Category World News

An American woman has been freed by the Taliban in Afghanistan after she, two Britons and their Afghan translator were detained earlier this year, Washington’s former envoy to Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, has said.

She is the fourth US citizen released by the Taliban since January, as part of agreements brokered by Qatar.

“American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home”, Khalilzad, who has been part of a US delegation working on Taliban captive releases, wrote on X on Saturday.

American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home. Thank you, #Qatar, for your ongoing and steadfast partnership. #USA #Afghanistan pic. twitter.com/cMSBuaq7qR

Hall’s release comes just days after George Glezmann, an American detained in Afghanistan for more than two years, was released by the Taliban earlier this month, and arrived in the United States, where he reunited with his wife and was greeted by a welcoming party that included his former cellmate.

The Taliban called Glezmann’s release a “goodwill gesture” reflecting its willingness to engage with the United States “on the basis of mutual respect and interests”.

The Taliban has previously described the release of US detainees as part of its global “normalisation” effort.

The group remains an international pariah since its lightning takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021: No country has officially recognised the Taliban government, although several countries continue to operate diplomatic facilities in the country.

Afghanistan’s takeover came as the Joe Biden administration oversaw a withdrawal outlined by the first administration of US President Donald Trump.

The Republican leader negotiated with the Taliban in 2020 to end the war in Afghanistan, and he agreed to a 14-month deadline to withdraw US troops and allied forces.

The agreement was controversial for leaving out the Western-backed Afghan government, which was toppled amid the US’s chaotic exit from the country in 2021.

The Trump administration is yet to articulate a clear policy for how it will approach dealings with the Taliban government during the president’s second term.

Trump has been a regular critic&nbsp, of how the Biden administration oversaw the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The mass demonstration on Saturday was the latest in a wave of nationwide protests that have gripped parts of the country since the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19. The now ex-mayor, considered a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on corruption and terrorism charges. The terrorism charge was initially dismissed by the court.

A letter from Imamoglu was read out at the rally to loud cheers from the crowd. “I have no fear, you are behind me and by my side. I have no fear because the nation is united. The nation is united against the oppressor”, the letter said. “They can put me in jail and try me as much as they want, the nation has shown that it will crush all traps and plots”, it added.

The government rejects accusations from critics that the move against Imamoglu was politically motivated, insisting that the judiciary is independent and free of political interference.

This week, Erdogan denounced the rallies. “Those who spread terror in the streets and want to set fire to this country have nowhere to go. The path they have taken is a dead end”, he said.

Those demonstrating in Istanbul’s streets on Saturday had an opposing view: “We must speak out against injustice and unlawfulness. I am 25 and have only known one government – I want to see change”, a protester told Al Jazeera. “A state is strong only when it’s fair, but I am not hopeful. The judiciary is not independent”, said another one.

Imamoglu’s detention, and later formal arrest over the corruption charges on March 23, prompted nationwide protests despite assembly bans, police crackdowns, and legal prosecution by authorities.

“They’ve detained hundreds of our children, thousands of our youths … arrested hundreds of them”, said Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) that organised the protest. “They only had one goal in mind: to intimidate them, terrify them, make sure they never go out again”.

Nearly 1, 900 people have been detained since March 19, and pro-government media reported Friday that public prosecutors had requested up to three years imprisonment for 74 of them.

“For many people here, this is not just about but about democracy, especially for students. Attending the rallies is a way for them to show resilience and protect their freedoms for their future”, said Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from the protest.

Police kept their distance at Saturday’s rally with no new arrests reported. Ozel called for the immediate release of Imamoglu, as well as for other political prisoners, including Selahattin Demirtas, a former presidential candidate and founder of the pro-Kurdish Peoples ‘ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM.

“In Turkiye, we envision presidential candidates will not be imprisoned”, added Ozel.

Last Sunday, hours after he had been formally arrested, Imamoglu won a symbolic primary to be the CHP’s candidate in a presidential election currently scheduled for 2028, but which is likely to take place earlier. Ozel noted they would begin collecting signatures for Imamoglu’s release and also to demand an early election.

Israel bombs the southern suburbs of Beirut – the first air strike on the Lebanese capital since November’s ceasefire.

Hours earlier, rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon.

After numerous ceasefire breaches by Israel in four months, how serious is this one?

Presenter: Cyril Vanier

Guests:

Ali Rizk – Security affairs analyst.

Lorenzo Kamel – Associate professor of international history at the University of Turin.

Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was forcibly taken into custody by masked federal agents in broad daylight near her Massachusetts home on Tuesday. Immigration officials also revoked her visa.

On Friday, US District Court Judge Denise Casper gave the government until Tuesday evening to respond to an updated complaint filed by Ozturk’s lawyers.

“To allow the Court’s resolution of its jurisdiction to decide the petition, Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further order of this court”, the judge wrote.

Ozturk’s arrest came a year after she co-authored an opinion piece in Tufts ‘ student newspaper criticising the university’s response to calls by students to divest from companies with ties to Israel and to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”.

Friends have said Ozturk was not otherwise closely involved in pro-Palestine protests against Israel.

A lawyer soon after sued to secure her release, and on Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union joined her legal defence team, filing a revised lawsuit saying her detention violates her rights to free speech and due process.

On Saturday, Oncu Keceli, a spokesperson for Turkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that efforts to secure Ozturk’s release continued, adding consular and legal support was being provided by Turkish diplomatic missions in the US.

“Our Houston Consul General visited our citizen in the center where she is being held in Louisiana on March 28. Our citizen’s requests and demands have been forwarded to local authorities and her lawyer”, Keceli said in a post on X.

US President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestinian protesters and has accused them, without providing evidence, of supporting Hamas, being anti-Semitic and posing foreign policy hurdles.

Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the Trump administration conflates their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.

Skygazers in some parts of the world have been enthralled catching the Moon passing between the Sun and the Earth, making a partial solar eclipse.

Saturday’s eclipse was visible throughout Europe, including Greenland, the far northwest of Africa and Newfoundland, weather permitting. Clouds meant some were unable to see up to one-fifth of the Sun obscured by the Moon.

During a solar eclipse, the Moon stands between the Earth and the Sun. And since the three are not completely aligned, when the Moon passes through the other two, it obscures only part of the Sun.

The next partial solar eclipse in Europe is due to fall on August 12, 2026, with more than 80 percent of the Sun set to be covered.

However, the next total eclipse – which occurs when the Moon completely blocks out the sun – in the region will not occur until 2081. During a total solar eclipse, the Moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth, completely blocking the sun’s light on one side, and casting a shadow on a small area of Earth on its other side.

Was Palestinian history carefully recorded by the earliest 20th-century filmmakers as a way of preserving their heritage? Or were they, as some Israelis claim, simply disorganised amateurs operating on basic equipment in a primitive society?