Latest news with #Kabul-based
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
American George Glezmann freed by Taliban more than 2 years after arrest
Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Thursday that American national George Glezmann was on his way back to the U.S. after being released by Afghanistan's Taliban rulers. Glezmann, an Atlanta native, had been in custody after being detained by Taliban authorities while on a tourist visit to Afghanistan in December 2022. He had been deemed wrongfully detained by the U.S. government. Rubio thanked Qatar, saying the nation's "steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts were instrumental in securing George's release." His statement came after former U.S. government envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad posted a statement on X announcing Glezmann's release, which he called "a goodwill gesture" to President Trump by the Taliban. Mr. Trump, Khalilzad said, had "made the freedom and homecoming of Americans held abroad a high priority. It is an honor to assist in this important effort." "George joins American Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, who were released from Afghanistan on the night of President Trump's inauguration and returned home to their families," Rubio said in his statement, adding: "George's release is a positive and constructive step. It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan. President Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world." Corbet and McKenty were released in January in exchange for a Taliban figure who had been imprisoned in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges. Before President Joe Biden left office, his administration had also been working on a deal to secure the release of Corbett, Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company and also went missing in 2022. The Taliban has denied holding Habibi. Since retaking control of Afghanistan following the U.S. military withdrawal in the summer of 2021, the Taliban movement has failed to gain international recognition as the country's rightful rulers. Most nations, including the U.S., have refused to engage in formal diplomatic relations due to the Taliban's draconian crackdown on human rights, which has seen the Islamic extremist group erase virtually every freedom granted to Afghan women and girls during the two decades of Western-backed governance. The Taliban regime has tried to show that, despite those domestic policies, it is aligned with the U.S. in its determination to rid Afghanistan of the threat posed by ISIS. A statement issued Thursday by Afghanistan's Taliban-run Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Glezmann's release "a goodwill gesture, reflecting Afghanistan's readiness to genuinely engage all sides, particularly the United States of America, on the basis of mutual respect and interests." "The end of conflict in Afghanistan, suppression of corrupt groups such as Daesh [ISIS], and no threat emanating from Afghanistan towards others, demonstrates that Afghanistan can play a positive role in regional and world stability, and is able to resolve its issues with the world on amicable terms," the statement said. Sneak peek: The Puzzling Death of Susann Sills Inside Trump's call with Vladimir Putin Teslas in Las Vegas set on fire and shot with guns in "targeted attack," police say
Egypt Independent
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Taliban raids and suspends Afghanistan's only nationwide women's radio station
CNN — The Taliban suspended the operation of Afghanistan's only nationwide women's radio station after raiding its premises on Tuesday, February 4, deepening the exclusion of women from public life and society since the group took power in 2021. Kabul-based Radio Begum – a station run by women with content aimed at women's education – said officers from the Taliban's information and culture ministry restrained the station's staff as it searched its premises in the nation's capital. Officers 'seized computers, hard drives, files and phones from Begum staff, including Begum female journalists, and took into custody two male employees of the organization who do not hold any senior management position,' the station said in a statement on Tuesday. The ministry later confirmed the station's suspension, citing several alleged violations of 'broadcasting policy and improper use of the station's license,' including 'the unauthorized provision of content and programming to a foreign-based television channel.' It did not identify the foreign TV channel in question, but said it will determine the station's future 'in due course.' Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an independent rights group, condemned the suspension and demanded its immediate reversal. Before Tuesday's ban, Radio Begum broadcast six hours of lessons a day, along with health, psychology and spiritual programs to women across most of Afghanistan. The station said it provides education to Afghan girls and support to Afghan women, without being 'involved in any political activity whatsoever.' Its sister channels also offer lessons online filmed in studios thousands of miles away in Paris. The televised classes cover a wider array of subjects, providing education in a country where girls are banned from school after sixth grade. Tightening the grip The Taliban, a radical Islamist group not recognized by most countries around the world, has been tightening its grip on the media landscape since its takeover more than three years ago. Initially presenting itself as more moderate than during its previous rule of Afghanistan in the 1990s, it even promised that women would be allowed to continue their education up to university. But it has since cracked down instead, closing secondary schools for girls; banning women from attending university, working in most sectors and at NGOs, including the United Nations; restricting their travel without a male chaperone; and banning them from public spaces such as parks and gyms. Last year, the Taliban closed at least 12 media outlets, both public and private, according to RSF, which ranked Afghanistan 178 out of 180 countries in its latest press freedom index. The Islamist regime also banned the sound of women's voices in public – including singing, reciting, or reading aloud – under a strict set of 'vice and virtue' laws that made it even harder for Radio Begum to reach its female audience. This story has been updated.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Afghanistan's only women-led radio station to resume operations after Taliban lifts suspension
