AFGHANISTAN
Taliban detain UN workers
Some women employed by the UN have been detained, harassed and had restrictions placed on their movements since being banned by the Taliban from working for the world body, the UN said yesterday. The Taliban early last month informed the global body that Afghan women employed with its mission could no longer report for work. “This is the most recent in a series of discriminatory — and unlawful — measures implemented by the de facto authorities with the goal of severely restricting women and girls’ participation in most areas of public and daily life in Afghanistan,” the UN said in a report on the human rights situation in the country. Authorities continued to crack down on dissenting voices this year, in particular those who speak out on issues related to the rights of women and girls, the report said. It cited the March arrest of four women who were released the following day during a protest demanding access to education and work in the capital, Kabul, and the arrest of Matiullah Wesa, head of PenPath, a civil society organization campaigning for the reopening of girls’ schools.
NEW ZEALAND
State of emergency declared
Authorities in Auckland yesterday declared a state of emergency as flooding again hit the country’s largest city. Further north in Whangarei, a high-school student was missing after a school group that was exploring caves got into trouble when floodwaters hit. Fire and emergency crews said they had responded to more than 200 calls, most of them in Auckland. Many were for floodwaters entering buildings, but they also responded to landslides, falling trees and trapped vehicles. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said it was a difficult time for the region. “We will get through this. We will support Auckland through it,” he told reporters. “We know that it’s tough coming on top of everything else that they’ve been dealing with, but right now my request to people is just to keep yourself safe.” Authorities said heavy rain was expected to continue off and on until midnight, although they hoped the most severe downpours might have already passed.
UNITED KINGDOM
Police ‘regret’ arrests
Police on Monday expressed “regret” that anti-monarchy demonstrators arrested ahead of the coronation of King Charles III were unable to join the protest as planned and said they would not face further action. Six members of the group Republic, including leader Graham Smith, were detained in central London early on Saturday as they prepared to protest the coronation. The capital’s Metropolitan Police also seized hundreds of their placards, Republic said. They were released late on Saturday, more than 16 hours after being arrested, prompting criticism of the police. In a statement late on Monday, the Met said that the six were arrested “on suspicion of going equipped for locking on,” referring to newly outlawed contraptions used by demonstrators to attach themselves to each other, an object or the ground. Police were days earlier granted new anti-protest powers by the government that expanded, among other things, protest-related offenses to include locking-on and carrying lock-on devices. The Met said that an investigation of the seized items seized “has been unable to prove intent to use them to lock on and disrupt the event.” “We regret that those six people arrested were unable to join the wider group of protesters in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere on the procession route,” it said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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