KABUL: Taliban forces fired shots into the air on Thursday to disperse a women’s rally supporting protests in Iran over the death of a woman in the custody of morality police.
Deadly protests have erupted in neighboring Iran for the past two weeks, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while detained by the Islamic republic’s morality police.
Chanting the same “Women, life, freedom” mantra used in Iran, about 25 Afghan women protested in front of Kabul’s Iranian embassy before being dispersed by Taliban forces firing in the air, an AFP correspondent reported.
Women protesters carried banners that read: “Iran has risen, now it’s our turn!” and “From Kabul to Iran, say no to dictatorship!“
Taliban forces swiftly snatched the banners and tore them in front of the protesters.
Defiant Afghan women’s rights activists have staged sporadic protests in Kabul and some other cities since the Taliban stormed back to power last August.
The protests, banned by the Taliban, contravene a slew of harsh restrictions imposed by the hard-line extremists on Afghan women.
The Taliban have forcefully dispersed women’s rallies in the past, warned journalists against covering them and detained activists helming organization efforts.
An organizer of Thursday’s protest, speaking anonymously, told AFP it was staged “to show our support and solidarity with the people of Iran and the women victims of the Taliban in Afghanistan.”
Since returning to power, the Taliban have banned secondary school education for girls and barred women from many government jobs.
Women have also been ordered to fully cover themselves in public, preferably with the all-encompassing burqa.
So far the Taliban have dismissed international calls to remove the curbs on women, especially the ban on secondary school education.
On Tuesday, a United Nations report denounced the “severe restrictions” and called for them to be reversed.
The international community has insisted that lifting controls on women’s rights is a key condition for recognizing the Taliban government, which no country has so far done.
Taliban fire into air to disperse women’s rally backing Iran protests
https://arab.news/93k6s
Taliban fire into air to disperse women’s rally backing Iran protests
Daesh prisoners take two prison guards hostage in Russia
- Daesh members who are due to appear in court on terrorism charges are among the hostage takers
“The inmates took two prison officers hostage” in detention center Number One of the Rostov region, they said in a statement.
“Negotiations on the release of the hostages are underway,” it added.
According to a police source interviewed by the state news agency TASS, Daesh members who are due to appear in court on terrorism charges are among the hostage takers.
Russia has been the target for several attacks claimed by the militant organization.
On March 22, gunmen killed at least 144 people when they opened fire at a concert hall near Moscow in the deadliest attack on Russian soil for two decades. Hundreds more were injured.
More than 20 people have since been arrested, including the four suspected attackers, all from the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan.
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jessica Kahawaty stars in Charlotte Tilbury fragrance campaign
DUBAI: Lebanese Australian model Jessica Kahawaty has posed in a digital campaign for British luxury cosmetics label Charlotte Tilbury.
The model and entrepreneur stars in a video campaign advertising the brand’s Love Frequency perfume, which is described as a floral woody musk fragrance for women and men.
Love Frequency was launched in 2024 and the fragrance was designed by French master perfumer Anne Flipo. The top note is pink pepper; the middle notes are rose and saffron; while the base notes are musk, amberwood, patchouli and cashmere wood.
Kahawaty took to Instagram to share the sun-drenched campaign video with her 1.5 million followers.
“My love frequency summed up in 1 scent (sic),” she caption the post, which sees the model walking among flowers and tall grasses while holding the pink-hued bottle of perfume.
The model also recently unveiled her latest campaign with Boss. In March, she shared polaroid-style pictures from the shoot with her Instagram followers and wrote: “Double B, Every Me. Because there’s more than one way to be a BOSS.”
In the images, she wore a brown bomber jacket paired with a crisp white shirt, complemented by a black bag adorned with a chunky gold buckle and chain. Her brunette locks were in loose waves.
Earlier this year, Kahawaty took to social media to share images from her collaboration with Italian luxury label Versace for the month of Ramadan, days after the influencer worked on a Ramadan campaign with New York-based label CH Carolina Herrera.
The campaign featured a curated edit of modest wear from the New York-based label, combining distinctive patterns and vibrant color schemes.
The model and restauranteur — she founded Dubai’s Mama Rita eatery alongside her mother — shared a series of images promoting Versace’s Ramadan edit with her Instagram followers. Kahawaty was pictured in a pink floor-length dress with bell sleeves that boasted a neckline adorned with intricate pink, white and silver beads and crystals. Completing the look, Kahawaty is seen clutching a matching mini pink embellished purse while her voluminous brunette locks were styled in a 90s blowout.
