Afghanistan

Afghanistan


Confusion over Afghan internet outage after purported Taliban statement revealed as false

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Confusion surrounds the state of internet connectivity in Afghanistan, after some networks were apparently restored on Wednesday following an outage that began Monday. The Associated Press earlier reported what claimed to be a Taliban statement denying reports that the blackout was a deliberate move and saying old fiber optic cables are worn […]

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Australia’s highest court denies decorated Afghanistan veteran Ben Roberts-Smith’s final appeal

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court on Thursday removed the last chance for highly decorated veteran Ben Roberts-Smith to clear his name of findings that he unlawfully killed four unarmed Afghans under Australian soldiers’ control more than a decade ago. The High Court said it would not hear his appeal against a federal judge’s […]

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Ottawa vows to help Afghans hit by deadly earthquake as groups call out aid rest

Ottawa says it’s ready to help Afghans in the wake of Sunday’s deadly earthquake — even as one organization warns that the federal Liberals have made it harder to reach those living under Taliban rule. “Canada stands ready to support the Afghan people, with our humanitarian partners,” Canada’s Secretary of State for International Development Randeep […]

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A data breach exposes thousands of Afghans who have settled in the UK and British troops

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of Afghans, British troops and civil servants may have fallen victim to another data breach, according to a firm linked to the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence. The Jet Centre, which provides ground handling for flights, said late Friday that it suffered a data security incident which led to “unauthorised access to […]

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Effort underway to get Afghan women at risk of deportation to University of Regina

Parissa Ahmadi says the least worst thing that could happen if she doesn’t make it to Saskatchewan this summer, and is deported to Afghanistan, is that she’s jailed and tortured. The worst thing — she doesn’t like thinking about too much. “It’s not a good thing,” the recent graduate of the American University of Afghanistan’s […]

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Afghanistan’s Taliban have ‘weaponized’ the judicial system to oppress women, UN expert says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have “weaponized” the legal and judicial system to oppress women and girls in what amounts to “crimes against humanity,” the independent U.N. investigator on human rights in the country said. Richard Bennett said in a report to the U.N. General Assembly circulated Wednesday that after seizing power in […]

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British spies and special forces identities exposed in Afghan data leak

LONDON (AP) — A data leak that led thousands of Afghans to be resettled in the U.K. after their safety was jeopardized because they assisted forces against the Taliban also exposed the identities of British spies and special forces, news organizations reported Thursday. U.K. media reported that the names of more than 100 special forces […]

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How an email error sparked a secret scramble to bring Afghans to Britain

LONDON (AP) — British governments past and present face allegations of avoiding scrutiny and undermining democracy after the revelation that thousands of Afghans have been resettled in the U.K under a program that was hidden from the media, the public and lawmakers in Parliament. Key information was also kept from the Afghans themselves, who had […]

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Thousands of Afghans have been brought to Britain in secrecy after a data leak

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of Afghans, including many who worked with British forces, have been secretly resettled in the U.K. after a leak of data on their identities raised fears that the Taliban could target them, the British government revealed Tuesday. The government said it is closing the program, which a rare court order had […]

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Decorated Australian veteran loses his defamation appeal over killings in Afghanistan

Australia’s most decorated living war veteran, Ben Roberts-Smith, on Friday lost his appeal of a civil court ruling that blamed him for unlawfully killing four unarmed Afghans. Meanwhile a veterans’ advocate called on prosecutors to speed up their investigations of war crime allegations in Afghanistan that have left innocent soldiers under a cloud of suspicion. […]

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Critics pan government plaque praising Canada’s evacuation efforts in Afghanistan

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada plans to install a plaque commemorating Canada’s evacuation of Afghans and embassy staff when its capital Kabul fell to the Taliban, but critics argue that sends the wrong message. The plaque carried a $10,000 price tag and was approved in a July 2022 memorandum that The Canadian Press obtained through an access-to-information request. It […]

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