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☆ LGBTQ Afghans say they face abuse in detention as Taliban crackdown intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Billy Stockwell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“He grabbed me from behind, tore my clothes apart and raped me,” Sohrab – whose name has been changed for security reasons – told CNN in October. Transgender and gender non-conforming people are being “consistently” targeted at Taliban checkpoints due to their choice of clothing, human rights groups said. “I will never forget when the Taliban came to our house,” Samiar Nazari, a 22-year-old transgender man, told CNN. Other human rights groups have documented instances of extrajudicial detention, conducted out of the public eye. With little sign that the Taliban will improve their record on human rights, many in the country feel abandoned by the international community.

Persons: Sohrab, “, ” Sohrab –, –, ” Sohrab, Wakil Kohsar, Roshaniya, ”, Neela Ghoshal, Artemis Akbary, Ghoshal, ” Samiar, ” Nazari, Akbary, Abdul, ” Abdul, David Osborn, Osborn, It’s, Sano –, Sano, ” Sano, He’s, Rosemary DiCarlo, DiCarlo, Yuki Iwamura, UNAMA Organizations: CNN, “, Taliban, Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Afghan LGBT Organization, Getty, ” CNN, US Department of State, Facebook, Afghan, UK’s, Information Resilience, Afghan Witness, ”, UN, Political, Peacebuilding, United Nations Locations: Afghanistan, Czech Republic, Pul, Kabul, AFP, –, ‘ Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Herat, Afghanistan’s, Jalalabad, Qatar

☆ Afghan girl who encouraged others to sing wins children’s peace prize
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Nila Ibrahimi won the International Children’s Peace Prize on Tuesday, an award that has recognized luminaries including climate activist Greta Thunberg and girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai. Afghan women prepare almonds at a factory on the outskirts of Aybak in Samangan Province on September 9, 2024. She co-founded “Her Story,” which encourages Afghan girls to share their stories, spotlighting the voices of those still in Afghanistan. Teenage girls and women are not allowed to study or work and can only leave the house with a male relative. “Human rights are protected in Afghanistan and no one is discriminated,” said spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat Fitrat.

Persons: Nila Ibrahimi, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Ibrahimi, ”, Canada Ibrahimi, ” Ibrahimi, Richard Bennett, ” Bennett, Afghanistan’s, Hamdullah Fitrat Organizations: CNN, Getty, Foundation, Geneva, Human Rights, United Nations, UN, Women, Taliban Locations: ”, Afghanistan, Kabul, Aybak, Samangan Province, AFP, Canada, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Netherlands

BYBLOS, Lebanon — The anguish in Lebanese archaeologist Nader Siklaoui’s voice is clear as he films Israeli missiles slamming down near ancient Roman columns he has spent much of his life protecting. But the conflict is also taking a devastating toll on Lebanon’s unique and ancient heritage, with airstrikes wiping out centuries-old villages and endangering fragile, millenia-old archaeological sites, like the celebrated Roman ruins of Baalbek, a United Nations world heritage site. First responders evacuate an injured person following an Israeli airstrike near Tyre, Lebanon, on Oct. 30. What can we do?” said Siklaoui, who oversees heritage sites in southern Lebanon, speaking to NBC News at the national museum in the capital Beirut. Israel’s military says it only targets Hezbollah, but accuses the group of embedding itself in and near civilian infrastructure, including heritage sites.

Persons: Nader Siklaoui’s, ”, Kawnat Haju, Umm Kulthumm, Nina Simone, Placido Domingo, Mo Abbas, Najat Saliba, Israel ’, Carthage, King Hiram of Tyre, “, Siklaoui, Nader Siqlaoui, Troy, Achilles, Tania Zaven, it’s, Zaven Organizations: Lebanese, Hezbollah, United, NBC News, United Nations, Getty, NBC, Islamic, Islamic State Locations: BYBLOS, Lebanon, Tyre, Israel, Baalbek, United Nations, Mhaibib, Nabatiyah, Ottoman, AFP, Beirut, Cadiz, Spain, Tunisia, Temple, Jerusalem, Lebanese, Iraq, Syria, Mosul, Byblos

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban will attend a U.N. climate conference for the first time since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the country’s national environment agency said Sunday. Matiul Haq Khalis, the agency’s head, said the delegation would use the conference to strengthen cooperation with the international community on environmental protection and climate change, share Afghanistan’s needs regarding access to existing financial mechanisms related to climate change, and discuss adaptation and mitigation efforts. Experts told The Associated Press that climate change has led to numerous and negative impacts on Afghanistan, creating serious challenges because of the country’s geographical location and weak climate policies. Professor Abid Arabzai, from Kabul University, said the climate conference would help to secure international assistance and funding to address Afghanistan’s climate challenges. “Afghanistan can clarify its climate actions and commitments to the global community, enhancing its international reputation,” Arabzai said.

