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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

☆ Forced marriage: She wanted ‘the world’ for her daughter. Instead, she got a landmark prison sentence
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-03 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Jan is the first person in Australia to be convicted of forced marriage since it was criminalized in 2013. Sakina Muhammad Jan was the first person convicted under Australia's forced marriage laws. Some of the measures borrow from forced-marriage laws in Britain, where hundreds of people take out protection orders each year to thwart an impending forced marriage. Other countries such as France, Canada and Germany also have specific laws against forced marriage. A month before Jan’s sentencing, the immigration minister circulated a directive specifically naming the crime of forced marriage as serious enough to warrant the removal of a visa.

Persons: Australia CNN — Ruqia Haidari, Sakina Muhammad Jan, Haidari, Jan, “, ”, Fran Dalziel, Helena Hassani, Boland Parwaz, she’s, ” Helena Hassani, Haidari’s, Mohammad Ali Halimi, Ruqia Haidari, Facebook Halimi, ’, Halimi, he’d, ” Hassani, Wakil Kohsar, Jennifer Burn, Andrew Buckland, it’s, Dalziel, Hassani, It’s, “ I’m Organizations: Australia CNN, Victoria County Court, Australian Federal Police, University of Technology Sydney, UTS, AFP, Facebook, “, Getty, Slavery, Refugee Convention, United Nations, Afghanistan Association Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Shepparton, Victoria, Hazara, London, Perth, Western Australia, Baharak, Badakhshan province, AFP, Slavery Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Britain, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany, Melbourne, Australian, Goulburn

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

☆ Kabul airport attack exclusive: New evidence challenges the Pentagon’s official account of a horrific incident as the US withdrew from Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Nick Paton Walsh | Mick Krever | Mark Baron | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

One told CNN he heard the first large burst of shooting come from where US Marines were standing, near the blast site. This is significantly more than the three “near simultaneous” bursts of gunfire that the Pentagon investigations have claimed occurred. The Supplemental Review found no new evidence of a complex attack, and uncovered no new assertions of outgoing fire post-blast. “They were targeting people,” another, Nazir, 16, told CNN. CNN spoke with about ten Marines anonymously, many of whom described hearing gunfire and feeling under attack from it.

Persons: Hamid, Akhter Gulfam, –, Wakil Koshar, Robert Maher, Sarah Morris, Morris, Maher, Rob Lodewick, ”, “, ” Shogofa Hamidi, Morsal, Nazir, ” Noorullah Zakhel, Read, Sayeed Ahmadi, ” Ahmadi, Ahmadi, Lodewick, Marcus Yam, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh, “ You’ve, they’ve, It’s, Taylor Crul, Romel Finley, Finley, Barber, ‘, ” Finley, Christian Sanchez, Sanchez, Staff Mark Milley, Kenneth “ Frank ” McKenzie, Darrell Issa, Nick Paton Walsh, Sandi Sidhu, Julia Hollingsworth, Masoud Popalzai, Sitara Zamani, Abdul Basir Bina, Katie Polglase, Gianluca Mezzofiore Organizations: CNN, United, Pentagon, US, Airport, NATO, US Army Central Command, Getty, Montana State University, University of Southampton, Marines, British Ministry of Defense, U.S . Central Command, AP CNN, “, Los Angeles Times, Marine, ” Marines, Navy, US Air Force, . Air Force, Reuters, US Marines, YouTube, Investigators, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Central Command Locations: Kabul, Afghanistan, United States, airport’s, American, British, AFP, Bozeman, England, US, Kabul airport's, U.S, Finland, ”

☆ 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

☆ ‘There is no school for girls’: Afghans who fled to Pakistan sent back to a homeland that is foreign to many
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sophia Saifi | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I was born in Pakistan, I’ve lived here for 42 years, I went to school in Pakistan,” said Nasim, who had traveled to the Torkham border crossing from the northern city Peshawar. Nasim, who was born and raised in Pakistan, and is now preparing to return to Afghanistan. International bodies and human rights groups have warned of a looming humanitarian disaster as they return. He hoped the Taliban would greet those forced out of Pakistan and help them find new jobs. The steady deterioration of human rights under the Taliban since its return to power have only confirmed the worst fears of many Afghans.

Persons: I’ve, ”, Nasim, “ I’ve, –, “, ” Nasim, Abdul Basit, Sarfraz Bugti, Ravina Shamdasani, Wakil Kohsar, Ghulam Sakhi, we’ve, Raza Muhammad, ” Muhammad, Akhtar Muhammad, Zahid Bahand, can’t, I’m Organizations: Pakistan CNN, CNN, ”, Getty, Security, Authorities, United Nations, Human Rights, Rights Watch, ” CNN, Interior Ministry, “ Police, UN, International Organization for Migration, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taliban Locations: Chaman, Pakistan, Pakistan’s, Peshawar, Afghanistan, ”, Quetta, “, Soviet, States, AFP, Afghan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Balochistan’s, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Kabul

