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☆ In pictures: Turkey's landmark elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Jillian Kumagai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Israel killed the head of Islamic Jihad's rocket force and his deputy, pressing an operation that has cost 30 lives in Gaza including women and children, while Palestinian cross-border rocket salvoes inflicted a first fatality in Israel on Thursday.

☆ Israel-Gaza violence: Islamic Jihad targets Jerusalem for the first time in current conflict as it fires barrage of rockets at Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Elliott Gotkine Ibrahim Dahman Abeer Salman Richard Allen Greene Alex Stambaugh Sana Noor Haq | Elliott Gotkine | Ibrahim Dahman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The al Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad said in a statement shortly after the rocket fire: “The launching towards Jerusalem is a message, and everyone should understand its purpose. Talks to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Islamic Jihad in Gaza are “on ice right now,” a diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations told CNN Friday. One command center was used by senior Islamic Jihad operative Muhammad Abu Al Ata for “the planning and command of terrorist activity against Israel,” the IDF said. The Israel Defense Forces said that IDF fighter jets also struck four military posts belonging to Islamic Jihad. ‘Shield and Arrow’The IDF began unleashing waves of airstrikes on Tuesday on what it says are Islamic Jihad operatives and infrastructure along the strip.

☆ Imran Khan, the cricket star who ditched playboy image to rule Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Pakistan security forces guard a vehicle carrying former Prime Minister Imran Khan after his arrest at a court in Islamabad, Pakistan, May 9, 2023. REUTERS/StringerMay 9 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a cricketing hero-turned-politician who was arrested on Tuesday, whipped up popular support amid decades-high inflation and a crippling economic slowdown before his ouster last year. Khan had for months averted arrest in a number of cases registered against him that include charges of instigating crowds to violence. His rise to power in 2018 came over two decades after he first launched his political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), or Pakistan Movement for Justice party, in 1996. Once in power, Khan embarked on his plan of building a "welfare" state modelled on what he said was an ideal system dating back to the Islamic world some 14 centuries earlier.

☆ I left Miami for a remote village in Pakistan. I have no running hot water and limited electricity — but my quality of life here is infinitely better.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Samantha Shea | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

She moved to Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan in 2021, where she's lived ever since. I live in Hunza Valley, 8,500 feet above sea level on the border with Western China, where I work as a digital nomad. A drone shot of Hunza Valley in early May. A Hunza Valley local drying apricots. Though my solo journey to Pakistan started as a trip, Hunza Valley is now my home.

☆ Iran hangs two men for blasphemy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, May 8 (Reuters) - Iran has executed two people who had been sentenced to death for blasphemy, the judiciary's news website Mizan reported on Monday. Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare were executed for crimes including blasphemy, insulting the religion of Islam, the prophet and other sanctities, Mizan reported. The two were running dozens of online anti-religion platforms dedicated to the hatred of Islam, the promotion of atheism and insults to sanctities, Mizan reported. U.N. experts have called on majority Shi'ite Muslim Iran to stop persecution and harassment of religious minorities pointing out an Iranian policy of targeting dissenting beliefs or religious practices, including Christian converts and atheists. Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 3 Leaders of Palestinian Militant Group in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a surprise attack early Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had struck Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, killing at least three leaders of the Palestinian militant group, as both sides braced for a possible sharp escalation in cross-border violence. The airstrikes, which came a week after Islamic Jihad fired dozens of rockets at Israel, hit residential buildings across the Palestinian coastal territory. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said at least 12 people were killed, including women and children, and at least 20 were injured. The Israeli military said it had targeted and killed Khalil Bahitini, who it said had been responsible for launching rockets against Israel over the past month; Tareq Ezzedine, who had directed attacks against Israelis in the occupied West Bank; and Jihad Al-Ghanam, another high-ranking leader of the group. The military wing of Islamic Jihad — which Israel, the United States and many other Western countries classify as a terrorist organization — confirmed the deaths of the three leaders, saying in a statement that they had been killed “as a result of a cowardly Zionist assassination at dawn today.”

[1/2] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a rally ahead of the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, in Izmir, Turkey April 29, 2023. As he seeks to shore up his appeal among conservative voters, Erdogan has also spoken against homosexuality, describing LGBT rights as a "deviant" concept he would fight. 'BUILDING TURKEY TOGETHER'Polls suggest voting could go to a second round and some show Erdogan trailing. "I swear, Erdogan can solve it with a flick of his wrist," she said at a market in central Istanbul. The interventions won few allies, however, and faced with a struggling economy the countdown to the election, Erdogan sought rapprochement with rivals across the region.

☆ 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.

Prince Albert of Monaco said in an interview with People magazine that he and his wife, Charlene, would be attending. King Felipe VI of Spain, who ascended to the throne in 2014 after his father’s abdication, will attend, according to the Spanish news media. Crown Prince Fumihito of Japan and Crown Princess Kiko, on behalf of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, will attend, according to the Japanese news media. Credit... Clodagh Kilcoyne/ReutersSeveral members of Britain’s government will attend, as will about 100 heads of state from around the world, according to Buckingham Palace. British RoyalsImage Prince Harry, center, will be present at the coronation, though his wife, Meghan, and their children, will remain in California.