Persons: Matiul Haq Khalis, ”, Hayatullah Mashwani, Abid Arabzai, ” Arabzai Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, Associated Press, Kabul University Locations: KABUL, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Baku, Kabul

☆ China to offer Taliban tariff-free trade as it inches closer to isolated resource-rich regime
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, China — China will offer the Taliban tariff-free access to its vast construction, energy and consumer sectors, Beijing’s envoy to Afghanistan said on Thursday, as the ailing resource-rich but diplomatically-isolated regime looks to build up its markets. “China will offer Afghanistan zero-tariff treatment for 100% tariff lines,” Zhao Xing, Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan, wrote on his official X account late on Thursday, above a photo of him meeting acting deputy prime minister Abdul Kabir. The country exported no commodities to China last year, the data shows, but Zhao has regularly posted photos of him meeting Taliban officials responsible for mining, petroleum, trade and regional connectivity since his appointment last September. “In the Horn of Africa, China’s Special Envoy Xue Bing said that the best way to resolve security and terrorism challenges is through economic development. I think they are bringing that same mindset to Afghanistan,” said Eric Orlander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.

Persons: Zhao Xing, Abdul Kabir, Zhao, Xue Bing, ”, Eric Orlander Organizations: “ Locations: BEIJING, China, Afghanistan, Beijing, Xinjiang, Pakistan, of Africa

☆ ‘We have your location’: The Taliban death threats hounding this Afghan woman
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-13 | by ( Joseph Ataman | Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“They do not exist.”Her countrywoman Manizha Talash was disqualified from this year’s Paris Olympics after unveiling a cape with the message “Free Afghan Women” during the breakdancing events. She was removed from the competition for making a “political protest.”Hamidi has been bombarded with death threats since criticizing Afghanistan's men's cricket team. Li-Lian Ahlskog Hou/CNN“With these three words I spoke with all the world and asked them, please, let’s do some practical action for Afghan women. “They are the Taliban team for me, not the Afghan team,” she said, a similar accusation she has leveled against the Afghan cricket team, calling for Afghan sports teams to be banned from the Olympics, following bans on South Africa during the apartheid era. The term gender apartheid was first used by Afghan women in the late 1990s during the first Taliban regime.

Persons: Paris CNN —, ”, “, It’s, Talash, ” Hamidi, Afghanistan's, Li, Lian Ahlskog Hou, ” Manizha, Kimia, Hamidi, Robert Cianflone, Richard Bennett, Bennett, Afghanistan’s, Marzieh Hamidi, ” Hamidi’s, Ines Davau, UN’s Bennett, she’s, ” Davua, ” Davau Organizations: Paris CNN, didn’t, CNN, “, Tokyo Games, Our, Afghan, Taekwondo, Taliban, Afghanistan Cricket Board, country’s Taekwondo, UN, Cricket, country’s, Afghan men’s, Tokyo Locations: Afghan, Paris, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, South Africa, France, Europe, Kabul

☆ Meryl Streep takes on the Taliban with a story about cats, squirrels and birds
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —When award-winning actress Meryl Streep spoke on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly about cats, squirrels and birds, she wasn’t making a point about hunters and prey. She was comparing all three with women and girls in Afghanistan – and pointing out that the animals have more rights. Wail Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images/FileTightening restrictionsSince taking power, the Taliban has gradually tightened restrictions on women and girls. The Taliban’s latest edicts last month, referred to by Streep, include the demand for women and girls to remain silent in public. After the Taliban banned women’s voices in public, some posted videos of themselves to social media, singing in defiance.

Persons: Meryl Streep, ” Streep, Penny Wong, Wail Kohsar, Streep, –, Julia Demaree Nikhinson, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Fawzia, Amanpour, ”, ” Fereshta Abbasi Organizations: CNN, United Nations General Assembly, Women, Getty, Taliban, UN, Rights Watch, International Court of Justice, United Nations, Human Rights Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Germany, Australia, Canada, Netherlands, United States, New York, Afghan, Baharak, Badakhshan province, AFP, The Hague, CEDAW, “

☆ The Taliban publish vice laws that ban women’s voices and bare faces in public
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have issued a ban on women’s voices and bare faces in public under new laws approved by the supreme leader in efforts to combat vice and promote virtue. The Taliban had set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice” after seizing power in 2021. The ministry published its vice and virtue laws on Wednesday that cover aspects of everyday life such as public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations. They are set out in a 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press and are the first formal declaration of vice and virtue laws in Afghanistan since the takeover. It also says the elimination of vice involves prohibiting people from doing things forbidden by Islamic law.

