban administration say they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture. The ban on salons, released on...moreAn Afghan beautician removes a poster in a beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 24. The Taliban administration say they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan culture. The ban on salons, released on July 4 by the morality ministry, said it was based on an order from the supreme spiritual leader.

Persons: Ali Khara Organizations: REUTERS Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, Afghan

☆ Taliban's treatment of women could be 'gender apartheid' - UN expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 19 (Reuters) - A United Nations expert said on Monday that the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women and girls could amount to gender apartheid as their rights continue to be gravely infringed by the country's de facto authorities. The U.N. defines gender apartheid as "economic and social sexual discrimination against individuals because of their gender or sex." "We have pointed to the need for more exploration of gender apartheid, which is not currently an international crime, but could become so," Bennett told reporters on the sidelines of the Council. In a report covering July to December 2022, Bennett found in March that the Taliban's treatment of women and girls "may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity." The Taliban authorities say they respects women's rights in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Persons: Richard Bennett, Bennett, Ali Khara, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Marguerita Choy Organizations: United, Human Rights, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, United Nations, Afghanistan, Geneva, Afghan, Kabul

☆ Taliban's central-bank governor meets Chinese envoy to discuss banking ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ali Khara/File photoJune 16 (Reuters) - The Taliban's acting governor of the Afghan central bank met China's ambassador this week to discuss banking relations and business, the bank's spokesperson told Reuters on Friday. Afghanistan's banking system has been severely hampered by U.S.-led sanctions, a drop in liquidity from frozen central bank assets and a cut in development spending. Regulatory risk concerns of international banks have also largely cut off the country's formal banking sector from the global financial system. "China has always supported the peaceful reconstruction of Afghanistan, provides sincere help to Afghanistan, and welcomes Afghanistan to join the Belt and Road Initiative," it said. Badri is a senior Taliban figure who became acting head of the central bank in March after stepping down as acting finance minister.

Persons: Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Wang Yu, Ali Khara, Hassibullah Noori, Mullah Hidayatullah Badri, Badri, Charlotte Greenfield, Laurie Chen, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Frances Kerry Organizations: Afghan, REUTERS, U.S, Reuters, Initiative, Thomson Locations: China, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Beijing, Taliban, Islamabad

☆ Pictures of the month: March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A woman dresses up her child at a hospital in Bamiyan, Afghanistan,. Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the healthcare sector, such as the trainee...moreA woman dresses up her child at a hospital in Bamiyan, Afghanistan,. Since taking over in 2021, Taliban authorities have barred women from universities and most charity jobs, but they have made exemptions in the healthcare sector, such as the trainee midwife program that has been spearheaded by the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) with a local NGO, where young women train for two years in the provincial capital hospital as midwives, after which they will return home to help the women in the community. Picture taken March 2. REUTERS/Ali KharaClose

☆ Young Afghan women train as midwives for out-of-reach villages
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A mother holds her child as she rests in her arms, while women line up outside of a doctor's room, at a hospital in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. "When the roads are blocked of course there are no means of transportation, people even use donkeys to move the...moreA mother holds her child as she rests in her arms, while women line up outside of a doctor's room, at a hospital in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. "These students can help in each village, in each district with deliveries." Picture taken March 2, 2023. REUTERS/Ali KharaClose

[1/3] Sister of Amrullah, a child who died due to cold, stands at her home in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 30, 2023. They took baby Amrullah to hospital around two weeks ago for coughing and congested lungs. "The night that I lost my baby it was terribly cold, I was trying to… warm my baby boy, but I couldn't succeed," she said. "I am ... always thinking of my baby boy and my two other small children, they are also sick, I don't want to lose them as well," she said. "May God spare other mothers the pain of losing their children," Shamila said, by the rock marking his grave.

☆ A fatal winter in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jillian Kumagai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Ashour Ali, 30, with his children poses for a photograph in his house in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 26, 2023. "This year, the weather is extremely cold and we couldn't buy coal for ourselves," he said, adding the small amount he makes from his shop...moreAshour Ali, 30, with his children poses for a photograph in his house in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 26, 2023. "This year, the weather is extremely cold and we couldn't buy coal for ourselves," he said, adding the small amount he makes from his shop was no longer enough for fuel. REUTERS/Ali KharaClose

☆ U.N. aid chief asks Taliban authorities for more exemptions to female NGO worker ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KABUL, Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.N. aid chief said on Wednesday the humanitarian community was speaking with Taliban officials to try and gain further exemptions and written guidelines to allow some female aid workers to operate despite a ban on women NGO staff. Taliban authorities ordered NGOs, many of whom carry out operations for the United Nations, to stop most female staff working last month. Griffiths said some exemptions to the ban had been granted in health and education and they were hearing signs of a possible exemption in agriculture. A spokesperson for the Taliban administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its plans over guidelines. "It's very important to engage with the Taliban movement as a whole, that includes ... Kandahar, and also with Taliban at the provincial levels," he said.

☆ Top diplomats, former UN officials seek to fix 'Wild West' of peacemaking
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But the framework's proponents, who have just completed a two-year consultation period in dozens of countries, say today's peace brokers are applying the wrong strategy. "You could say 'Why the hell are people talking about peace when the whole thing falls apart?' "Right now the peacemaking space is like the Wild West," said Hiba Qasas, the executive director of the Principles for Peace Initiative, who is Palestinian and a former U.N. official. Current shortcomings are widely acknowledged and U.N. chief Antonio Guterres is working on a so-called "New Agenda For Peace" this year. (This story has been corrected to change "UN officials" to "former UN officials" in the headline)Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cricket Afghan fans disappointed at Australia cancellation over women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] An Afghan man plays cricket on the snow-covered ground at the Chaman-e-Huzori field in Kabul, Afghanistan, January 13, 2023. "The decision by Australia made us very disappointed," said 25-year-old fruit seller Abdullah. Australia were scheduled to play a test match against Afghanistan in November 2021 but the fixture was postponed after the Taliban took power in August that year. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has criticised Australia's decision, saying it had put political interests over sportsmanship and that cricket had contributed to education and social development in the country. Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley defended the decision, saying "basic human rights" are not politics.

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