World News

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers on Sunday began enforcing an order requiring all female TV news anchors in the country to cover their faces while on-air. The move is part of a hard-line shift drawing condemnation from rights activists.

After the order was announced Thursday, only a handful of news outlets complied. But on Sunday, most female anchors were seen with their faces covered after the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry began enforcing the decree.

The Information and Culture Ministry previously announced that the policy was “final and non-negotiable.”

“It is just an outside culture imposed on us forcing us to wear a mask and that can create a problem for us while presenting our programs,” said Sonia Niazi, a TV anchor with TOLOnews.

A local media official confirmed his station had received the order last week but on Sunday it was forced to implement it after being told it was not up for discussion. He spoke on condition he and his station remain anonymous for fear of retribution from Taliban authorities.

During the Taliban’s last time in power in Afghanistan from 1996-2001, they imposed overwhelming restrictions on women, requiring them to wear the all-encompassing burqa and barring them from public life. and education.

After they seized power again in August, the Taliban initially appeared to have moderated somewhat their restrictions, announcing no dress code for women. But in recent weeks, they have made a sharp, hard-line pivot that has confirmed the worst fears of rights activists and further complicated Taliban dealings with an already distrustful international community.

Earlier this month, the Taliban ordered all women in public to wear head-to-toe clothing that leaves only their eyes visible. The decree said women should leave the home only when necessary and that male relatives would face punishment for women’s dress code violations, starting with a summons and escalating to court hearings and jail time.

The Taliban leadership has also barred girls from attending school after the sixth grade, reversing previous promises by Taliban officials that girls of all ages would be allowed an education.

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SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, will discuss nuclear cooperation and the threat posed by North Korea during their first bilateral meeting on Saturday, a U.S. official said.

The senior Biden administration official said Washington is ready for diplomacy with North Korea and is prepared to work with other countries in the region to help with issues including the country’s “quite serious” COVID-19 pandemic.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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By Trevor Hunnicutt

SEOUL (Reuters) -President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart will search for ways on Saturday to break a diplomatic stalemate with North Korea, as they worry Kim Jong Un could lash out with new nuclear tests.

Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol will meet in Seoul for their first diplomatic engagement since the South Korean president’s inauguration 11 days ago. The friendly encounter between allies is clouded by U.S. intelligence showing North Korean leader Kim is prepared to launch nuclear or missile tests.

A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Saturday that the two leaders will discuss nuclear cooperation and that Washington remains ready for diplomacy with North Korea.

“It is very much our desire that we find ways to have a diplomatic approach,” the official said. “We have made very clear we’re prepared to talk to them, and with no preconditions, and we’re also prepared to take steps to address their domestic challenges, including COVID.”

But it was unclear how Biden and Yoon would jumpstart talks with the North Koreans, who have rebuffed Washington’s efforts at engagement since Biden took office last year.

Yoon has signalled a tougher line on North Korea than his predecessor and is expected to ask for Biden’s help. Yoon has warned of a preemptive strike if there is a sign of an imminent attack and vowed to strengthen the South’s deterrent capability.

North Korea’s first acknowledged COVID-19 outbreak, which the U.S. official described as “quite serious”, may provide an opening.

“We are very concerned about the COVID situation,” the official said. “We are very sensitive to the fact that they appear to be facing a quite serious situation, and I think you’ve seen we stand ready to work with others in the international community as needed to provide assistance.”

North Korea reported more than 200,000 new patients suffering from fever for a fifth consecutive day on Saturday, but the country has little in the way of vaccines or modern treatment for the pandemic.

That has raised the prospect of a diplomatic opening as well as a humanitarian crisis or the prospect of deadlier new COVID variants, health officials have said.

Washington has ruled out sending vaccines directly to the country but Yoon may push Biden to do so. North Korea has not accepted offers of COVID help from South Korea, the United States and international vaccine sharing agencies.

A North Korean weapons test could overshadow Biden’s broader trip focus on China, trade and other regional issues.

