How one activist was smuggled out of Afghanistan: ‘There were dozens of Taliban checkpoints’
As the Taliban continues its campaign against activists in Afghanistan, countless Afghans have attempted to escape the country, either by land or air. The FRANCE 24 Observers team spoke to a women’s rights activist who, fearing retribution from the Taliban, made the desperate decision to cross the border out of Afghanistan as soon as the militant group descended on Kabul on August 15, with the help of a smuggler. She told us her story.
Since the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, 2021, tens of thousands of Afghans have fled the country. The Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul has been a scene of chaos for more than a week, as foreign governments frantically evacuate their embassy staff and Afghan auxiliaries.
Foreign governments have been facilitating the evacuation of Afghans who worked directly with their embassies or military forces. However, Afghan activists who have worked around the country with NGOs and associations dedicated to human rights, democracy and the protection of minority groups, such as women, have faced greater obstacles.
Phones of nine Bahraini activists found to have been hacked with NSO spyware
The mobile phones of nine Bahraini activists, including two who were granted asylum protection and are now living in London, were hacked between June 2020 and February 2021 using NSO Group spyware, according to new findings by researchers at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.
A report due to be released on Tuesday will reveal that the hacked activists, some of whose phones were being monitored by Citizen Lab researchers at the time they were hacked, include three members of Waad, a secular leftwing political group that was suspended in 2017 amid a crackdown on peaceful dissent in Bahrain.
Germany's 'lavish' plan to expand Berlin chancellery faces controversy
A €600 million renovation plan will see the seat of the German chancellor balloon to be larger than the White House or the Elysee Palace. But why might Germans be opposed to their leader's seat of power being too grand?
If you take a stroll down Berlin's most famous promenade, Unter den Linden, duck through the crowds of tourists at the Brandenburg Gate and turn right in front of the sprawl of the Tiergarten park — you will find yourself in the government district.
Your first stop: the Reichstag, the home of Germany's federal parliament (the Bundestag) and one of the most famous buildings in German collective memory.
Israel ‘quietly’ allows Jews to pray in Al-Aqsa compound: Report
The Israeli government is allowing Jews to conduct prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem – also known to Jews as the Temple Mount – in a move that risks shifting the site’s status quo, The New York Times reported.
In a story published on Tuesday, the Times said Rabbi Yehudah Glick made “little effort to hide his prayers” and was even livestreaming them.
Taliban says it will not allow Afghans to leave country, rejects evacuation extension
Updated 1526 GMT (2326 HKT) August 24, 2021
The Taliban said Tuesday that it would not allow Afghans to leave the country and rejected talk of extending the deadline for US troops to pull out, as a frantic Western evacuation operation at Kabul airport picked up pace.
Afghanistan: Taliban tell working women to stay at home
Working women in Afghanistan must stay at home until proper systems are in place to ensure their safety, a Taliban spokesman has told reporters.
"It's a very temporary procedure," spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
The Taliban, which enforced a strict version of Islamic law when they ran Afghanistan before 2001, retook full control of the country nine days ago.
The UN has highlighted "credible" reports of abuses by Taliban, including executions and restrictions on women.
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