International

Afghan NGO women ‘threatened with shooting’ for not wearing burqa

AFP

The Taliban’s religious police have threatened to shoot women NGO workers in a northwestern province of Afghanistan if they do not wear the all-covering burqa, two staff members told AFP.

The rights of Afghans — particularly women and girls — have been increasingly curtailed since the Taliban returned to power in August after ousting the US-backed government.

Women are being squeezed from public life and largely barred from government jobs, while most secondary schools for girls are shut.

Two international NGO workers in rural Badghis province told AFP that the local branch of the feared Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice met with aid groups on Sunday.

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“They told us… if women staff come to the office without wearing the burqa, they will shoot them,” one said, asking not to be named for safety reasons.

Women must also be accompanied to work by a male guardian, he added.

A second NGO source confirmed the warnings.

“They also said they will come to every office without prior notice to check the rules are being followed,” he told AFP.

A notice to NGOs seen by AFP did not mention the threat of shooting, but did order women to cover up.

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Women in deeply conservative Afghanistan generally cover their hair with scarves anyway, while the burqa –- mandatory under the Taliban’s first regime, from 1996 to 2001 –- is still widely worn, particularly outside the capital Kabul.

Desperate for international recognition to unlock frozen assets, the Taliban have largely refrained from issuing national policies that provoke outrage abroad.

Provincial officials, however, have issued various guidelines and edicts based on local interpretations of Islamic law and Afghan custom.

In the capital on Friday, the Taliban staged a demonstration with around 300 men, who chanted “We want Sharia law”.

Holding posters of women wearing full coverings, the crowd accused women’s rights activists who have taken to the streets of being “mercenaries”.

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Earlier this month, posters were slapped on cafes and shops in Kabul ordering Afghan women to cover up, illustrated with an image of the burqa.

Women are banned from appearing in television dramas and must be accompanied by a male guardian on journeys between towns and cities.

Small and scattered protests have broken out demanding women’s rights, which had improved slightly over the past 20 years in the patriarchal Muslim nation.

However, several activists told AFP they had gone into hiding in the capital this week after a series of raids led to the arrests of three women.

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International

Child Found Malnourished in Van in France; Father Admits Confinement

French gendarmes discovered a child in a van in Hagenbach, in northeastern France, after a neighbor reported hearing what she described as “childlike noises” coming from the parked vehicle.

After unlocking the van, officers found the boy lying in a fetal position, unclothed and covered with a blanket, surrounded by garbage and near human waste, according to a statement from the Mulhouse prosecutor, Nicolas Heitz.

Authorities said the child appeared pale and severely malnourished. Due to prolonged confinement in a seated position, he was no longer able to walk. He was immediately taken to a hospital in Mulhouse for medical care.

The boy’s father, who lived with his partner and two daughters aged 10 and 12, admitted to keeping the child confined and depriving him of proper care.

According to the prosecutor, the man said he placed the child in the van in November 2024, claiming he wanted to “protect him” because his partner intended to have the boy admitted to a psychiatric facility.

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The suspect also stated that he allowed the child out of the vehicle in May 2025 and permitted him to enter the family apartment around mid-year, when the rest of the family was on vacation.

The man’s partner—who is not the child’s mother—also faces charges, including failure to report abuse. However, she has denied all accusations.

International

Europe Faces Jet Fuel Shortage Risk Amid Hormuz Disruption

The Airports Council International Europe has warned of a potential “systemic shortage” of jet fuel if maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored within the next three weeks, according to a letter reviewed by AFP on Friday.

In the document, addressed to the European Commission and first reported by the Financial Times, the European airport lobby stated that a “systemic jet fuel shortage will become a reality” in the European Union unless stable and significant transit through the strait resumes soon.

The association, which represents around 600 airports across 50 countries, called on Brussels to implement “urgent monitoring of fuel availability and supply” over the next six months.

Jet fuel prices have surged amid the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy transport.

The conflict escalated on February 28 following joint U.S. and Israeli airstrikes against Iran.

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In response, Tehran imposed several countermeasures, including blocking maritime traffic through the strait, a route through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil, jet fuel, and gas supply passes.

International

Artemis II crew prepares for Earth return and splashdown recovery

Astronauts from the Artemis II mission are expected to be extracted from the Orion spacecraft approximately two hours after splashdown, scheduled for 20:07 UTC this Friday (6:07 p.m. in San Salvador), according to NASA.

Following recovery, a rescue team will transport the crew by aircraft to the USS John P. Murtha. Once onboard, they will undergo medical evaluations before boarding another flight to the Johnson Space Center.

On Thursday, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen from the Canadian Space Agency, continued preparations for their return to Earth.

Their activities include stowing equipment used during the mission, securing cargo and storage compartments, and installing and adjusting crew seats to ensure all items are properly fastened. The crew will also review the latest weather updates, recovery operations status, and reentry timeline, while preparing for post-landing procedures.

At 21:53 UTC (9:53 p.m. in San Salvador), Orion’s thrusters are scheduled to perform a second trajectory correction maneuver, refining the spacecraft’s path back to Earth. During this operation, Hansen will monitor guidance, navigation, and propulsion systems.

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NASA explained that during Friday’s reentry, the service module will separate about 20 minutes before Orion reaches the upper atmosphere southeast of Hawaii. If necessary, a final trajectory adjustment will fine-tune the flight path before the capsule begins a series of roll maneuvers to safely distance itself from jettisoned components.

Just before atmospheric interface, Orion will reach a peak speed of approximately 3,800 km/h. As it descends to about 400,000 feet (around 121.9 km), communications will be interrupted for approximately six minutes due to plasma formation around the capsule during peak heating.

NASA expects the crew to experience up to 3.9 G during a nominal reentry profile. After exiting the blackout phase, the capsule will jettison its forward bay cover. Drogue parachutes will deploy at around 22,000 feet (6.7 km), followed by the three main parachutes at approximately 6,000 feet (1.8 km).

Artemis II marks NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon. The mission aims to validate capabilities for deep space human exploration and lay the groundwork for future long-term scientific missions on the lunar surface.