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☆ Davos 2023: Riyadh city developing fast with eye on Expo 2030 bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, which has bid to host the Expo 2030 world fair, is pushing ahead with plans to turn its capital Riyadh into a major global metropolis, a government official said on Thursday. Should Riyadh win Expo hosting rights it would be ready, but the build-up, which includes an additional 120,000 hotel rooms by 2030, was needed regardless to meet tourism goals, he said. The host country for the 2030 Expo is expected to be selected in November. Asked if alcohol would be allowed in Riyadh by 2030, Al Rasheed said: "No, but I think you can ... consider it a wellness detox." If Saudi Arabia wins its bid it would be the second Arab country to host Expo after the United Arab Emirates.

☆ Deputy U.N. chief has talks in Afghanistan on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The United Nations deputy secretary-general discussed women's rights with Afghanistan's acting foreign minister on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities banned most female aid workers and stopped women and girls from attending high school and university. Amina Mohammed has also met with U.N. staff, aid groups and Afghan women "to take stock of the situation, convey solidarity, and discuss ways to promote and protect women's and girls rights," deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York. In those talks, Mohammed "stressed the need to uphold human rights, especially for women and girls" and was "encouraged by exemptions" to the ban on female aid workers, Haq said. The Taliban administration on Dec. 24 ordered local and foreign aid organisations to stop female staff from working until further notice, days after it banned women from universities. Many aid groups, some of whom carry out humanitarian work under contracts with the United Nations, stopped operations following the ban.

☆ Aid groups resume some Afghan operations with female healthworkers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Taliban administration last month ordered local and foreign aid organisations to stop letting female staff work until further notice. Many NGOs suspended operations in response, saying they needed female workers to reach women in the conservative country. "Last week, the Ministry of Public Health offered assurances that female health staff, and those working in office support roles, can resume working. A spokesperson the Afghan Ministry of Public Health told Reuters that they had not stopped any health-related activities. "Due to a misunderstanding they stopped their health services and now they have restarted their health services," he told Reuters.

☆ Taliban asks to keep getting UN aid money despite ending education for women
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Taliban in Afghanistan recently banned women from universities, and working with NGOs. In response, the UN has said it cannot continue to supply the Taliban with humanitarian aid. But the Taliban still asked for support, arguing humanitarian aid shouldn't be "linked" to politics. Then, less than a week later, it banned women from working for non-governmental organizations. UN flights carrying stacks of cash for humanitarian aid into Kabul had already been suspended, he said.

☆ At least one killed in blasts targeting troops in central Somalia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOGADISHU, Jan 14 (Reuters) - One person was killed and at least six others injured in a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint manned by Somali government troops in the central region of Hiran on Saturday, witnesses said, part of a twin suicide car attack. Federal government soldiers and allied clan militias launched a major offensive against al Shabaab last August. The group has retaliated with a series of attacks after they were driven out of some of the territories. "A suicide car bomb exploded at a government forces checkpoint near the bridge," said Seinab Abdullahi, a shopkeeper in Jalalaqsi, who counted one body and six injured victims. Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Christina Fincher and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ German police detain Iranian suspected of chemical attack plot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

German police have taken into custody a 32-year-old Iranian citizen suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an “Islamist-motivated” attack, authorities in western Germany said on Sunday. “The suspect is suspected of having prepared a serious act of violence endangering the state by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack,” the statement said. Police seized electronic storage devices but found neither cyanide nor ricin during the search, Holger Heming of the Duesseldorf public prosecutor’s office told Reuters TV. The authorities are now investigating at full speed.”Heming said the tip came from a security agency of a “friendly state”, without elaborating. News about Sunday’s searches also comes a month after German authorities arrested 25 members and supporters of a far-right group that the prosecutor’s office said was preparing a violent overthrow of the state.

[1/3] TV cameras are set up in front of a building where German police have taken a 32-year-old Iranian citizen into custody, suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an "Islamist-motivated" attack, in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane NitschkeCASTROP-RAUXEL, Germany, Jan 8 (Reuters) - German police have taken into custody a 32-year-old Iranian citizen suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an "Islamist-motivated" attack, authorities in western Germany said on Sunday. Police said the Iranian was suspected of having planned a "serious act of violence endangering the state" by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack. Islamist-motivated lone perpetrators are another considerable danger," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said following news of the investigation. "Our security authorities therefore expect preparations for an attack at any time," she said, adding that since 2000 German security authorities had prevented 21 Islamist attacks in Germany.

☆ U.S., Turkey target financial network linked to Islamic State
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday it was taking joint action with Turkey against a network it said played a key role in money management, transfer and distribution for the Islamic State militant group operating in Iraq and Syria. Turkey's foreign affairs ministry said on Twitter the assets of seven individuals or legal persons involved in financing for the group were frozen. The U.S. Treasury Department said four individuals and two entities in Turkey were designated under U.S. sanctions. Islamic State killed and executed thousands of people in the name of its extreme interpretation of Islam before it was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019. The United States in November blacklisted four individuals and eight companies in South Africa aiding the group and in May imposed sanctions on a network of five Islamic State financial facilitators working across Indonesia, Syria and Turkey.