Persons: Hibatullah Akhundzada, “, ”, Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq, Fiona Frazer Organizations: Taliban, Associated Press Locations: ISLAMABAD —, Afghanistan

☆ Kimia Yousofi: Afghan Olympic sprinter sends powerful message to Taliban on women’s rights
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Sahar Akbarzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —For Kimia Yousofi, it was never about winning the gold. The Afghan sprinter may have finished last in her OIympic 100-meter heat, but her presence on the track in Paris sent a powerful message on women’s rights to the ruling Taliban. I can talk.”Afghanistan under Taliban rule is the most repressive country in the world for women’s rights, according to the United Nations. The head of Afghanistan’s national Olympic committee recognized by the IOC and its secretary general are in exile, according to the IOC. She relocated to Australia in 2022 to train for the Paris Olympics, working with Sydney-based coach John Quinn.

Persons: ”, “, –, Yousofi, John Quinn, ” Quinn Organizations: CNN, Our, Stade de France, United Nations, UN, Olympic Committee, Paris Games, Olympic, IOC, Tokyo Games, Paris Olympics, “ Locations: Paris, Afghanistan, ” Afghanistan, Iran, Australia, Sydney

☆ When the Taliban Took Kabul, She Fled, and Made a New Life in New York
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Karen Zraick | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The night Kabul fell to the Taliban, a young lawyer named Nargis Baran was holed up in her apartment there, scrolling through news reports in disbelief. It was Aug. 15, 2021, and the U.S.-backed president of Afghanistan had fled the country as militants closed in on Kabul, the capital. Their swift advance shocked Western officials and the world, bringing the Taliban back to power after nearly 20 years of war with the United States and allied forces. Thousands of people surged toward the airport, desperate to board the last flights out as the city descended into chaos. Ms. Baran, then 26, was an unmarried woman living with her widowed mother, and now they were afraid to walk outside.

Persons: Nargis Baran, Baran, —, ‘, ’ ” Locations: Kabul, U.S, Afghanistan, United States

☆ Opinion | The Olympics Should Stand With Afghanistan’s Women Athletes
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Friba Rezayee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, one of its first actions was to bar women and girls from participating in sports publicly. Female athletes in Afghanistan today face similar threats from the Taliban, including physical abuse and raids on their homes. The most recent example is the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow a team representing Afghanistan in the Paris Games. It should let the athletes — most of whom live in exile — compete on the Refugee Olympic Team, which would send a message of hope to refugees around the world. But none of the three women representing Afghanistan — in athletics and cycling — live and train in the country, nor could they visit without risking their lives.

Persons: — Organizations: Taliban, Paris, Refugee Olympic, Afghan Locations: Afghanistan

Rights groups are furious the Taliban meeting is going ahead without Afghan women, and say it legitimizes Afghanistan’s leaders and fails to hold them to account for grave injustices. Whatever we had, we spent it,” Arzo’s brother Ahamad, a 27-year-old journalist under threat from the Taliban due to his occupation, told CNN in November. Arzo told CNN what drove her suicide attempt. Pakistan’s policy on “illegal foreigners” is no different to that of other nations, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told CNN. CNNArzo doesn’t want a life like that for herself, her sister, or the women and girls still in Afghanistan.

Persons: ”, Arzo, Javed Iqbal, ” Richard Bennett, Zabihullah Mujahid, “, Richard Bennett, weren’t, – they’ll, They’re, Mahsa, Ahamad, Doctors, Arzo’s, CNN Arzo hadn’t, ” Mahsa, they’ve, can’t, Moniza Kakar, Rain, Kakar, Abbas, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Baloch, hadn’t, ” Amanullah, He’s, Amanullah, he’s, CNN Arzo, Heather Barr, ” Barr, “ It’s, Bennett, she’ll, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Lifeline, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Befrienders Worldwide, Pakistan CNN —, United Nations, Human Rights, UN, Security, “ ACC ”, Afghan, ACC, Pakistani Ministry of Foreign, “, Taliban, Human Rights Watch, International Court of Justice, Criminal Court, ICC Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, Pakistani, Afghanistan, CNN Pakistan, Doha, Qatar, Afghan, Kabul, Islamabad, –, Soviet, ”, Canada, Israel, Gaza

☆ Why Women Must Be Invited to Shape Afghanistan’s Future - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Richard Bennett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

I met with a group of 11th-grade math students who told me about their hopes for the future. “I don’t want to end up trapped at home and condemned to a domestic life,” one female student told me. Now, among the many other challenges facing girls and women under the Taliban’s rule, a mental health crisis has gripped the country. Now, more than 1,000 days later, school remains off limits for girls older than 12, and restrictions on education have expanded to universities. The Taliban now say education is “an internal matter,” and it remains unclear when — or if — schools will reopen to girls.