Countering China’s presence in the region is a key Biden theme on the trip, but South Korea is likely to strike a cautious tone in public on the topic given Beijing is Seoul’s top trading partner.

Biden also plans to use the visit to tout investments in the United States by Korean companies, including a move by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group to invest about $5.54 billion to build its first dedicated full electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities in the United States.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler and William Mallard)

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian teenage boy as clashes erupted when they entered a volatile town in the occupied West Bank early Saturday, the Palestinian Health Ministry and local media said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has intensified overnight raids in the northern West Bank town of Jenin over the past months.

The Health Ministry identified the dead as Amjad al-Fayyed, 17. It said another 18-year-old Palestinian was in critical condition after being wounded by Israeli gunfire.

Local media reported that clashes erupted outside Jenin’s refugee camp when Israeli forces stormed the area. It was not immediately clear how al-Fayyed was shot.

Israel says it carries out “counter-terrorism activities” to detain wanted militants and planners of recent deadly attacks in the West Bank and Israel.

On May 11, a veteran Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera satellite channel was killed while covering an Israeli military operation in Jenin. Shireen Abu Aqleh’s family, the broadcaster, the Palestinian Authority and witnesses accused Israel of shooting the correspondent for the Qatari channel. Israel accused Palestinian militants of firing at the journalist but backtracked later.

Israeli military officials on Thursday said the military has identified a soldier’s rifle that may have killed Abu Akleh, but said it cannot be certain unless the Palestinians turn over the bullet for analysis.

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SCHUPBACH, Germany (AP) — Stephanie Kirchner’s journey to work has got longer but, she says, cheaper: she has left her SUV at home and switched to real horse power.

Stud farm owner and horse trainer Kirchner, 33, says she decided “it can’t go on like this” after fuel prices jumped following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Since I also suspected hay harvesting and everything else will become much, much more expensive, we said, ‘we have to save a little money,’” she says.

So she has switched to traveling the roughly 6 kilometers (3 1/2 miles) from her home in western Germany by horse-drawn carriage. That turns a one-way trip from 10-15 minutes to as much as an hour.

But Kirchner calculates that, given how much fuel her Toyota SUV consumes, she saves about 250 euros ($264) per month if she can use horse power every day.

Her carriage, drawn by two horses, is popular with children and some others. But “of course humanity is hectic and then some people are annoyed if they can’t get past me fast enough,” Kircher says.

She acknowledges that her answer to rising fuel prices isn’t for everyone.

“I can’t put a horse in a parking garage,” she says. “I think a lot more horse riders would do it if opportunities were created for the horses.”

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By Natalia Zinets and Jonathan Landay

KYIV/SLATYNE, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russian forces intensified their offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region using artillery, rocket-launchers and aircraft to damage defences around Donetsk, Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday.

“The Russian enemy carried out massive artillery shelling of civilian infrastructure, including multiple rocket-launchers,” it said in a statement.

Russian shelling in Luhansk, also in the Donbas, has killed 13 civilians over the past 24 hours, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai said.

Twelve were killed in the town of Sievierodonesk, where a Russian assault had been unsuccessful, he said.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General office said 232 children had been killed and 427 wounded since the beginning of Russian invasion.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports and Russia denies targeting civilians.

The industrial Donbas region, the focus of recent Russian offensives, has been destroyed, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as some of the world’s richest countries pledged to bolster Kyiv with billions of dollars.

Since turning away from Ukraine’s capital, Russia is using massed artillery and armour to try to capture more territory in the Donbas, comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, which Moscow claims on behalf of separatists.

“The occupiers are trying to exert even more pressure. It is hell there – and that is not an exaggeration,” Zelenskiy said in an address on Thursday night. There were also “constant strikes” on the Odesa region in the south, he said.

“The Donbas is completely destroyed,” he said.

Moscow calls its invasion a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of fascists, an assertion Kyiv and its Western allies say is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war.

Russia is likely to reinforce its operations Donbas region once it secures the southern port city of Mariupol, scene of a weeks-long siege, British military intelligence said.