☆ How Saudi Arabia's crown prince snubbed Biden repeatedly to forge ties with authoritarian China and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In 2022, Saudi Arabia sought closer ties with Russia and China. Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, on November 30, 2018. Analysts say that US criticism of Saudi Arabia's human-rights record and its suppression of domestic dissent infuriate Riyadh. Crown Prince Mohammed has more affinity with the ideology of fellow strongmen Xi or Putin than with the US, said Alterman. "Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia all believe in the model of 'authoritarian stability'.

☆ Save the Children, others suspend Afghanistan efforts after Taliban bar on female staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to send female staff home until further notice. The joint statement also highlighted the effect of the ban on female staff on thousands of jobs in the midst of an enormous economic crisis. Earlier, international aid agency AfghanAid said it was immediately suspending operations while it consulted with other organisations, and that other NGOs were taking similar actions. Chargé d'Affaires Karen Decker had posted on Twitter questioning how the Taliban planned to prevent hunger amongst women and children following the ban. She pointed out that the United States was the largest humanitarian aid donor to the country.

☆ EU strongly condemns Taliban ban on female staff at NGOs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 25 (Reuters) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday strongly condemned Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration's order to ban women from working at all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), saying this amounts to erasing women from public spaces. Kabul said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had not adhered to the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic dress code for women. Borrell said he was appalled by the latest decision, which follows last week's ban on women attending university, and a violent crackdown against peaceful protests by women against that move. He urged the Taliban to lift their decision immediately, as part of their obligation to respect international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government on Saturday ordered all local and foreign nongovernmental organizations to prevent female employees from reporting to work, in the latest restrictive move against women’s rights and freedoms in the country. The order was made in a letter written in Persian by Economy Minister Qari Din Mohammed Hanif, Abdur Rahman Habib, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Economic Ministry, told NBC News. Afghan women protest against a new Taliban ban on women accessing university education on Thursday in Kabul, Afghanistan. Getty ImagesForeign governments, including Muslim-majority Saudi Arabia and Turkey, condemned the university ban, which also led to criticism and protests inside Afghanistan. In the western city of Herat on Saturday, Taliban forces used water cannons to disperse women protesting the ban on university education, Reuters reported.

☆ Taliban orders NGOs to ban female employees from coming to work
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration on Saturday ordered all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGO) to stop female employees from coming to work, according to an economy ministry letter, in the latest crackdown on women's freedoms. The letter, confirmed by economy ministry spokesperson Abdulrahman Habib, said the female employees were not allowed to work until further notice because some had not adhered to the administration's interpretation of Islamic dresscode for women. It was not immediately clear whether the order applied to United Nations agencies, which have a large presence in Afghanistan. It comes days after the Taliban-run administration ordered universities to close to women, prompting strong global condemnation and sparking some protests and heavy criticism inside Afghanistan. Reporting by Kabul Newsroom Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taliban ban women from working for domestic, foreign NGOs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Taliban government on Saturday ordered all foreign and domestic non-governmental groups in Afghanistan to suspend employing women, allegedly because some female employees didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. It was not immediately clear if the order applies to all women or only Afghan women working at the NGOs. More details were not immediately available on the latest Taliban ban amid concerns that it could be a stepping-stone to more restrictive measures against women in Afghanistan. Also Saturday, Taliban security forces used a water cannon to disperse women protesting the ban on university education for women in the western city of Herat, eyewitnesses said. Afghan women have since demonstrated in major cities against the ban, a rare sign of domestic protest since the Taliban seized power last year.

☆ Pakistan suicide car bombing kills one police official, injures others
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Police officers and rescue workers gather at the site of a suicide car bombing in Islamabad, Pakistan December 23, 2022. "Our initial information says that there was a man and a woman in the car," Islamabad operations police chief, Sohail Zafar, told reporters. "Had the car reached its target, it would have caused heavy losses," Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News TV. Pakistani Taliban claimed the car bombing, saying it was revenge for the killing of one of their leaders. The bombing came two days after a Pakistani military operation killed 25 TTP militants after a standoff at a counter-terrorism facility.

☆ Saudi Arabia and Turkey condemn Taliban university ban for women
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

In another sign of domestic opposition, several Afghan cricketers condemned the university ban. The latest condemnations of the university ban came from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi foreign ministry expressed “astonishment and regret” at Afghan women being denied a university education. Another show of support for female university students came at Nangarhar Medical University. Local media reported that male students walked out in solidarity and refused to sit exams until women’s university access was reinstated.

