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Taliban say ban on women working for UN 'internal social matter'

The decision to ban Afghan women from working for the United Nations was an "internal social matter", the country's Taliban authorities said Friday, a day after the UN Security Council demanded they overturn the ruling.. The United Nations announced on April 4 that the Taliban authorities had banned Afghan women from working in its offices countrywide, several months after an edict was issued against Afghan women working for NGOs. The move sparked wide opprobrium as well as a UN review of its Afghanistan operations, which is to last until May 5.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 2 mins read

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Pro-Kurdish party calls on voters to back Erdogan rival

Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party and its leftist allies called on voters Friday to back President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival in the May 14 polls.. But both the party's co-leader and its leftist electoral alliance issued statements Friday calling on voters to rally around the most likely candidate to beat Erdogan.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 2 mins read

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Kenyan pastor suspected of links to forest massacre: prosecutors

A high-profile Kenyan pastor appeared in court on Friday suspected of links to the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves that has been dubbed the "Shakahola forest massacre".. The prosecution said in a statement to the court that there was "credible information" linking bodies exhumed from Shakahola forest near Malindi to the deaths of "several innocent and vulnerable followers" of Odero.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 2 mins read

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Heavy battles in Sudan despite latest truce

Fighting raged in Sudan on Friday, despite rival forces agreeing to extend a truce aimed to stem nearly two weeks of warfare that has killed hundreds and caused widespread destruction.. On Thursday, the two sides agreed to extend a repeatedly broken ceasefire for three more days.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 3 mins read

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BBC boss quits over Boris Johnson loan

The BBC's chairman on Friday announced his resignation after his involvement in a loan for then UK prime minister Boris Johnson raised questions about the broadcaster's vaunted impartiality.. Sunak has already had to find a new deputy prime minister after Dominic Raab was forced out last Friday, after another inquiry found him guilty of bullying civil servants.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 3 mins read

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Taliban leader says UN Security Council 'pressure' won't work

A senior Taliban leader warned the United Nations Security Council Friday to give up its "failed policy of pressure" after members adopted a resolution condemning Kabul's growing restrictions on women.. Anas Haqqani, a senior leader in the Taliban movement but with no official government role, said the council "shouldn't continue the failed policy of pressure". 

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 2 mins read

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China says Philippine boat's 'provocative action' caused near-crash

China said Friday that a near-collision in the South China Sea between a Chinese coast guard ship and a Philippine patrol vessel carrying journalists was caused by the latter's "premeditated and provocative action".. The Philippine Coast Guard vessels were shadowed by Chinese navy and coast guard ships, and ordered to leave the waters several times during the trip with journalists.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 3 mins read

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Ex-follower of Kenya cult leader digs for victims' bodies

His forehead beaded with sweat, Titus Katana has been digging for days to find the remains of victims of a Kenyan starvation cult that once counted him as a follower.. But Katana, who has gone to the forest every day to assist the search teams, has little hope of finding anyone he knew alive.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 2 mins read

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Russian strikes kill 12 in Ukraine

Russian strikes battered cities across Ukraine early Friday, killing at least 12 people in a barrage of missiles and drones that hit as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive.. Kyiv, which was among the cities targeted Friday, had not been hit by missiles in more than 50 days.

Fri, Apr 28, 2023 2 mins read

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India arms Hindu village militias to combat Kashmir rebels

Brandishing a bolt-action rifle, civil servant Sanjeet Kumar is one of 5,000 Kashmir villagers who have joined all-Hindu militia units armed and trained by Indian forces to fight off rebel attacks.. "The purpose is to create a line of defence, not a line of attack," Kanchan Gupta of India's information ministry told AFP. India first created a civil militia force in Kashmir in mid-1990s as a first line of defence when the armed rebellion against Indian rule was at its peak.

Thu, Apr 27, 2023 3 mins read