As the invasion nears the three-month mark, the U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved nearly $40 billion in new aid for Ukraine, by far the largest U.S. aid package to date.

The Group of Seven rich nations also agreed to provide Ukraine with $18.4 billion. Ukraine said the money would speed up victory over Russia and was just as important as “the weapons you provide”.

The White House is working to put advanced anti-ship missiles in the hands of Ukrainian fighters to help defeat Russia’s naval blockade, officials said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of using food as a weapon by holding “hostage” supplies for not just Ukrainians, but also millions around the world.

The war has caused global prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel and fertiliser to soar.

The EU said it is looking into ways of using the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine, while the United States has not ruled out possibly placing sanctions on countries that purchase Russian oil.

NATO DIVISION

But divisions within NATO have also been on show, with Turkey opposed to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a move that would reverse generations of military non-alignment.

Ankara accuses the two Nordic states of harbouring Kurdish militants, but U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders said they were confident Turkey’s concerns could be addressed.

The past week has seen Russia secure its biggest victory since the invasion began, with Kyiv announcing it had ordered its garrison in a steelworks in Mariupol to stand down, after a protracted siege.

British military intelligence said as many as 1,700 soldiers are likely to have surrendered at the Azovstal steel factory, matching a similar number released on Thursday by Moscow.

Ukrainian officials, who have sought a prisoner swap, have declined to comment on the number, saying it could endanger rescue efforts.

Late on Thursday, Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy head of the Azov Regiment defending the steelworks, released an 18-second video in which he said he and other commanders were still on the territory of the plant.

“A certain operation is going on, the details of which I will not disclose,” he said.

The Switzerland-based International Committee of the Red Cross said it has registered hundreds of prisoners from the plant now held by Russia, but it has not given a precise number.

The leader of Russian-backed separatists in control of the area said nearly half of the fighters remained inside the steelworks.

The wounded were given medical treatment while those who were fit were taken to a penal colony and were being treated well, he said.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets and Max Hunder in Kyiv and a Reuters journalist in Mariupol; Additional reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Richard Pullin and Stephen Coates; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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ROME (Reuters) – Pro-Russian hackers have attacked the websites of several Italian institutions and government ministries, the police said on Friday.

At 0800 GMT it was still not possible to access the websites of the Italian foreign ministry and its national magistrates association.

The attack was launched at around 2000 GMT on Thursday by the hacker group “Killnet,” Italian cyber-security group Yarix said in a statement.

A similar attack took place on May 11, and last weekend police said they had thwarted a cyber-assault on the latter stages of the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin which ended on Saturday with the victory of Ukraine’s entry.

The police attributed both attacks to the Killnet group and its affiliate Legion.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, many Western governments have raised alert levels in anticipation of possible cyber attacks on IT systems and infrastructure.

Russia routinely denies it carries out offensive cyber operations.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante, writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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BERLIN (AP) — German automaker Mercedes-Benz said Thursday that it has auctioned an extremely rare car from its company collection for a roaring 135 million euros ($143 million).

The company said the price paid by a private collector earlier this month for the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, with its distinctive gullwing doors, makes it the most valuable car of all time. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

Mercedes Benz said the proceeds would be used to launch a fund providing scholarships for young people to learn about and research environmental science and decarbonization. The greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, released by burning fossil fuels, is largely blamed for climate change.

The car was one of just two prototypes built in 1955, and named after the company’s then-chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut.

“We would like to encourage a new generation to follow in Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s innovative footsteps and develop amazing new technologies, particularly those that support the critical goal of decarbonization and resource preservation,” the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group, Ola Kallenius, said.

The company’s said its collection comprises some 1,100 cars dating back to 1886.

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By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday he would like to pivot away from single-issue transactional relationship with the United States as he seeks to repair frayed ties with Washington.

“Our relationship with the United States has been colored too much by the geopolitical context in our region, and particularly by the events and circumstances in Afghanistan,” Bhutto-Zardari told reporters at the United Nations during his first visit to the United States as foreign minister.