☆ Taliban minister defends closing universities to women as global backlash grows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Female university students were turned away from campuses on Wednesday and the higher education ministry said their access would be suspended "until further notice". "They didn't observe Hijab (Islamic female dress code), they were coming with the clothes that mostly women wear to go to a wedding," he said. Dozens of women gathered outside Kabul University on Thursday to protest in the first major public demonstration in the capital since the decision. [1/4] Afghan women chant slogans in protest against the closure of universities to women by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 22, 2022. The backlash towards restrictions on female education is complicating the Taliban-led administration's efforts to gain formal recognition and the lifting of sanctions that are hampering the economy, diplomats say.

☆ Female students turned away as Taliban fighters enforce university ban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The country’s Taliban rulers a day earlier ordered women nationwide to stop attending private and public universities effective immediately and until further notice. Rahimullah Nadeem, a spokesman for Kabul University, confirmed that classes for female students had stopped. Taliban fighters stand guard at the entrance gate of a university in Jalalabad on Wednesday. AFP - Getty ImagesMembers of an activist group called the Unity and Solidarity of Afghanistan Women gathered outside the private Edrak University in Kabul on Wednesday morning, chanting slogans in Dari. AFP - Getty ImagesQatar and Pakistan, both Muslim countries, have expressed their disappointment at the university ban and urged authorities to reconsider their decision.

One hostage, a security official, died during the raid , he said. The army spokesman's comments provided the first detailed official account of the standoff, in which two security personnel were killed when the militants first took over the compound, and two commandoes killed in the ensuing raid. Later other militants at the centre broke into a storeroom where confiscated weapons had been stored. STANDOFFAfter talks failed to resolve a two-day standoff, army commandos stormed the centre on Tuesday. Earlier, residents said they heard explosions coming from the vicinity of the centre on Tuesday as helicopters hovered overhead.

The Taliban on Tuesday released two Americans who had been detained in Afghanistan, according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price. The releases were announced as the United Nations Security Council was meeting about Afghanistan. “Out of respect for the privacy of these individuals and their families, we are not going to confirm names.”The release came the same day the Taliban banned women from private and public universities in Afghanistan. The U.S. "condemns in strongest terms the Taliban's indefensible decision to ban women from universities, girls from secondary schools," Price said. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, it banned female education and most employment.

☆ Women banned from universities in Afghanistan by the Taliban
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, Afghanistan — Women are banned from private and public universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect and until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said Tuesday, the latest edict cracking down on their rights and freedoms. Despite initially promising a more moderate rule and women’s and minority rights, the Taliban have widely implemented their harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia. They have banned girls from middle school and high school, restricted women from most employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms. The university ban comes weeks after Afghan girls took their high school graduation exams, even though they have been banned from classrooms since the Taliban took over the country last year.

JAKARTA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Indonesia's new criminal code has grabbed headlines for making sex outside marriage illegal but Islamic parties wanted even harsher punishment for moral crimes in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, accounts of behind-the-scenes negotiations reveal. "We found a middle ground, not only between nationalists and religious parties but also between progressive liberals and conservatives," he said. In forming the laws, a team of legal professors had turned to Indonesia's official dictionary, which defines adultery as any sex outside marriage, not just extramarital sex. The compromise reached in the final version carries a maximum one-year sentence for sex outside marriage and six months for cohabitation. "The Islamic parties benefit from the morality agenda ... while the other parties will benefit from strengthening of authoritarianism," he said.

Pakistani Taliban militants detained at the centre had snatched interrogators' weapons and taken them captive on Sunday. Asif did not say how many militants were killed or how many hostages they had held. Residents said they heard explosions coming from the vicinity of the centre on Tuesday as helicopters hovered overhead. The army operations forced the militants and their leaders to flee to neighbouring Afghan districts. There, Islamabad says, they set up training centres to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Afghan authorities deny.

☆ ‘Christmas Mubarak’: For many South Asian Americans, the holiday is a cultural celebration
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Zoya Wazir | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

For the Hazrati family, Christmas Day typically includes a lit-up tree, gifts and a dal lunch. While 69% of Americans identify as Christian, as much as 93% of Americans reported celebrating Christmas as of 2019. In an America that celebrates both a religious and secular Christmas, South Asian Americans from other faiths are finding ways to make the holiday their own. Despite Iqbal’s festive decor, her family still abstained from celebrating on Christmas Day because it wasn’t part of their religious traditions. But for some South Asian Americans, celebrating a holiday that isn’t part of their religious identity can feel disingenuous, especially when their own faith is filled with rich celebrations.

According to a provincial government spokesman, the militants were demanding safe passage to Afghanistan. "We are in negotiations with the central leaders of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan," Mohammad Ali Saif, a spokesman for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, said. He said the authorities were yet to receive a response from the Pakistani Taliban, adding that relatives of the militants and area tribal elders had also been involved in initiating talks with the Islamists inside the facility. The militants in control of the interrogation facility had demanded a safe passage to Afghanistan, a TTP statement sent to a Reuters reporter said. It added the TTP had also conveyed the demand to Pakistani authorities, but hadn't heard back any "positive" response.

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