Africa

The BBC challenges the scammers targeting teenagers like Evan Boettler, who took his own life just 90 minutes after being contacted.

The BBC challenges the scammers targeting teenagers like Evan Boettler, who took his own life just 90 minutes after being contacted.

South Africa overpower Argentina at Allianz Stadium in London to win back-to-back Rugby Championships for the first time.

Civilians pay the price as paramilitary fighters intensify their offensive to take full control of el-Fasher.

Morocco will soon have the world's largest football stadium but this has angered many young people who want better services.

Morocco will soon have the world's largest football stadium but this has angered many young people who want better services.

Morocco will soon have the world's largest football stadium but this has angered many young people who want better services.

Nous avons l'immense plaisir de vous annoncer que la grande actrice bulgare Tsvetana Maneva, accompagnée des acteurs bien-aimés du public Darin Angelov, Alexander Sano, Petar Antonov et Petar Dochev, sera en représentation à Paris avec le spectacle « Pour l'amour… ».
La soirée théâtrale se tiendra le 3 octobre à 19h, à la Maison de la Poésie, à l'invitation de l'Institut culturel bulgare.
« Pour l'amour… » est un spectacle inspiré des textes de Yana Borisova, lauréate de quatre prix IKAR (…)

- Agenda / Région parisienne, Bulgarie

Der SC Bern startet perfekt ins Spiel gegen die ZSC Lions. Doch nach der 2:0-Führung passt nicht mehr viel zusammen. Die Zürcher drehen das Spiel und gewinnen am Ende deutlich mit 7:3. Zug schlägt den Leader aus Lausanne. So lief die 11. Runde der National League.

In Zusammenarbeit mit MySports präsentiert dir Blick die Highlights der Partie EV Zug – Lausanne HC (4:2).

In Zusammenarbeit mit MySports präsentiert dir Blick die Highlights der Partie SCL Tigers – HC Ajoie (1:0).

In Zusammenarbeit mit MySports präsentiert dir Blick die Highlights der Partie Fribourg – SCRJ Lakers (2:3).

The group, Gafcon, says that its followers believe "the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy".

The group, Gafcon, says that its followers believe "the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy".

The group, Gafcon, says that its followers believe "the Bible requires a male-only episcopacy".

It is estimated that the Taliban have enforced over 5,000 forced marriages over the past four years. Thousands of girls have not only been stripped of their right to education but compelled into marriages over which they had no choice. Credit: Learning Together.

By External Source
KABUL, Oct 3 2025 (IPS)

After the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, they banned girls’ education beyond the sixth grade. Human rights groups say the policy is a major driver of the rise in underage and forced marriages involving Afghan girls.

Zarghona, 42, a widowed mother of four, says her three underage daughters were taken from her and forcibly married to former classmates. After schools and universities for girls were closed, all three daughters, who hoped to become nurses and midwives, were deprived of education and confined to their home.

“To prevent my daughters from becoming depressed, I sent them to a madrasa (religious school) near our house, on the advice of neighbors,” Zarghona says. They received religious education for a year, but things soon began to change.

“One day, a woman came to our house under the pretext of renting a room, and after that, the frequency of her visits increased. I gradually realized that she was targeting my daughters.”

One day a Taliban recruiter, a classmate of theirs at the madrassa, followed the girls to her house and demanded the two younger daughters as wives to his brothers.

“When I rejected their proposal, they told me, either I marry off my daughters to the older men or they would harm my son, they threatened”.

Under pressure, Zarghona says she was forced to consent to the marriages without her daughters’ approval.

“For me and my daughters, the wedding was not a celebration, it was a mourning ceremony” Zarghona lamented, adding, “I had no choice but to surrender.”

The wedding was not a formal Afghan ceremony, but rather a simple religious ceremony conducted by the Mullahs. Her oldest daughter was not forcibly married.

Afterwards, Zarghona was barred from seeing her daughters. She said money had to be secretly sent to them through prepaid mobile transfers. Life became even harder for the daughters.

“Each day came with more restrictions on how they dressed and where they could go. I couldn’t defend them, and my heart was never at peace, she said, sad and embittered.

The older of the two daughters is now 19. She already has one child and is expecting another. The younger daughter has not yet become pregnant and because of that she was permitted to see a doctor, which also enabled Zarghona to meet her secretly in the doctor’s reception area. She said both had lost weight and were shadows of their former selves. Both had bruises and looked scared.

After being forced to marriage many young girls in Afghanistan are not allowed to go out. Credit: Learning Together.

Zarghona decided to go to Iran for a while to ease herself from the painful reality of her daughters’ situation. But when she heard their cries over the phone, she returned to Afghanistan. She says, “Less than three days after I came back, they beat me up and my daughters and even locked us inside our home.”

Zarghona adds that she now has no contact with her daughters and believes their situation remains critical. “All doors for seeking help are closed to me. The government is patriarchal, and no organization supports women’s rights,” she says.

It is estimated that the Taliban have enforced over 5,000 forced marriages over the past four years. Thousands of girls have not only been stripped of their right to education but compelled into marriages over which they had no choice.

Human rights organizations and the United Nations have warned that the ban on girls’ education is fueling domestic violence, poverty, suicides, forced marriages, and Afghanistan’s political isolation.

According to recent assessments by UNICEF and the World Bank, more than one million girls have been denied the right to education since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

Excerpt:

The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons

An der Hilfsaktion für die Menschen im Gazastreifen haben sich auch 19 Schweizer Aktivisten beteiligt. Sie sitzen inzwischen in einem Gefängnis. Einer von ihnen sprach kurz vor seiner Festnahme in einem selbst aufgenommenen Video.

President Rajoelina's move fails to quell the protest movement that is now threatening his own position.

President Rajoelina's move fails to quell the protest movement that is now threatening his own position.

Commercially available DNA databases were used to identify unknown fathers, who had served in Kenya.