Taliban

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Taliban: We Didn't Know Where al-Zawahri Was

US government claims otherwise

(Newser) - The Taliban broke its silence Thursday, days after a US drone strike killed al-Qaeda's top leader in Afghanistan's capital, acknowledging his slaying and pledging to launch an investigation. The killing of Ayman al-Zawahri on the balcony of a Kabul safehouse Sunday has further strained relations between the Taliban...

Al-Zawahri's Killing Reveals a Worrisome Alliance

Al-Qaeda leader must have been hiding in Kabul with Taliban's blessing: Fred Kaplan

(Newser) - For journalist Fred Kaplan, the killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri stands out not so much for the event itself. Al-Qaeda "is far from the potent global force that it was a decade ago," writes Kaplan at Slate , and while al-Zawahri certainly had a key role in planning...

Clerics, Elders Ask Nations to Recognize Taliban Rule
All-Male Meeting Backs Taliban

All-Male Meeting Backs Taliban

Clerics, elders ask nations to recognize Afghan government

(Newser) - A three-day assembly of Islamic clerics and tribal elders in the Afghan capital concluded Saturday with pledges of support for the Taliban and calls on the international community to recognize the country's Taliban-led government. The meeting in Kabul was tailored along the lines of Afghanistan's traditional Loya Jirgas—...

Taliban Launch Campaign to Wipe Out Poppy Crop

They plan to eradicate opium, heroin production

(Newser) - Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have begun a campaign to eradicate poppy cultivation, aiming to wipe out the country’s massive production of opium and heroin, even as farmers fear their livelihoods will be ruined at a time of growing poverty. On a recent day in Washir district in southern Helmand...

Female Anchors Cover Faces Under New Taliban Order

Male colleagues in Afghanistan wear masks in solidarity

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Sunday began enforcing an order requiring all female TV news anchors in the country to cover their faces while on the air. The move is part of a hard-line shift drawing condemnation from rights activists. After the order was announced Thursday, only a handful of...

Women Challenge Taliban Rule: 'This Isn't About Hijab'

Some Taliban leaders look for workarounds on the restrictions in Afghanistan

(Newser) - Arooza was furious and afraid, keeping her eyes open for Taliban on patrol as she and a friend shopped Sunday in Kabul's Macroyan neighborhood. The math teacher was fearful her large shawl, wrapped tight around her head, and sweeping pale brown coat would not satisfy the latest decree by...

Taliban Just Resurrected a Hard-Line Mandate

Women once more have to wear face-covering burkas in public

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban leadership ordered all Afghan women to wear the all-covering burka in public, the ministry of vice and virtue said Saturday. The move evoked similar restrictions on women during the Taliban's previous hard-line rule between 1996 and 2001. "We want our sisters to live with dignity...

No More TikTok, PUBG in Afghanistan
Taliban: No More TikTok

Taliban: No More TikTok

Afghanistan's rulers say young people are being led astray

(Newser) - The Taliban has been outlawing various products and activities since taking power in Afghanistan. TV shows with women in them were banned last fall, per CNN . Wine fell out of favor earlier this month. The latest prohibition reaches young people, the BBC reports: The use of TikTok and PUBG is...

Taliban Just Banned Afghanistan's Biggest Cash Crop

After decades of financing the leaders, opium, other drugs get the boot

(Newser) - The Taliban was in the restricting mood Sunday, banning opium poppy—which accounts for 80% of the world's supply of opium—along with wine, heroin, and other drugs. The Taliban has had an interesting relationship with opium, having repeatedly tried to ban the narcotic before using the crop to...

Video Is First Sign of Life of Abducted American

Mark Frerichs, held by a Taliban faction since 2020, is seen in clip obtained by 'New Yorker'

(Newser) - Friday brings significant developments on the fate of three Americans held in captivity by the Taliban in Afghanistan—two have been freed and the third was seen in a video, the first sign of life in two years. Details:
  • New video: The New Yorker obtained a video (you can watch
...

Officials: Afghan Women Without Male Companions Booted From Flights

Unaccompanied women reportedly turned away from airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Friday

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers refused to allow dozens of women to board several flights, including some overseas, because they were traveling without a male "guardian," two Afghan airline officials said Saturday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said dozens of women who arrived at Kabul's...

From the Taliban, an 'Unexpected Decision'

Afghanistan's de facto rulers break promise, won't open schools to girls above 6th grade

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers decided against opening schools to girls above the sixth grade, reneging on a previous promise and opting to appease their hardline base at the expense of further alienating the international community. The unexpected decision, confirmed by a Taliban official Wednesday, came at the start of the...

Taliban Object to Biden Plan for Frozen Funds
Biden Divides
Afghan Funds

Biden Divides Afghan Funds

Taliban object to president's plan to split $7B between humanitarian aid and families of 9/11 victims

(Newser) - President Biden signed an executive order Friday to move toward unfreezing about $7 billion in Afghan reserve funds now held in the US. The administration locked down the money in August to keep it from the Taliban when they overthrew Afghanistan's government. Biden's plan would split the money,...

UN: After Taliban Takeover, a Grim Number

Report says 100-plus ex-Afghan, international forces killed since Taliban took over in August

(Newser) - The United Nations has received "credible allegations" that more than 100 former members of the Afghan government, its security forces, and those who worked with international troops have been killed since the Taliban took over the country Aug. 15, according to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. In a report obtained Sunday...

Biden to Taliban: Release US Hostage

On 2nd anniversary of Mark Frerichs' kidnapping, president issues call for his release

(Newser) - President Biden on Sunday called for the release of US Navy veteran Mark Frerichs, reports the AP , who was taken hostage in Afghanistan nearly two years ago. Frerichs, a civil engineer and contractor from Lombard, Ill., was kidnapped in January 2020 from the capital of Kabul. He is believed to...

It's Tough to Get Out of Kabul, but These Americans Just Did

Charter flight thought to have dozens of US citizens heads to Qatar amid flight groundings by Taliban

(Newser) - Since November, Americans have had a tough time getting out of Kabul after the Taliban grounded most flights. This week, a chartered flight paid for by the US State Department and run by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was finally able to depart the Afghan capital for Qatar with...

In a First, Taliban Delegation Is Heading to Europe

Talks with the US are on the agenda

(Newser) - A Taliban delegation will travel to Norway for talks with the Norwegian government and representatives from several allied countries, including the US, per the AP . The Norwegian Foreign Ministry said Friday that it has invited representatives of the Taliban to Oslo from Sunday to Tuesday to hold talks covering humanitarian...

Taliban: Women Taking Trips Should Bring a Male Relative

Pakistan joins Human Rights Watch in objecting to Afghanistan directive

(Newser) - New travel restrictions have been placed on women in Afghanistan by the Taliban. If they're going more than 45 miles, they should travel with a close male relative, the BBC reports. If they're not wearing Islamic head or face coverings, drivers should refuse to give them a ride....

Taliban Issues 'Guidelines' for Women on TV

For example, it doesn't want women appearing in TV dramas

(Newser) - The Taliban would like to see no more women appearing in TV dramas or soap operas in Afghanistan. The militant Islamist group, which took control of the country in August, also wants female journalists and TV presenters to wear hijabs when appearing on television, the BBC reports. This is the...

Taliban Abruptly Bans All Foreign Currency Transactions

Those who fail to use the afghani will be punished, group says

(Newser) - Afghanistan's battered economy took another heavy blow Tuesday when the Taliban abruptly declared a total ban on the use of all foreign currencies. American dollars are widely used in markets and the currencies of neighboring countries are often used in border areas. The Taliban said anybody who failed to...

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