“We would like to pivot away from a transactory relationship, a one point agenda relationship, to a more broad-based relationship with a particular emphasis on trade,” he said a day after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Bhutto-Zardari, son of assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto, three weeks ago. Sharif took over last month after Imran Khan lost a confidence vote moved by a united opposition, that blamed him for mismanaging the economy, governance and foreign relations.

Khan had antagonised the United States throughout his tenure, welcoming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year and more recently accusing Washington of being behind the attempt to oust him. Washington dismissed the accusation.

Analysts have said they do not expect the United States to seek a significant broadening of ties with Pakistan’s new government, but to remain mostly focused on security cooperation, especially on counterterrorism and Afghanistan.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Wednesday after Blinken and Bhutto-Zardari met that the pair affirmed a “shared desire for a strong and prosperous bilateral relationship.”

Bhutto-Zardari also said he was not concerned about competing with neighboring India when it came to ties with Washington. The United States and India are part of a Quad security grouping of nations with Australia and Japan.

“Pakistan is not insecure about our relationship with the United States and we believe that the world is big enough for both Pakistan and India to exist,” he said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; additional reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; editing by Grant McCool)

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By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden met with the leaders of Finland and Sweden at the White House on Thursday to offer robust U.S. support for their applications to join NATO, while Turkey threatened to block the Nordic nations from becoming members of the alliance.

Biden, who has rallied the West to stand up to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, joined Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in a sunny White House Rose Garden bedecked with their countries’ flags in a show of unity and support.

“Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger,” Biden said. “They’re strong, strong democracies, and a strong, united NATO is the foundation of America’s security.”

Biden said his administration was submitting paperwork to the U.S. Congress for speedy approval once NATO members gave the two countries a green light.

“They meet every NATO requirement and then some,” the president said. “Having two new NATO members in the high north will enhance the security of our alliance and deepen our security cooperation across the board.”

Turkey has expressed strong opposition to the Nordic countries’ ascension, pressing Sweden to halt support for Kurdish militants it considers part of a terrorist group and both to lift their bans on some arms sales to Turkey.

All 30 NATO members need to approve any new entrant. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday that Turkey had told allies it will reject Sweden and Finland’s membership.

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Asia, said the leaders of Sweden and Finland indicated they were planning to speak directly to Erdogan and that Washington was prepared to support that process.

“We believe that the Turkish concerns about the accession of Sweden and Finland that have been expressed by President Erdogan and others can be addressed and can be resolved,” Sullivan said.

Asked if there were any plans for Biden to engage directly with Erdogan on the issue, Sullivan said: “Not at the moment.”

The Finnish president said at the White House that his country was open to discussing all Turkey’s concerns, and pledged to “commit to Turkey’s security just as Turkey will commit to our security” as a NATO ally.

“We take terrorism seriously,” Niinistö said.

Sweden and Finland have for decades stood outside the Cold War era military alliance designed to deter threats from the Soviet Union, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has heightened security concerns.

The situation in Ukraine “reminds us of the darkest days of European history,” Andersson said. “During dark times it is great to be among close friends.”

Conversations between Sweden, Finland and Turkey have taken place to address Ankara’s concerns, with the United States involved in the effort. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Wednesday that U.S. officials were confident Turkey’s concerns can be addressed, and Biden told reporters “I think we’re going to be okay” on the issue.

Biden’s unabashed support put a firm, deliberate U.S. stamp of approval on Finland and Sweden’s applications. He squeezed in the meeting just before departing to Asia and gave both leaders speaking time in the Rose Garden, underscoring that support.

Biden’s remarks also sent a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Monday Putin said there was no threat to Russia if Sweden and Finland joined NATO but cautioned that Moscow would respond if the alliance bolstered military infrastructure in the new Nordic members.

Biden said on Thursday that new members joining NATO is not a threat to any nation. “It never has been,” he said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Heather Timmons, Nick Zieminski and Daniel Wallis)

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