Afghanistan

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Biden Considers Deal to Free Americans Held by Taliban

It's not clear whether his administration can complete it before Trump takes office

(Newser) - President Biden spoke Sunday with relatives of three Americans the US government is looking to bring home from Afghanistan, but it was unclear from the call if a deal to bring them back that is now on the table could be completed before the he leaves office next week, the...

The Taliban Are Knee-Deep in Emeralds

Militant group hopes revenue from natural resource will make up for lost international aid

(Newser) - The Taliban is seeing green lately, and not from jealousy. The Islamic extremists have been exhibiting and auctioning off emeralds weekly—sales that underscore the Taliban's "increasing reliance on Afghanistan's natural resources as a source of revenue" after losing much of their international aid, per AMU TV...

Taliban: NGOs With Women Workers Will Be Closed

Afghanistan rulers also say windows shouldn't look out on places where women may appear

(Newser) - The Taliban say they'll close all national and foreign nongovernmental groups in Afghanistan employing women. It comes two years after they told NGOs to suspend the employment of Afghan women, allegedly because they didn't wear the Islamic headscarf correctly. In a letter published on X on Sunday, the...

Taliban Bans Women From Nursing, Midwifery Courses

Training institutions in Afghanistan say they were abruptly ordered to close

(Newser) - The only door still open to women seeking further education in Afghanistan has been abruptly slammed shut. The BBC reports that institutions offering nursing and midwifery courses have been ordered to close until further notice under an edict from the country's Taliban rulers. "There is no official letter...

Malala 'Shocked' at How Quickly Afghan Women Lost Rights

Activist reflects on the state of Afghanistan in advance of documentary release

(Newser) - Malala Yousafzai, the crusading activist who has been fighting for the rights of women and girls since childhood, says she's been shocked at how quickly those rights have been eroded in Afghanistan since the Taliban retook control in 2021. "I never imagined that the rights of women would...

When the Taliban Returned, Female Cyclists Were Doomed
Return of the Taliban
Doomed Female Cyclists
longform
Nov 10, 2024 3:15 PM CST

Return of the Taliban Doomed Female Cyclists

Bicycling reports on how members of the Afghan National Team had to flee the country

(Newser) - A story by Kim Cross in Bicycling begins with the simple anecdote of a teenager going for bike ride. But this particular teenager—18-year-old Reihana Mohammadi—was riding in Afghanistan in August 2021. "You are crazy!" Reihana recalls people calling out. "The Taliban are very close!"...

Now Afghan Women Can't Pray Loudly or Sing

And they should refrain from reciting the Koran in front of other women: government minister

(Newser) - Afghan women are forbidden from praying loudly or reciting the Koran in front of other women, according to a Taliban government minister. It's the latest restriction on women following morality laws that ban them from raising their voice and baring their faces outside the home. They're already excluded...

Marine in Controversial Afghan Adoption Won't Be Fired

Though the child's fate remains in limbo

(Newser) - A US Marine whose adoption of an Afghan war orphan has spurred a yearslong legal battle and raised alarms at the highest levels of government will remain on active duty, the AP reports. A three-member panel of Marines found Tuesday that while Maj. Joshua Mast acted in a way unbecoming...

4 Countries Are Taking the Taliban to Court

They plan to pursue gender discrimination case in International Court of Justice

(Newser) - The Taliban's oppression of Afghanistan's women is going to be challenged in the International Court of Justice. The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands announced at the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday that they plan to pursue a gender discrimination case against Afghanistan's government...

Streep: 'A Squirrel Has More Rights' Than Afghan Girls

Actor calls attention to the ongoing stripping of women's rights under the Taliban

(Newser) - Birds, squirrels, and cats have more freedom than Afghan women, the actor Meryl Streep said in a powerful speech at United Nations headquarters on Monday, calling attention to the stripping of women's rights under the Taliban. A bird can sing in public, a squirrel can frolic in a park,...