☆ UN to continue keeping Afghan staff at home over Taliban ban on women
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 5 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Friday it will continue to keep Afghan staff working from home after the Taliban administration began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the world body a month ago. The United Nations has some 3,300 Afghan staff, of whom about 400 are female, while about 600 international staff in the country are not affected by the ban. The UN had said it would review its operations and keep Afghan staff home until May 5. Haq said aid work continued in areas like health and education where the U.N. had been able to get some limited exemptions to the ban on Afghan women. The Taliban says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

☆ Afghanistan aid donors struggle with crackdown on women, less money
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Last month the Taliban began enforcing the ban on Afghan women working for the U.N. after stopping most women working for aid groups in December. So far the United States has given the most money to the 2023 U.N. appeal: $75 million. When asked if Gulf countries could do more to help Afghanistan, Power said: "That would be one obvious potential set of partners." The United Nations has been trying to carve out exemptions in some areas for women to deliver aid, particularly in health and education. For the year ending April 5, 2024 it has pledged nearly $180 million in aid funding for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The seizure was to "thwart the activity" of Islamic State and "impair its ability to further its goals," the NBCTF said on its website. The NBCTF document, which has not been previously reported, did not give any details on the value of the crypto seized, nor how the accounts were connected to Islamic State. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volumes, did not respond to Reuters' calls and emails seeking comment. The U.S. Treasury said in a report last year that Islamic State had received crypto donations it later converted to cash, accessing funds via crypto trading platforms. The owner of the two Islamic State-linked Binance accounts seized by Israel was a 28-year old Palestinian called Osama Abuobayda, the NBCTF document shows.

☆ US, Turkey cooperate on terrorism-related sanctions -Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - The United States worked together to impose terrorism-related sanctions on two individuals linked to funding two Syria-based groups already sanctioned by the United States and United Nations, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday. The actions target Omar Alsheak, a leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group, and Kubilay Sari, who has received funds in Turkey from donors for Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, the department said in a statement. "As terrorist groups continue to seek access to the international financial system, collaboration with our partners increases our ability to more effectively disrupt these facilitation networks," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. The new designations follow joint U.S.-Turkish actions on Jan. 5 that target a key financial network of Islamic State, Treasury said. Reporting by Ismail ShakilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Islamic State Leader Killed in Intelligence Operation, Turkey’s Erdogan Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Jared Malsin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the operation that killed Islamic State’s top leader took place on Saturday but gave few other details. Photo: adem altan/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesISTANBUL—President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Islamic State’s top leader died during a Turkish intelligence operation in what would be the extremist group’s third chief to be killed in less than a year and a half. In an interview late Sunday night with state television, Mr. Erdogan said Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization had followed what he called “the so-called leader” of Islamic State, code-named Abu al-Husayn al-Qurayshi, “for a long time.” Mr. Erdogan said the operation took place on Saturday but gave few other details.

☆ UN says Taliban envoy can meet Pakistan, China ministers next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (Reuters) - A U.N. Security Council committee on Monday agreed to allow the Taliban administration's foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to travel to Pakistan from Afghanistan next week to meet with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China, diplomats said. Muttaqi has long been subjected to a travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo under Security Council sanctions. According to a letter to the 15-member Security Council Taliban sanctions committee, Pakistan's U.N. mission requested an exemption for Muttaqi was to travel between May 6-9 "for a meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China." The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew after 20 years of war. The Security Council committee allowed Muttaqi to travel to Uzbekistan last month for a meeting of the foreign ministers of neighboring countries of Afghanistan to discuss urgent peace, security, and stability matters.

☆ Taliban not invited to UN Doha meeting on Afghanistan, says UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, April 28 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not invited the Taliban administration to a meeting that he is convening with special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries in Doha next week, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday. Last week the United Nations had to stress that the meeting will not focus on the possible international recognition of the Taliban administration after comments by the deputy U.N. chief sparked concern and confusion. Guterres' deputy, Amina Mohammed, had suggested last week that the meeting in Doha "could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition." In December, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly approved postponing, for the second time, a decision on whether to recognize the Afghan Taliban administration by allowing them to send a United Nations ambassador to New York. The U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned on Thursday a Taliban administration ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and called on Taliban leaders to "swiftly reverse" a crackdown on the rights of women and girls.

☆ Iran says there were no school poisonings, blames foreign 'enemies'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 28 (Reuters) - Iran's intelligence ministry on Friday accused foreign "enemies" and dissidents of fomenting fears over suspected poisonings of schoolgirls, saying its investigation found no actual poisoning. The report accused unnamed dissidents of provoking fears to produce propaganda videos and warned of "prosecution of individuals, groups, media who accused the government ... and aligned themselves with enemies". Authorities have accused the Islamic Republic's "enemies" of using the suspected attacks to undermine the clerical establishment. The suspected poisonings began in November in the holy Shi'ite Muslim city of Qom and spread to 28 of Iran's 31 provinces, according to activist HRANA news agency, prompting some parents to take children out of school and protest. For the first time since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, schoolgirls have joined the protests that spiralled after Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody.

