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.
“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.
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”.
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.
Central America
Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat
Guatemala’s attorney general, Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States over corruption allegations, lost a key vote on Monday in which a public university selected two of the 10 magistrates for the country’s highest constitutional court. However, she could still seek a seat through another nominating body.
The election of five full magistrates and five alternates to the Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) is taking place gradually over more than two months and is considered crucial in the ongoing struggle for control of Guatemala’s judiciary, which critics say has long been influenced by a political and economic elite accused of corruption.
According to results announced at a press conference, the governing council of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) rejected Porras, who had applied as either a full or alternate magistrate, and instead chose two candidates aligned with the university rector. The vote was held at a hotel in Antigua, about 35 kilometers from the capital.
Despite the setback, Porras — whose term as attorney general ends on May 16 — could still be nominated to the Constitutional Court by the Corte Suprema de Justicia, which appoints two magistrates. The remaining six are selected by the president, the bar association and Congress.
“It’s always a possibility,” the 72-year-old lawyer said days earlier when asked by reporters whether she would seek nomination through another institution if she lost the USAC vote.
Porras has been sanctioned by Washington and the European Union for allegedly attempting two years ago to block the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo and for pursuing legal actions against anti-corruption prosecutors, judges, journalists and social leaders since taking office in 2018.
The USAC vote was controversial because most members of the university’s governing council are serving beyond the expiration of their terms. Students, academics and social activists staged protests against Porras’ candidacy.
International
Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC
A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.
Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.
Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.
International
Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says
Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.
Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.
Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.
Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.
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