Taliban

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White House: Afghan Refugees Can Safely Go Home Now

Critics decry the end of Temporary Protected Status

(Newser) - The Trump administration on Monday did away with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Afghans now in the US, citing improvements in the country's security and economy. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said a review with "interagency partners" determined that Afghanistan no longer meets the standard...

Taliban Bans Chess
Taliban Bans Chess
May 12, 2025 6:55 PM CDT

Taliban Bans Chess

It's 'considered a means of gambling,' officials say

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have found something new to ban. Officials announced Sunday that chess has been suspended indefinitely, the BBC reports. The game is "considered a means of gambling" and will be banned while authorities try to determine whether it is compatible with Islamic law, officials said. Authorities...

After Taliban Killed Man Exposed in Documentary, His Widow Sues

Suit says Taliban killed Afghan mine-clearer Omar Khan after he was featured in film

(Newser) - An Emmy-winning National Geographic documentary about Afghanistan's final days under US occupation is now at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit, after a featured Afghan was identified by the Taliban and killed. The widow of the man who appeared in Retrograde has filed her complaint against the...

Taliban Releases American Woman
Taliban Releases
American Woman
Mar 31, 2025 10:04 AM CDT

Taliban Releases American Woman

Faye Dail Hall was detained for weeks in Afghanistan

(Newser) - An American woman detained for weeks in Afghanistan by the Taliban has been released from custody, according to a person familiar with the matter and a social media post from a longtime US diplomat. Faye Dail Hall, who was detained in February on charges of using a drone without authorization,...

Taliban Releases American Held for 2 Years

Airline mechanic George Glezmann is the third American detainee released this year

(Newser) - An American man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist has been released by the Taliban in a deal brokered by US and Qatari negotiators, the State Department said Thursday. George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is the third American detainee...

Taliban Frees 2 Americans in Prisoner Swap

They were exchanged for a Taliban fighter in the final hours of the Biden administration

(Newser) - Two Americans held in Afghanistan were released in the final hours of President Biden's tenure in exchange for a Taliban member serving two life sentences in the US. Family members confirmed Ryan Corbett, 42, who was detained in August 2022, was "back home after what has been the...

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...

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...

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...

With Signs of Afghan Looting, 'I Feel As If My Soul Is Dying'

Taliban denies looting at ancient sites despite evidence in satellite images

(Newser) - The Taliban's vow to protect the cultural treasures of Afghanistan may have been little more than lip service, according to researchers, who've uncovered evidence of the widespread bulldozing and looting of ancient sites. The Center for Cultural Heritage Preservation at the University of Chicago used satellite images and...

Two Earthquakes Kill Scores in Afghanistan

WHO, local organizations try to reach the injured

(Newser) - Two 6.3 magnitude earthquakes killed dozens of people in western Afghanistan on Saturday, the country's national disaster authority said. The United Nations gave a preliminary figure of 320 dead but later said the figure was still being verified, the AP reports. Local authorities gave an estimate of 100...

Taliban: Women Lose Value if Men See Their Faces

Molvi Mohammad Sadiq Akif says women who spurn hijabs risk 'falling into sin'

(Newser) - Women lose value if men can see their uncovered faces in public, a spokesman for a key ministry of Afghanistan's Taliban government said Thursday, adding that religious scholars in the country agree that a woman must keep her face covered when outside the home. The Taliban, who took over...

Afghan Official: Leaders Want Women Back in College

Decision on lifting the ban is up to Taliban leader

(Newser) - Afghanistan's universities are ready to readmit female students, but the ruling Taliban's leader has the ultimate say on when that might happen—if it happens at all, an education official said Saturday. "All our leaders are in favor" of restarting girls' education, he said, "even our...

Taliban Orders Hair, Beauty Salons to Shut Down

'The Taliban are taking away the most basic human rights from Afghan women'

(Newser) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have taken yet another freedom away from the country's women. The Vice and Virtue Ministry has ordered women's hair and beauty salons across the country to close, the BBC reports. An order issued July 2 gave salon owners one month to wind down their...

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