TORONTO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada's plan to bring down food prices by tightening regulation could backfire and fail, raising the cost of doing business in the country without providing relief to consumers, lawyers and economists said. Canada's weak competition law has been long blamed for allowing a few players to dominate industries ranging from banks to telecoms and groceries. The proposed amendment will drop the so-called efficiencies defense provision, giving Canada's antitrust regulator - the Competition Bureau - the power to block deals it deems as increasing market concentration, irrespective of any cost efficiencies. Trudeau's move comes as many Canadians reel under an affordability crisis with food prices jumping 25% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Food inflation stood at around 35% in Germany and the United Kingdom - well above the 25% level of food inflation in Canada since the start of the pandemic, Scotiabank research showed.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre, Omar Wakil, Torys, Wakil, Derek Holt, Denny Thomas, Deepa Babington Organizations: Competition, Liberal, Conservative, Loblaw Co, Co, Metro Inc, Scotiabank, Antitrust, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Thomson Locations: Canada, Ukraine, Germany, United Kingdom

☆ Water wars: Afghanistan and Iran's deadly border flare-up spotlights scarcity crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kajaki Hydroelectric Dam in Kajaki, Afghanistan in the Helmand province on June 4, 2018 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. Iranian and Afghan border guards clashed on May 27, exchanging heavy gunfire that killed two Iranian guards and one Taliban soldier and wounded several others. A dangerous borderThe 580-mile border between Afghanistan and Iran is porous and crawling with crime, predominantly coming from the Afghan side into Iran. "Iran's Afghan border has always been its most vulnerable," said Kamal Alam, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. In the 1950s, Afghanistan built two major dams that limited the flow of water from the Helmand river into Iran.

Persons: Maplecroft, Wakil Kohsar, Soltvedt, Kamal Alam, Alam, Ryan Bohl, Rane, Ebrahim Raisi, Yamil Lage Organizations: Orbital, Copernicus Sentinel, Getty Images, CNBC, Taliban, Afp, Getty, Asia Center, East Locations: Kajaki, Afghanistan, Helmand, Getty Images Iran, Iran, Tehran, destabilization, East, North Africa, Afghan, Zaranj, Iran's, Khuzestan, Nimruz, Helmand Province, Sistan, Baluchistan, Havana, Cuba

☆ The Taliban promised to provide security to Afghans. New data shows threat from ISIS is growing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Eliza Mackintosh Ehsan Popalzai Antonio Jarne Lou Robinson | Eliza Mackintosh | Ehsan Popalzai | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +19 min

“Currently we don’t have security in Afghanistan at all, whenever we go out we don’t know if we will come home alive or not,” he added. Taliban security forces guard a checkpoint near the foreign ministry in Kabul on March 27, after an ISIS-K suicide bomber struck the site. The data, which is available in a live map, includes 367 pieces of open-source evidence — largely videos and images shared on social media — about 70 ISIS-K attacks since August 2021. As the Taliban try to minimize the threat ISIS-K poses, attacks on civilians continue. Taliban security forces have been waging ongoing operations and night raids against ISIS-K.

☆ Thousands of Afghans escaped the Taliban with the help of private veteran groups. Today, many remain in limbo in the UAE
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Several thousand were brought there by the State Department directly from Kabul and have since been relocated to the US or Canada. Consequently, thousands of Afghans evacuated by private groups were left in a legal limbo with seemingly no clear path to the US – or anywhere else. It was unclear whether that documentation is sufficient for what the State Department has required. The first two groups were evacuated from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul in August 2021 by both the State Department and private groups working independently. In her responses to CNN, Tekach said the State Department “had limited information” about refugees who came on those separate flights.

☆ Some Taliban fighters are sick of the 9 to 5 grind, complaining they've been sucked into urban life by working desk jobs to run Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Five young Taliban fighters described how their lives are now consumed by work and Twitter. In this picture taken on November 23, 2021, Taliban fighters ride on bumper cars. Last year, it was tolerable but in the last few months, it's become more and more congested," he told Samim. Now, if we complain, or don't come to work, or disobey the rules, they cut our salary," he told Samim. Salam, along with several other Taliban fighters interviewed, felt the public had also stopped respecting them.

☆ Taliban ban women from parks and gyms in Afghanistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Taliban are banning women from using gyms in Afghanistan, an official said Thursday, the religious group’s latest edict cracking down on women’s rights and freedoms since they took power more than a year ago. The Taliban overran the country last year, seizing power in August 2021. Women are also banned from parks. “But, unfortunately, the orders were not obeyed and the rules were violated, and we had to close parks and gyms for women,” he said. “In most cases, we have seen both men and women together in parks and, unfortunately, the hijab was not observed.

☆ Pakistan’s ex-leader Imran Khan wounded in gun attack
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Party official Asad Umar says Khan was wounded in the foot and was not seriously hurt. Khan with later seen with a bandage on his right leg, just above the foot, according to reports and a blurry image. An unspecified number of supporters from his Tehreek-e-Insaf party who were part of the march were also wounded, according to the announcement from the party. The attack happened less than a week after Khan began his march from Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, along with thousands of supporters. Earlier, Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader in Khan’s party, had said they plan to enter Islamabad on Friday.

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