An Afghan radio station produced entirely by Afghan women will resume broadcasts after the Taliban lifted a suspension that was imposed over alleged cooperation with a foreign country's TV channel. Radio Begum launched on International Women's Day in March 2021, just five months before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the region. The station's sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts content on Afghanistan's school curriculum from grades seven through 12. The Taliban banned education for women and girls in the country after sixth grade. Rubio Demands Answers With 2 More Americans Reportedly Held By Taliban On Saturday, the Taliban's Information and Culture Ministry said in a statement that Radio Begum had repeatedly requested permission to resume broadcasts. Read On The Fox News App The suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to Taliban officials, the ministry said. Radio Begum agreed to conduct broadcasts "in accordance with the principles of journalism and the regulations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and to avoid any violations in the future," the statement said. The ministry did not offer details on what those principles and regulations may be. Veterans Groups Ask Trump To Reconsider Immigration Executive Order, Cite Impacts On Afghan Partners The station confirmed it had been given permission to resume broadcasting, without providing additional details. Taliban officials imposed the suspension after they raided the Kabul-based station on Feb. 4 and seized computers, hard drives and phones, and took into custody two male employees who do not hold any senior management positions, the outlet said in a statement at the time. The Taliban have prohibited women from education, many fields of work and public spaces since they seized control of the country in the summer of 2021. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban control the media in the region. Reporters without Borders ranked Afghanistan 178 out of 180 countries in the 2024 press freedom index, a dip from the year before when it ranked 152. The ministry did not identify the TV channel it accused Radio Begum of working with, but its statement cited alleged collaboration with "foreign-sanctioned media outlets." The Associated Press contributed to this article source: Afghanistan's only women-led radio station to resume operations after Taliban lifts suspension
Fox News
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Afghanistan's only women-led radio station to resume operations after Taliban lifts suspension
An Afghan radio station produced entirely by Afghan women will resume broadcasts after the Taliban lifted a suspension that was imposed over alleged cooperation with a foreign country's TV channel. Radio Begum launched on International Women's Day in March 2021, just five months before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan during the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from the region. The station's sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts content on Afghanistan's school curriculum from grades seven through 12. The Taliban banned education for women and girls in the country after sixth grade. On Saturday, the Taliban's Information and Culture Ministry said in a statement that Radio Begum had repeatedly requested permission to resume broadcasts. The suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to Taliban officials, the ministry said. Radio Begum agreed to conduct broadcasts "in accordance with the principles of journalism and the regulations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and to avoid any violations in the future," the statement said. The ministry did not offer details on what those principles and regulations may be. The station confirmed it had been given permission to resume broadcasting, without providing additional details. Taliban officials imposed the suspension after they raided the Kabul-based station on Feb. 4 and seized computers, hard drives and phones, and took into custody two male employees who do not hold any senior management positions, the outlet said in a statement at the time. The Taliban have prohibited women from education, many fields of work and public spaces since they seized control of the country in the summer of 2021. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban control the media in the region. Reporters without Borders ranked Afghanistan 178 out of 180 countries in the 2024 press freedom index, a dip from the year before when it ranked 152. The ministry did not identify the TV channel it accused Radio Begum of working with, but its statement cited alleged collaboration with "foreign-sanctioned media outlets."
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Taliban allows two Afghan radio stations to resume broadcasts
Two Afghan radio stations, one for women and another for young people, are set to resume broadcasting under conditions imposed by the country's Taliban de facto government, the Ministry of Information and Culture announced late Saturday. The Afghan authorities had banned Radio Begum and Radio Jawanan from broadcasting at the beginning of February, accusing them of having "misused their operating licenses and cooperated with banned foreign media outlets," according to a statement from the ministry. Both radio stations have now promised that their future broadcasts will follow the Taliban government's policies and the principles of journalism, according to the ministry. They also agreed to avoid any violations in the future, the ministry said. Radio Begum, a station for women, launched in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power. It is connected to the Begum Organization for Women, a non-governmental organization that operates both in Afghanistan and France. Radio Jawanan, also called Youth FM, is a Kabul-based radio station that focuses on issues important to young people as well as entertainment and civic responsibility. Since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, the Islamists have introduced a set of rules that have limited media freedom in Afghanistan. Twelve media outlets were closed by the Taliban authorities in 2024, according to Reporters Without Borders. However, the Culture Ministry maintains it supports Afghan media and journalists, as long as they respect the country's Islamic values, national interests and Afghan culture.