Major Polio Setback: Taliban Stops Vaccinations
Taliban: No More
Polio Vaccinations
Sep 16, 2024 1:43 PM CDT

Taliban: No More Polio Vaccinations

Afghanistan is one of 2 countries that never eradicated the highly infectious virus

(Newser) - The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN said Monday. It's a devastating setback for polio eradication, since the virus is one of the world's most infectious, and any unvaccinated groups of children where the virus is spreading could undo years of progress. Afghanistan is...

GOP: Biden Picked 'Optics' Over Safety in Afghan Exit

Democrats and White House fire back and pin the blame on Trump

(Newser) - The blame game over the deadly US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 is heating up before the election. Republican members of Congress issued a new report blaming President Biden and VP Kamala Harris for the chaotic exit, one that left 13 US service members dead , while Democrats say Donald Trump'...

Trump Targets Harris Over Afghanistan 'Humiliation'

13 service members killed in bombing 3 years ago will be honored with Congressional Gold Medal

(Newser) - On Monday, Donald Trump tied Vice President Kamala Harris to the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal on the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 US service members, calling the attack a "humiliation." The GOP nominee laid wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of Sgt. Nicole...

Marine Accused of 'Stealing' Afghan Baby Has Custody Voided

He's been relying on the custody order to raise the child

(Newser) - A Virginia appellate court ruled Tuesday that a US Marine should never have been granted an adoption of an Afghan war orphan and voided the custody order he's relied on to raise the girl for nearly three years. The decision marked a major turning point in a bitter custody...

Afghan General's Brutality May Have Backfired on US

'New York Times' reports on the legacy of Gen. Abdul Raziq

(Newser) - When the US was in Afghanistan, an Afghan general by the name of Abdul Raziq was seen as one of America's most valuable allies in the fight against the Taliban. On the upside, Raziq was young, brave, smart, and charismatic, and he kept order in crucial Kandahar, the New ...

After Heavy Rains, 300-Plus Dead Amid 'Extensive Devastation'

Flash floods swept through Afghanistan after unusually heavy deluges

(Newser) - Flash floods from unusually heavy seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed more than 300 people and destroyed upward of 1,000 houses, the UN food agency said Saturday. The World Food Program said it was distributing fortified biscuits to the survivors of one of the many floods that hit Afghanistan...

CNN Pushes Back at Pentagon Account of Kabul Airport Attack

Outlet says new evidence turns over narrative of a lone suicide bomber in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Few claim that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan almost three years ago went smoothly. Now, conflicting accounts of the war's final days are emerging that puts the Pentagon's narrative at odds with others.
  • Bombing: In the late afternoon of Aug. 26, 2021, a blast brought about by an
...

9 Children Killed After Finding Old Land Mine

It exploded as they played with it in Afghanistan, Taliban says

(Newser) - An old land mine found by children in eastern Afghanistan exploded while they were playing with it, killing nine children, a Taliban spokesman said Monday. The mine, which the children found near their village in Gero district in Ghazni province, was from decades ago, said Hamidullah Nisar, director of the...

What We Know About ISIS-K, Group Behind Moscow Attack

Group considers Taliban rule of Afghanistan too soft

(Newser) - The Islamic State affiliate that said it carried out the killings in Moscow's Crocus City concert hall has been escalating its attacks in other countries as part of its campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan, analysts say. The idea is to weaken the Taliban's relations with allies and...

Father of Marine Killed in Afghanistan Arrested at SOTU
Charges Dropped
Against SOTU Heckler
UPDATED
Mar 20, 2024 8:49 AM CDT

Charges Dropped Against SOTU Heckler

Steve Nikoui, father of Marine killed in Afghanistan, reportedly 'thrilled and humbled'

(Newser) - The father of a US service member killed in the 2021 bombing at Kabul's airport is no longer facing charges for heckling President Biden during the State of the Union address, per Fox News . As with other protesters, DC attorney general Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, declined to prosecute Steve...

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