International
Afghan women call for respect in rare protest
AFP
Defiant Afghan women held a rare protest Thursday saying they were willing to accept the burqa if their daughters could still go to school under Taliban rule.
“It is our right to have education, work and security,” the group of around 50 female demonstrators chanted, waving placards on the streets of Afghanistan’s western city of Herat.
During the Taliban’s first stint in power, before being ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001, women and girls were mostly denied education and employment.
Burqas became mandatory in public, women could not leave home without a male companion, and street protests were unthinkable.
“We are here to ask for our rights,” Fereshta Taheri, one of the demonstrators, told AFP by phone.
“We are even ready to wear burqas if they tell us, but we want the women to go to school and work,” the photographer and artist added.
Herat, an ancient Silk Road city close to the Iranian border, has long been a cosmopolitan exception to more conservative centres, though some women already wear the burqa.
– ‘Fear and uncertainty’ –
The Taliban, who seized power last month after a lightning military campaign, are in discussions about the make-up of a new government.
They have pledged their leadership will be “inclusive”, but many doubt women will find a place in Afghanistan’s new administration.
“We follow the news, and we don’t see any women in Taliban meetings and gatherings,” said Herat protester Mariam Ebram.
The group have now promised a softer brand of rule, pledging that women will be allowed to work but within the limits of Sharia law.
The rebranding is being treated with scepticism, with experts questioning whether it will be a short-term bid to seek international recognition and a continuation of vital aid.
“The talks are ongoing to form a government, but they are not talking about women’s participation,” Basira Taheri, one of the rally’s organisers said.
“We want to be part of the government — no government can be formed without women. We want the Taliban to hold consultations with us.”
She described how “most of the working women in Herat are at home”, out of fear and uncertainty.
Ebram said that those who had returned faced resistance from the new Taliban forces in control.
“Some women, like doctors and nurses who dared to go back to work, complain that the Taliban mock them,” Ebram said.
“The Taliban don’t look at them, they don’t talk to them. They only show their angry faces to them.”
Primary school age children including girls have returned to school, but the Taliban says further education is on hold until after the formation of a government.
– ‘Different aspirations’ –
Protests against Taliban rule were inconceivable during their last reign.
Former government minister Nehan Nargis, speaking to the BBC late Wednesday from Norway where she fled to last month, said Afghanistan had changed from when the Taliban were last in power.
“People are much more aware, they have different aspirations for Afghanistan now, and expectations from government,” she said, noting social media now helped bring like-minded activists together.
“The Afghan people… have collectively raised their voice very strongly using the platform of social media for their issues and causes… and they will continue to use that,” Nargis said.
Basira Taheri said they would continue to protest until their demands were met.
“The women of this land are informed and educated,” she said. “We are not afraid, we are united.”
Herat’s demonstrators said they hoped their example would inspire others across the country.
“We will continue our protests,” Basira Taheri said. “We started it in Herat, it will soon expand to other provinces.”
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
International
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
The arrival of U.S. aircraft carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued regularly despite rising tensions between Washington and Caracas over President Donald Trump’s military deployment in the Caribbean.
Trump maintains that the deployment is part of an anti-narcotics operation, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insists the true objective is to remove him from power and seize the nation’s oil resources.
Venezuela’s aviation authority has “received a request from the United States government to resume repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants from that country to Venezuela,” the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement .
“Under the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, authorization has been granted for these aircraft to enter our airspace,” it added.
Caracas will permit two Eastern Airlines flights to land on Wednesday and Friday.
Migration remains one of the Trump administration’s flagship issues. On Monday, the U.S. president held a meeting with his National Security Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela, a day after confirming he had spoken with Maduro by phone, without offering further details.
According to the Venezuelan government, roughly 75 deportation flights have been carried out this year, returning at least 13,956 Venezuelans from the United States.
International
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
The German army confirmed the theft of a shipment of ammunition that occurred a week ago while it was being transported by a civilian delivery driver, a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming earlier media reports.
According to Der Spiegel and the regional broadcaster MDR, around 20,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from an unguarded parking lot near Magdeburg, in eastern Germany, while the driver was asleep in a nearby hotel. No information has been released regarding the identity of the suspects, and the military declined to specify the exact type or amount of ammunition taken.
Authorities have also not indicated how the perpetrators knew the cargo would be left unattended.
“The theft was discovered upon delivery at the barracks,” the German army spokesperson said.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that an investigation has been opened but refused to provide further details “for tactical reasons.”
Sources close to the German military, cited by Der Spiegel, believe it is unlikely the theft was a coincidence. They suspect the thieves waited for the driver to stop for the night before striking.
Der Spiegel also reported that the Defense Ministry normally requires two drivers for this type of transport to ensure the cargo is constantly monitored. However, in this case only one driver was assigned, meaning the civilian transport company failed to comply with the security protocols.
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
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