Persons: “, ”, — Organizations: United Nations, Taliban Locations: Afghanistan, United, Doha, Qatar

☆ Afghanistan enjoys historic run to T20 World Cup semifinals: ‘Cricket is the only source of happiness back home’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Ben Morse | Masoud Popalzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Afghanistan fans celebrate the team's win against Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup. Gurbaz is the leading run scorer at the T20 World Cup. “That Afghanistan team got into the semis for the first time,” the 25-year-old told the International Cricket Council (ICC) website. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”Khan (middle) celebrates the dismissal of India's Rishabh Pant at the T20 World Cup. And in a statement posted online, the Afghanistan Cricket Board expressed its “disappointment” towards Australia’s decision and “reiterates its stance on neutral and politics-free cricket across the globe.”

Persons: – couldn’t, Ashraf Ghani, Mullah Amir Muttaqi, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah, Rashid Khan, ” Khan, cramp, Jonathan Trott, Ricardo Mazalan, Raees Ahmadzai, Khan –, Mohammad Nabi, Hashmatullah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ramon Espinosa, Trott, Khan, Nabi, Noor Ahmad –, bamboozled, Gurbaz, “, ”, India's Rishabh Pant, Randy Brooks, Barney Ronay, Suhail Shaheen, ” Shaheen Organizations: CNN, Pakistan, Afghanistan Cricket Board, Bangladesh, AFP, Getty, Australia, Afghan national cricket team, International Cricket Council, ICC, Afghanistan, United, Guardian, ACB, FIFA, International Olympic Committee Locations: Australia, Afghanistan, Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Bangladesh, “, AFP, Taliban, United States, Doha

☆ Tim Hetherington captures a moment of brotherhood between two soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Rosa Rahimi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The photograph, taken in 2008 by the late British photographer Tim Hetherington, is from a time when nearly a fifth of all combat in Afghanistan was taking place in the six-mile valley. Tim HetheringtonBoth Hetherington and Junger became “enamoured with the opportunity to show the intimacy of a platoon in combat,” Junger said in an interview via telephone. “My examination of young men and violence, or of young men… It’s as much a journey about my own identity as it is about those young soldiers,” he wrote. ‘It took a little bit from his soul’In this process, Hetherington worried about how photography could be extractive. He wrote of the young men he met there: “They are grimily happy that we are here to help them.

Persons: Tim Hetherington, ”, Sebastian Junger, Hetherington, Doc, Kelso, Junger, ” Junger, “ Restrepo ”, Bobby, “, Tim Hetherington Junger, ” Young, James Brabazon, Tim Hetherington Brabazon, Brabazon, “ Tim, …, Cortez, Greg Brockett, I’m, Stephen Mayes, Tim Hetherington Hetherington, wasn’t, ‘, ” Tim Hetherington, —, Mayes, Tim, he’d, ” Brabazon Organizations: CNN, Liberian, Gaddafi, Tim Hetherington Trust Locations: Korengal, British, Afghanistan, Kunar Province, Cortez, ”, Libyan, Tubmanberg, Liberia, Monrovia, Misrata, Libya

☆ Afghanistan: 50 killed, dozens missing after flooding in Ghor province
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Masoud Popalzai | Ehsan Popalzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Fifty people were killed and dozens are missing after heavy rains and flooding in Afghanistan’s province of Ghor on Friday, according to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees. The Ministry said in a post on X on Saturday that 2,000 homes had been completely destroyed and up to 4,000 partially destroyed by recent flooding. Hundreds of people have been killed by flash flooding in Afghanistan over the past several weeks, according to the UN. Areas in northern Afghanistan have been ravaged by the heavy floods, including the provinces of Ghor, Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Herat. In April, unseasonal rainfall and floods killed more than 100 people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to authorities.

Persons: Zabihullah Mojahid, Zabihullah Mujahid Organizations: CNN, Afghan Ministry of Refugees, UN Locations: Afghanistan’s province, Ghor, Afghanistan, Badakhshan, Baghlan, Herat, Pakistan

☆ Spanish tourists among four killed in Afghanistan shooting: Spanish Prime Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Masoud Popalzai | Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Four people were killed, including three Spanish citizens, in a shooting in central Afghanistan on Friday, according to Spanish and Afghan authorities. A Spanish person is also among the wounded, a Spanish diplomatic source told CNN. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described the Spanish shooting victims as tourists, according to a post on X. “Overwhelmed by the news of the murder of Spanish tourists in Afghanistan. The Emergency Consular Unit of the Spanish Foreign Ministry is working to offer all necessary assistance.

Persons: Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani, Pedro Sanchez, Qani Organizations: CNN, Foreign, Emergency, Unit, Spanish, Emergency Consular Unit, Spanish Foreign Locations: Afghanistan, Bamyan city, Spanish, Islamic Emirate

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.

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