Red Sea crisis intensifies economic strain on Yemenis ahead of Eid
- Sales have decreased by 80 percent
- Over 1.2 million civil servants have not received salaries in eight years, and hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs
DUBAI: Yemen, suffering from nearly a decade of civil war, now faces an additional challenge: a crippled economy further strained by the escalating crisis in the Red Sea.
Market vendors in Sanaa’s Old City, the Al-Melh, claim that sales have decreased by 80 percent, according to a report by Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Shopkeepers attribute this decline to recent increases in sea shipping costs, which have driven up wholesale prices.
This situation reflects the broader economic crisis in Yemen, where rising sea shipping costs have increased prices across the board, making basic Eid essentials unaffordable for many.
To help ease financial strain, an exhibition was organized in Al-Sabeen Park, where families were able to sell homemade goods.
Despite these efforts, Yemen’s economic problems persist. According to the UN, the decade-long war has pushed millions into poverty. Over 1.2 million civil servants have not received salaries in eight years, and hundreds of thousands have lost their jobs. The Norwegian Refugee Council reports that four out of five Yemenis face poverty, and over 18 million people urgently need humanitarian aid.
Mashaer metro system transports thousands of pilgrims from Mina to Arafat
- There are 17 trains in the Mashaer metro fleet, each capable of carrying 3,000 passengers
MAKKAH: Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims used the Mashaer metro system to travel from Mina to Arafat on Saturday, as they began the most important day of the Hajj pilgrimage.
The metro system consists of nine stations located across the holy sites, connected by an 18-kilometer double-track railway, and is capable of accommodating 72,000 passengers per hour in one direction. The journey from Mina to Arafat takes just 20 minutes, with the train traveling at 80 km per hour, according to a report by the Saudi Press Agency.
There are 17 trains in the Mashaer metro fleet, each capable of carrying 3,000 passengers. The eco-friendly electric trains significantly reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions by replacing approximately 50,000 passenger buses during the Hajj season.
The trains are managed the Facilities Security Forces, under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior.
Khalil Hasan, an Egyptian pilgrim, said he is performing Hajj for the second time.
“The first time I performed Hajj was nearly 30 years back when I was a schoolteacher in Yanbu. Everything here has unbelievably changed, including the Jamarat Bridge.“Seeing the metro travelling between stations in the holy sites was a wonderful scene that added great glamor to the place and substantial enhancement to the many services provided by the kingdom,” Hasan said.
Previously, he added, he could not have imagined that a pilgrim would be able to reach Arafat from Mina within minutes.
Hasan’s lifelong friend, AbdulTawab, who is accompanying him on the spiritual journey, said that it is his first Hajj experience, and he was amazed by the metro service.
“It is wonderful, and I am grateful to the Kingdom for this metro that has facilitated the movement of pilgrims, especially the elderly, making it easy and comfortable to move from one place to another within the holy places,” he said.
Pakistan Army rescue injured Estonian mountaineer trapped in Gilgit-Baltistan
- Saama Marie injured her leg while climbing Nanga Parbat mountain in Gilgit-Baltistan
- Marie has been shifted to Skardu for medical treatment, confirms Pakistan Television News
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army has rescued Estonian climber Saama Marie who injured her leg whilst attempting to climb the Nanga Parbat mountain in the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, state broadcaster Pakistan Television (PTV) News said on Sunday.
Pakistan is home to five of the world’s tallest mountains that loom above 8,000 meters, including K2 and Nanga Parbat, known for their treacherous climbs. Nanga Parbat is one of the world’s tallest mountains standing at 26,660 feet. It is situated in the Pakistani-administered sector of the Himalayan Kashmir region.
Marie last updated followers on her Facebook account on June 9 that she had camped on the slope of Ganalo at the Nanga Parbat mountain at an altitude of 4,900 meters. There had been no update from her since then.
In a video shared by PTV News, two men can be seen carrying an injured Marie to a Pakistan Army helicopter from the snowcapped mountain.
“I have a leg injury and I have currently escaped by [the help of] Pakistan Army helicopter, taken from Nanga Parbat base camp to Skardu hospital,” she said from the helicopter.
PTV News confirmed in a post on social media platform X that the Estonian climber had been shifted to Skardu for medical treatment.
The development takes place a day after local officials confirmed the body of one of two Japanese climbers, reported missing earlier this week, was found at the 7,027-meter Spantik peak in Gilgit-Baltistan on Saturday.
Authorities launched a search operation for the other Japanese climber.
Pakistan’s mountains attract climbers from all parts of the world. According to official figures, over 8,900 foreigners visited the remote Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2023 where the summer climbing season runs from early June to late August.
