عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Netanyahu Denies Report He Spoke to Trump about Gaza Talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP)
TT
TT

Netanyahu Denies Report He Spoke to Trump about Gaza Talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied on Thursday a report that he had spoken the previous day with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump about Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks, Reuters said.
"Contrary to media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not speak yesterday with former President Donald Trump," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
The report, in Axios, cited two US sources. One source said Trump's call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he did not know if this is indeed what the former president told Netanyahu. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Egypt, the United States and Qatar have scheduled a new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations for Thursday.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

UNESCO: Taliban Have Deliberately Deprived 1.4 Million Afghan Girls of Schooling Through Bans

Afghan girls attend primary school as Afghanistan marks the second anniversary of the ban on girls going to secondary schools, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 18 September 2023. EPA/STRINGER
Afghan girls attend primary school as Afghanistan marks the second anniversary of the ban on girls going to secondary schools, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 18 September 2023. EPA/STRINGER
TT
TT

UNESCO: Taliban Have Deliberately Deprived 1.4 Million Afghan Girls of Schooling Through Bans

Afghan girls attend primary school as Afghanistan marks the second anniversary of the ban on girls going to secondary schools, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 18 September 2023. EPA/STRINGER
Afghan girls attend primary school as Afghanistan marks the second anniversary of the ban on girls going to secondary schools, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, 18 September 2023. EPA/STRINGER

The Taliban have deliberately deprived 1.4 million Afghan girls of schooling through bans, a UN agency said Thursday. Afghanistan is the only country in the world with bans on female secondary and higher education.
The Taliban, who took power in 2021, barred education for girls above sixth grade. They didn’t stop it for boys and show no sign of taking the steps needed to reopen classrooms and campuses for girls and women.
UNESCO said at least 1.4 million girls have been deliberately denied access to secondary education since the takeover, an increase of 300,000 since its previous count in April 2023, with more girls reaching the age limit of 12 every year.
“If we add the girls who were already out of school before the bans were introduced, there are now almost 2.5 million girls in the country deprived of their right to education, representing 80% of Afghan school-age girls,” UNESCO said.
The Taliban could not be immediately reached for comment.
Access to primary education has also fallen since the Taliban took power in Aug. 2021, with 1.1 million fewer girls and boys attending school, according to UNESCO data.
The UN agency warned that authorities have “almost wiped out” two decades of steady progress for education in Afghanistan. “ The future of an entire generation is now in jeopardy,” it added.
It said Afghanistan had 5.7 million girls and boys in primary school in 2022, compared with 6.8 million in 2019. The enrollment drop was the result of the Taliban decision to bar female teachers from teaching boys, UNESCO said, but could also be explained by a lack of parental incentive to send their children to school in an increasingly tough economic environment.
“UNESCO is alarmed by the harmful consequences of this increasingly massive drop-out rate, which could lead to a rise in child labor and early marriage,” it said.
The Taliban Wednesday celebrated three years of rule at Bagram Air Base, but there was no mention of the country’s hardships or promises to help the struggling population.
Decades of conflict and instability have left millions of Afghans on the brink of hunger and starvation and unemployment is high.