☆ UN Security Council set to condemn Taliban crackdown on Afghan women
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, April 26 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on Thursday to condemn a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations in Afghanistan and call upon the Taliban administration to "swiftly reverse" its crackdown on the rights of women and girls. The draft resolution says the ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations "undermines human rights and humanitarian principles." Earlier this month the Taliban began enforcing the ban on Afghan women working for the U.N. after stopping most women working for humanitarian aid groups in December. The Taliban says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. The draft resolution also stresses "the critical importance" of the United Nations's continued presence across Afghanistan.

☆ Kabul airport attack 'mastermind' killed by Taliban, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Soldiers, Airmen and civilian staff receive casualties who were injured outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport and evacuated to the U.S. Army-operated Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) for further care in Landstuhl, Germany August 27, 2021. Landstuhl Regional Medical Center/Marcy Sanchez/Handout via REUTERSWASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The Taliban have killed an Islamic State militant who was the "mastermind" behind a suicide attack at Kabul's international airport in 2021 that killed 13 U.S. troops and scores of civilians during the United States' chaotic evacuation from the country, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K, after an old name of the region, is an enemy of the Taliban. Fighters loyal to Islamic State first appeared in eastern Afghanistan in 2014 and later made inroads in other areas. Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sudan's RSF agrees to ceasefire for Eid, residents report gunfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had agreed to a 72-hour truce from 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Friday but residents of Khartoum and its sister city Bahri reported gunfire as Sudanese troops deployed in the cities on foot. The RSF early on Friday announced a ceasefire after six days of fighting to coincide with the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr and to allow residents to reunite with their families. "The truce coincides with the blessed Eid al-Fitr ... to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to greet their families," the RSF said in a statement. Khartoum, the capital, was rocked by bombing and shelling before the ceasefire announcement and witnesses heard gunfire as the ceasefire, and morning Eid prayers, were due to begin. Residents said soldiers were deploying on foot into some neighbourhoods, apparently indicating that the army was preparing for more clashes.

☆ Taliban recognition not a focus of Afghanistan meeting, says UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view ahead of an aid conference for Afghanistan at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseUNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Reuters) - A U.N.-convened meeting on Afghanistan next month will not focus on the possible international recognition of the Taliban administration, a U.N. spokesperson stressed on Thursday after comments by the deputy U.N. chief sparked concern and confusion. His deputy, Amina Mohammed, suggested on Monday the gathering "could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition." Earlier this month the Taliban began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations after stopping most women working for humanitarian aid groups in December. The Taliban says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

☆ More women describe having forced abortions in Nigerian Army programme
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

And both lost their pregnancies after they were taken into custody by Nigerian soldiers and given unidentified pills and injections. Nigerian military leaders previously have adamantly denied the existence of the abortion programme and the deliberate killing of unarmed children. We respect every living soul.”Asked about the military’s comments on the programme, Yau replied: “This happened to me, and they are denying it. After she was put into a room with three other pregnant women, Yau said, army personnel gave her pills and more injections. Reuters was unable to determine if this tally overlapped with others cited in its December story about the abortion programme.

The army's high command said it would continue operations to secure the capital and other regions. Khartoum residents were asked to limit their electricity usage, as the state's distribution authority said the servers that manage online purchases of power had gone out of service. Many residents planned to travel south to rural areas of Khartoum state or Gezira state if the ceasefire had held. The outbreak of fighting pitting Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, followed rising tensions over a plan for the RSF's integration into the regular military. Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum, Nafisa Eltahir; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Rival factions defy ceasefire to bombard Sudan's capital, Japan plans evacuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Smoke rises from the tarmac of Khartoum International Airport as a fire burns, in Khartoum, Sudan April 17, 2023 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Air strikes and explosions hammered Sudan's capital on Wednesday after the failure of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the army and paramilitary forces, forcing residents to stay hunkered down and prompting Japan to prepare to evacuate its citizens. At least 270 people have been killed and 2,600 injured in the fighting, the World Health Organization said, citing Sudan's health ministry. Khartoum residents were asked to limit their electricity usage, as the state's distribution authority said the servers that manage online purchases of power were out of service. The fighting, which pits Sudan's military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, followed rising tensions over a plan for the RSF's integration into the regular military.

☆ 'I screamed so loud, I blacked out': Afghans tell of the Taliban's return to their old torture playbook
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Zahid Mahmood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

"There were about 12 Taliban members surrounding me, they tied me to a chair and started beating me from all sides," Zafri told CNN. He added: "I screamed so loud, I blacked out because of the trauma." Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told CNN that, since the Taliban's comeback, a local journalist told her how bleak the media landscape is, threatening free speech. "Freedom of speech and media in Afghanistan was one of the country's biggest achievements, which has now unfortunately gone." Meanwhile, Zafri remains stuck in Afghanistan despite repeated attempts to leave following his detention and torture by the Taliban.

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