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UN denounces new Taliban restrictions on women

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The UN Security Council has denounced Taliban government policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan.

The Taliban have banned women from attending university and working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) within the last week.

The 15-member Security Council said it was “deeply alarmed” by the increasing restrictions on women’s education.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the latest restrictions “must be revoked”.

A statement from the Council called for the “full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan”.

It urged the Taliban “to reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The ban on female humanitarian workers “would have a significant and immediate impact for humanitarian operations in country”, including for the UN, it added.

Mr Guterres said that the latest restrictions were “unjustifiable human rights violations”.

“Actions to exclude and silence women and girls continue to cause immense suffering and major setbacks to the potential of the Afghan people,” he wrote on Twitter.

At least five top NGOs halted work in Afghanistan after women were banned from working for them by the Taliban government.

Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children said they could not continue their work “without our female staff”.

(BBC News)

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Over 80,000 evacuated amid serious flooding in SW China

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Continuous heavy rainfall and upstream inflows have triggered severe flooding in two counties of Guizhou Province in southwest China, prompting mass evacuations.

As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 48,900 residents were temporarily evacuated in Rongjiang County and 32,000 in Congjiang County. The flood control emergency response has been escalated to Level I, the highest, in both counties.

Rongjiang, a county known for Cun Chao — a rural football league covering over 100 village teams and drawing numerous fans across the country, saw heavy rainstorms from 8 p.m. Monday, with a venue at the Duliu River exceeding the warning level by 6.68 meters as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The football field at the Cun Chao stadium was submerged under three meters of water.

Long Tian, a resident near the stadium, recalled that when he woke up at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the water downstairs was already thigh-deep.

“The water rose very quickly, so I stayed on the third floor waiting for rescue. By the afternoon, I had been transferred to safety,” Long said.

Rescue teams, including firefighters and volunteers, deployed boats and other equipment for the rescue work in the two counties.

As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the provincial emergency department had allocated disaster relief items, including 30,000 bottles of drinking water and 10,000 bowls of instant noodles, to the two counties via high-speed rail and road transport.

Also in Guizhou, rain-triggered landslides caused the collapse of part of a bridge on an expressway in the county of Sandu. No casualties have been reported so far.

(Xinhua)

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Israel agrees to ceasefire proposal

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The Israeli government has said it agreed to the ceasefire proposal after “achieving the objectives” of its attacks on Iran.
According to the statement, Israel has removed Iran’s “dual immediate existential threat” from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

It also says Israel has “inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets”.

The statement goes on to say that Israeli forces, in the last day, have “severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminating hundreds of Basij operatives” – a militia the Iranian government often uses to suppress protests – and “eliminating another senior nuclear scientist”.

“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement adds.

Earlier, Iran state TV news channel IRINN says a ceasefire has been “imposed” on Israel following the “successful” Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.

State TV said in a statement that Trump “begged” for a ceasefire following Iran’s attack. The statement was read aloud by the presenter.

The statement also hailed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army and praised the “resistance” of Iranians.

The statement also called Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “successful” response to the US attacking three Iranian nuclear sites, while Qatar said all missiles were intercepted.

(Excerpts : BBC News)

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Trump says Iran – Israel have agreed to a ceasefire

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US President Donald Trump has announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran on social media.

Trump says the ceasefire will begin “in approximately six hours from now” after each country has “wound down” their military operations.

Trump’s announcement contains a periodic unravelling of hostilities but says that “upon the 24th hour” the war will officially end.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has posted on X saying there is “no agreement of any ceasefire or cessation of military operations.”

“”As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around…However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,: he has added.

“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” he has further said.

Meanwhile, Reuters have reported citing a senior White House official as saying that President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran through talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday while his team, including Vice President JD Vance, held talks with Tehran.

The official, providing details of the ceasefire on condition of anonymity, has said Israel agreed to it so long as Iran does not launch fresh attacks.

(Agencies)

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